While we were in Cairns we took a break from field work and went kayaking. We rented all the gear from an adventure company here. The boats were great, but the paddles were less than desirable. They were really heavy and the blades slipped around a bit. We were shocked to see how much the paddles are here. Now we are thinking we should have brought ours. Check out Tim's dorky helmet! Luckily the little boats we rented fit in the little car we rented. Notice they are on the right side of the car.

Photos from a wildlife park we visited.

Well, we have finished our reconnaissance trip to find all my field sites. We saw a lot of wildlife and spent time in a lot of hotels. Hotels here are accommodations available above the local pub.

We visited my friend Denise (a girlfriend I met in Panama). It is really great to have such a good friend here. She lives in one of the areas I will be working in so I will get to hang out with her a lot.

Tim discovered a new game called Killer Bunnies and became instantly addicted. We really wish we could call Ian and Alisa up to play with. Instead we roped in Denise and all her friends and other random people we shared Hostels with.

We fell in love with Tasmania and are looking forward to living there. We are so ready to have a place to ourselves. We have not had a “home” since we left SLC. It was great spending time with G-ma over the summer, but it still wasn’t our house. We have a great place lined up in the cool part of Hobart. It is in walking distance to markets, cafes, beaches and downtown. Plus we are in less than a kilometer from one of the best outdoor Saturday markets in Australia. The duplex is a 2 bedroom with a study. So when I am not doing field work, I’ll be working from home. I am also working on some connections at the University of Tasmania, so maybe they will let me come use there dissecting scopes. Overall we are really looking forward to get a little more settled.

Right now I am in Sydney working on scientific permits for the National Parks and getting my field supplies together. Tim took off to go flying for a couple of days, but winds are uncharacteristically too strong right now. He did go for a great mountain bike ride were he ended riding with a mob of kangaroos.

As promised here is our first pic from Sydney with the Harbor Bridge behind us. We are waiting for visitors to take the bridge tour, where you get to walk all the way to the top. A gauranteed great shot of the Opera house.