Gary

We visited daintree rainforest in Northern Queensland, Australia when we were there last January.
Its the oldest rainforest in the world as there has been one there for at least eighty million years.
We went into the forest with a guide in a small group of sic people. Our driver was our guide and he was great. He was a local so we got loads of info and local lore told to us.
We were able to swim in the rainforest and also had a picnic. We saw all kinds of wildlife and birds.
we also went to cape Desolation, where captain cook went aground on his foray around that part of the world.
Overall a great experience.

I was recommended to try Ashtanga yoga by a friend as its more dynamic and physical than hatha and iyengar. I was a bit reluctant to try out a class as I was afraid of being the only guy- stupid but thats how I felt!- but then someone mentioned doing one-on-one tuition. It is a bit more expensive but the individual attention and training make it worthwhile. I
I have done five classes so far and am really enjoying it. I can see how you would get fit doing ashtanga as it is difficult at first. You need to be relax and concentrate to achieve the poses.

I had wanted to go to Australia for a while as some of my friends have visited and a couple have moved there.
We flew to northern Queensland first stopping off in Cairns and then proceeding to Port Douglas. This is a good base to go scuba-diving and seeing the rainforest past daintree. we did both of these things and they were two of the most rewrding things I have ever done.
we then flew down to Brisbane to see friends. We all stayed in Brisbane for a night and went ot a great restaurant and club.The next day we headed down to Surfers Paradise for a look-very commercial but fun- and then drove back up to Noosa where my friends live.
Noosa is a boutique resort and a bit on the expensive side. There are many restaurants and a few bars worth seeing and there are many great sights about the area such as the Eumundi markets and Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world.
Melbourne was where we went next. this is he self-styled culture capital of Oz and this is where the Australian Open and the Australian Grand Prix take place.
We stayed in St.Kilda, a beachside resort on the skirts of Melbourne. There is a pier here worth seeing as well as plenty of bars and restaurants on Fitzroy street, the main thoroughfare for St.Kilda.I liked Melbourne a lot although it is more staid than Sydney.
We flew into Sydney across the harbour so our first sight of this city was the opera house sitting beside the Harbour Bridge-very iconic!!
We stayed on Oxford street which is central and has many buses passing on the way to Circular Quay and Bondi beach.
We went out to Manly beach on the ferry and got great views of the harbour on the way. shopping is good in Sydney too as is eating out. I went to Newtown which is an up-and-coming area of Sydney.

Overall I loved Australia and would love to live there.