AUSTRALIA DAY TEN 3/12/19 “Escape From the Heat”

Today we leave the heat and flies behind when we go to Cairns (pronounced “Cans”) later today. But first a word in defense of the flies. We were told by one of our guides (Ivor) that the flies act as an exfoliate by removing dead skin. Suddenly these little buggers seemed less onerous. I did notice, although Ivor is not my type, he did seem to have pristine skin. Maybe I misjudged the flies? Possibly I should have embraced the guys (and gals, I assume there are some of each) and let them have at me. If I let them clean up my skin I could look a few years younger when I get home. Then Patrice asked a very good question, “When there is a proliferation of an organism in an environment there is typically a purpose for this occurrence. What would be the explanation for the large number of flies?” Ivor then told us that since there are so many wild camels in Australia the flies are needed to process the camel dung to let it nourish the soil. Suddenly my idea for a free facial seemed a lot less appealing.

This morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel. It was a buffet and we were given the choice of eggs (poached, fried, boiled, sunny side up or Eggs Benedict). Another option was omelette with the usual variety of ingredients. French toast or pancakes were also a possibility. I opted for the Benedict (I had a great omelette yesterday). In addition they had all sorts of meats, dumplings (yes dumplings), fresh fruit and pastries.

Our flight leaves at 2:35 pm; we arrive 2 and a half hours later at 5:35 pm. No my math skills are not failing me. When we arrive in Cairns from Ayers Rock we lose 30 minutes. Yes, I am not kidding. When we left Melbourne and arrived in Alice Springs we gained 90 minutes. Uluru/Ayers Rock and Alice Springs are in the same time zone so we are giving back 30 minutes today. We will give the other 60 minutes back when we go to Sydney. I was told there are 8 time zones in Australia. I just looked it up and only found 7. Possibly the discrepancy arises because not all areas use Daylight Saving Time. If you think the 30 minute offset is odd, they also have one that has a 15 minute offset. The town of Eucla (No, that is not UCLA’s electronic online school. That would be all caps with a hyphen, E-UCLA, if it existed at all) is currently 45 minutes behind us. Sorry I don’t have an explanation why Eucla has this odd time zone but we have been here long enough so I can answer like an Australian, “No Worries”.

We still have a few hours until we leave for Cairns and Patrice is interested in going to see some camels. Apparently we need to take a shuttle and the service doesn’t start until 10:30. The current temperature is only 85 degrees but we are moving rapidly toward today’s high of 103. In addition to the heat I am sure that if there are camels, there will be flies. What is wrong with this woman? I guess I will need to just grin and bear it. How does the expression go……. “Happy wife …… means camels, heat and flies”

Patrice here now. I am sure you already know that Robert writes his blog and then gives it to me to proofread. Sometimes I find it fitting to make an addition of my own, without his knowledge or approval. This is one of those times. I feel it is necessary to come to the defense of the flies. Shortly after arrival Robert took a couple of flies in the month. Since then he has rarely opened his mouth. It has been heaven.

By the way, the sweets and dumplings were on Robert’s plate and he ate all of them.