Lizards and Sharks and Crocs ... oh my!

                                                       Scuba on the Great Barrier Reef.
                   Harley's Croc Farm ... Feeding chicken heads to crocs.
                                             Dinner night one at Thala Beach Lodge.
                                                           Our room in a treehouse.
Thala Beach Lodge, in the gorgeous Daintree Rainforest, is paradise. Since we arrived a few days ago ... there must have been 4 weddings here. Why didn't we get married here? The reception area itself is totally open and void of walls (or more accurately windows). It opens in the rear to 3 rock pools at tiered levels attached with waterfalls. You constantly hear the coo-coo of exotic birds and the rattle of the leaves. Little lizards park themselves beside the lights to keep dry. Rain comes in spurts ... normally around 20 rough minutes at a time before subsiding completely. If I ever opt to run away from home, come looking for me here first. Then thank me for leading you to what can most closely be compared to heaven.

We arrived here on Friday evening. While the flight wasn't a long one, it felt agonizing. I looked forward to this portion of our vacation more than any other. Therefore, I was eager to arrive. To my dismay, there was an accident on the road leading from Cairns to Port Douglas and it took nearly 2 hours to get here. We opted for dinner at the beautiful hotel restaurant ... with views of the entire resort and the beach. I knew instantaeously that I loved it! The service only highlighted this thought. As soon as we got in, we were sweept upstairs with the promise of complimentary cocktails. Our bags disappeared (to our rooms of course) as we lounged. After making reservations, we were lead to our own private hut. Our own private hut which rested well above the treetops. We're gone from campers to class in a mere blink of your eye. Upon finding out that we were on our honeymoon, our porter hand delivered a complimentary bottle of champagne. Yes ... I love Thala Beach Lodge.

While here, there still hasn't been any rest for the weary. Our first full day here, Saturday, was spent scuba diving. B and I were up bright and early at 6:30 am ... gear in hand and rearing to go. We scuba dove 3 different sites along the reef. The first was Pommey Boney were I was so nervous that I sucked through my air at an alarmingly quick rate. It should have lasted me 45 minutes and I was up and out of the water in 30 (you must return to surface at 50 bar - you start with 200). While under we saw coral crabs ... and even held one. We also show both Dori and Nemo direct from their feature film. We dove 25 metres (i.e. 75 feet) under water. Our surface interval was 20 minutes. Our next dive was Turtle Bay. While the name sounded promising - we saw not one turtle ... BOO! However, we did make a friend. This giant Napoleon fish (who was a beautiful green, blue and gold) was so inquisitive he let us hold and pet him. Then when we returned to the boat - he followed us! I nicknamed him the Sammy of the Sea (because all he wanted was a little love). We dove 20 metres (i.e. 60 feet) under water. We were starved when we came in, we helped ourselves to a seafood lunch ... which to me seemed remarkably ironic. Our last dive - 40 minutes later - was Nursery. This was BY FAR my favorite because we saw a white tip shark. He was napping at the bottom of what they call a fish bowl (i.e. a round block of coral that sits suspended and alone in the ocean). When he woke, he just calmly floated away. Beautifully. Gracefully. In another life, I want to come back as the little man at the bottom of aquariums. It's so peaceful and zin down there.

We spent our time yesterday at Harley's Creek Crocodile Farm feeding tiny chicken head to crocs and petting deadly snakes. Luckily, we both came back in one piece. However, I did learn a few things. One of the most common misconceptions about crocs is that they're cold blooded. Crocs are eco-thermic. This means that they immulate the temperature that surrounds them. Another interesting tidbit is that you can't tell the gender of a croc until they're full grown. Obviously males are much larger than females. In addition to watching them feed - we saw the largest male (the Alpha Male - you know who the alpha is on a croc farm because he'll swim completely on the surface, showing others his full length and size) Sparticus breeding. They also breed in water and it's ... quick!

We're so sad to be leaving tomorrow but content to talk to all of you again! There are positives to civilization after all. Farewell for now. I'm off to enjoy a private yoga session while B plays 9 holes of golf. Cheers to a happy holiday!