am I in England? mmm...no.

Back to Melbourne now, weather is miserable -- 13C this morning, raining all day. Where am I? It is supposed to be 30-something C...I'm supposed to be lounging beside my cousins' pool! What's happening? This is what I would expect in the UK!

Probably global warming - but the rain is certainly needed here with severe drought now for several years, so I shouldn't complain. As I flew from Cairns to Melbourne I saw several lakes that were almost completely dry. But even my cousins think it should rain at night and be nice and sunny during the day.

Our outdoor activities were cancelled today because of the rain, so we spent the afternoon wine tasting in some of the many vineyards nearby. The prices here are so reasonable compared to the UK - I wish I could bring a couple of cases back with me! Alas...it is not to be.

My time in hot, steamy Queensland earlier in the week with my friend Dennis was terrific. You have already seen a picture of me preparing to snorkel -one of my favourite activities. Someone, on seeming me emerge from the ocean in years past, commented that I looked as if I had been talking to angels. That is pretty much how I feel when snorkeling - silence except for the sound of one's own breathing, and this amazing world of fish, coral, sun and water, in fantastic colour and variation that speaks to me of something that surely is not just a product of mere chance. I was in the water for hours, and could have stayed longer. I had hoped to see a shark, but they remained elusive.

I did get to go with a small group to the outer edge of the reef where few snorkellers go. The highlight of that excursion was sighting an enormous 3-foot triggerfish. I was off on my own at the time, and fortunately this one was not aggressive. I told the leader of our group about it, and she said, "I think we had best leave it alone...there has been a fatality from them." Triggerfish are building nests at this time of year, and can be quite defensive.

On our second day we headed for the rainforest of Daintree. This is an area of old growth - untouched for millions of years. A dozen species of trees are found only in Australia and are ancient primitive plants. The biodiversity is incredible - thousands of different types of trees, tens of thousands of different plants. Interesting animals also abound - we spotted a cassowary (did you know that the males raise the chicks alone, and are smaller than the females, though very vicious in defending the young?), estuary crocodile, wallabies, and a tree full of flying foxes (VERY large fruit bats).

I have been amazed at the miles and miles of sandy, empty beaches here in Australia. The water is a lovely temperature, but unfortunately there are stinging jellyfish from November until March. And when I stay stinging, I mean deadly! There is the box jellyfish (also known as Man o' War) which is large with long tentacles. Normally it will just make you very sick unless you are stung repeatedly and are far from shore and unable to make it back to safety. More deadly are a very small variety. Nets are set up in populated areas to make swimming safe, but tentacles can break off and get through the nets and are active for 24 hours. That's why I was wearing a lycra suit when I went snorkeling! No wonder the beaches are empty. And then of course there is the massive hole in the ozone layer down here which means that you can get sunburn very very quickly. Even I am using sunscreen - but still I'm beginning to look a little like Rudolph!

Another day here outside Melbourne, and then I head for New Zealand. I'll be with friends there till Boxing Day, and am looking forward to a more leisurely holiday time, when perhaps I'll be able to catch up on some sleep. But...who knows what adventures await me there!