We took the opportunity while in Cairns to visit two different faces of the Wet Tropic of Queensland which are UNESCO World Heritage listed.For the first day Dean (Heathers brother), took us up into the Atherton Tablelands above Cairns where we visited numerous waterfall sites. The falls were all distinctly different and while small compared to the world standard, still made for a very pleasant day.The second occasion saw us take the chair lift from Cairns up the...

Next stop on our odyysy is Cairns where Heathers brother Dean lives. Fortunately for us one of Deans children Jane, is working in tourism and has an interest in a Great Barrier Reef tourist boat, so we include a trip out to the reef in our itinerary.The tour boat aptly named "Passions of Paradise" is a very suitable boat for this type of tour, with a net out the front for exciting sunbaking, able to raise sails and fully equipped for diving. Heather donned tanks ...

We were checking out our frequent flyer points with ANSETT and were very pleased to learn we had accumulated enough points for a "around Australia ticket". The decision was made to use the points to visit some of Heathers far flung siblings. Sister Rosey who lives in inland Queensland agreed to meet us in Hervey Bay which is near to Fraser Island, hence the following.    Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island, yet it manages to support large stands o...

The long flight from Paris finally touched down in Singapore and we found our way tothe Allson Hotel, 101 Victoria Street, as part of a three night stopover deal. Included in the deal were discount vouchers for most of Singapore's attractions. We took advantage of this to visit the night safari at the zoo (discounted from $40 to $24) and also a bum boat ride down the Singapore River, once the source of flourishing trade that fueled the rapid growth of the onc...

Its all happened so quick and its the last day of the European leg of our holiday, just a couple of days in Singapore left, then home.We took the train from Nice to Monaco and return at a cost of 80 French Francs (12.20 Euro). Monaco is a tiny (about 2 sq km) independent principality nation under the rule of the Grimaldi family. It has a variety of claims to fame from its running of a Formula One Grand Prix meet to its status as a tax haven. It is possibly that i...