Mona Momtazian

Cairns....sigh. ok Im ready to write now lol..

Cairns is somewhere I have wanted to visit for oh so long, and the opportunity finally presented itself.

 

Met up with my friend Moones and we spent almost a week away at that amazing tropical paradise.  First day was spent strolling around Cairns city and going crazy buying pamelos, just may have gotten Moones addicted too(a grapefruit like fruit except without the bitterness or sourness)

 

Saturday night we ate at this nice restaurant, very americanish, nice food nice atmosphere.

 

Sunday was the big day out, we drove to just about every waterfall under the sun! fist was Barron Falls in Kuranda, then off to Mareeba for Coffee Works (got a nice little tour of how coffee is made and so on), then off to Atherton-didnt do much here, then to Millaa Millaa falls, a must see for all!

 

Afterwards went to Z..something falls (will write the name when I remember it) then to Elinjaa falls.

Last but not least, M falls (again these names i forget).  Our drive home was quite a fogged up one,-the road was extremely hard to see and we hadnt eaten almost all day, as everywhere closed at a ridiculously early time, and those that were open werent to our liking, so...imagine our delight when we came accross sizzlers! mmmmmmmmm twas a heavenly discovery.

 

So..Monday came and we went drove up north to Port Douglas, Daintree and Cape Tribulation.  Port Douglas-nice small town, Dainree-average-mainly good for croc tours and river cruises, Cape Tribulation-zoos and pretty trees and more waterfalls.

 

The drive up north was great though, most of it was on the coast, so to our left was a huge forrest and to our right was the beach, absolutely beautiful!

 

The green in Cairns and further north of Cairns is almost a flurescent green, not dark green so it was amazing to see.

 

The waterfalls we had visited were amongst farmland, so one minute we were driving through cow paddocks, the next we were at a waterfall.

 

Come Tuesday and we were off to our cruise on the Great Barrier Reef! at last! the time had come to test our scuba diving skills-which weren't too bad considering we had none to begin with!

 

We were given a 20minute briefing and off we went, to explore the underwater treasures of the Great Barrier Reef. A must for all! I have had major ear trouble in the past, but I was still able to handle the pressure underwater, so if you have any doubts, dont een worry, you'll know pretty soon if you cant go ahead, and at that point the instructor will let you go back up to the surface.

 

Once we got a taste for underwater life, we headed back up and did some snorkelling, before we knew it it was time to head back home :(

 

And that was my trip to Cairns....would go back anyday!

 

Went north of Sydney to Byron Shire for Naw Ruz...Bahai and Persian New Year.

 

My uncle and his family live in Oceanshores, which is part of the shire of Bryon.

This area of Australia is absolutely beautiful, I had no idea how tropical it was.  It is still in the state of New South Wales, but just 30mins away from Queensland (another state).

 

Byron is known for being full of druggies and hippies.  However I soon found that this was not always the case.

 

All I can say is that some towns (Nimbin) absolutely live up to that stereotype.  We saw people being offered 'herbs' on the side of the road.  Its amazing how freely they did this, without a care in the world..it being illegal and all!  The other areas in Byron shire are just very laid back and most people are open minded, friendly and completely into organic food (and 'herbs' of course!)

 

Its wonderful to see people relaxed, and if you thought Aussies were laid back, then these people are super mellow (not just because of the herbal remedies either).

 

Most the people on the streets are tourists, Byron Bay is a major tourist destination. The beaches there are beautiful, and, well it can also be a major party zone even though its far from the city.

 

The beaches are probably the most beautiful I have ever seen, good for a surf or a swim.  There are sugar cane fields everywhere..YUM! There are banana plantations, macadamia trees, tea trees (used for tea tree oil, an ointment that can be used for just about anything)

 

We went for a swim in the Tea tree lake aka Coca Cola lake by the locals.  The tea tree roots are on the side of the lake and give it a browny red colour (I've posted the pics).

 

Byron shire is a great spot to live if you want to get out of the hustle n bustle of the city, want to enjoy some of the best scenery Australia has to offer, and want to be surrounded by easy going and friendly people.

 

The best part was that I was able to enjoy all this whilst spending time with my family and adooorable cousins, who showed me around their neck o the woods.

Yes, she has ventured back into the world of gardening after the traumatising incident of killing her cactus.

It seems she has finally gotten herself a green thumb...

 

I planted some herbs:basil, parsely, mint, and broad beans about 1.5months ago, and I have acually managed to keep them alive this whole time!

 

Soon i hope to be able to use them in my cooking, yummo

Elena is staying with me and we had decided to go to the cinemas the other night.  So we ventured out to Fox studios that has a Cinema Paris.

Unfortunately, I have found that the maps here don't exactly coincide with the roads

This means what would have taken us an hour to get to, took us almost three. 

 

I guess I've been spoiled by Perth roads that are all just so organised and easy to find.  Hopefully after some time here I will learn my way around particularly the city, and be able to actually get where I want to be when I want to be there!

 

Tonight we will head back to the city for the Sydney Festival, and hopefully we will actually get there :)

 

Well, X-mas 2006 is officially over, and for those who are a few hours behind, Merry X-mas! or Happy holidays should I say!

I went for a really nice walk today along the Sydney beach, Im not sure of the name, i just drove there and went for a walk.  It was great I was able to see aussies celebrating X-mas aussie style...BBQing on their balcony's!

 

Last night there was a dinner for Youth & volunteers from the Temple, and some other Youth from around Sydney.

In a few days Elena will be visiting me and I will be off sightseeing around Sydney so cant wait for that.

 

Managed to get myself and two friends from Perth to this buffet Persian restaurant, mmmmm good stuff! That is something that Perth lacks, Persian restaurants, although in Perth I had my mum cooking yummy persian food, so it wasnt as much of a neccessity as it is now.;)