Journal entry: Queensland, Australia June 4…Cape Tribulation is a beautiful place. “Captain Cook didn’t think so,” said our wonderful guide Jackie, “He named this area after his boat collided with the reef just offshore.” We loved Jackie as she walked us along the beach and showed us mudskippers, crab designs, and a sign warning us of saltwater crocodiles. Walking back through the rainforest we heard a thrashing noise in the bush. Jackie whispered for us to freeze as the sounds of the creature grew louder. We didn’t know what to expect. The area is known to have wild pigs and wallabies and we had seen small bandicoots the night before. But this sounded bigger. Just then an endangered cassowary poked through the brush onto the trail in front of us. We couldn’t believe our eyes as only 1500 are thought to remain in Australia. A moment later a second cassowary followed, this one larger (6 feet tall) with a bright blue head and bone like helmet. Once they noticed us they sprinted into the jungle head first. Wow!…
Journal entry: Holbox, Mexico August 23…The ride to our destination was already thrilling as we cruised by a pod of playful dolphin, spotted a huge manta ray just off the bow, and watched as pink flamingos flew along the beautiful Caribbean lagoon. As we headed out to the deep blue, the main event was almost upon us. Just then our group leader pointed off the port side and yelled, “Domino!!!” Adrenaline pumped as we stood up and saw a huge shadow in the water that was larger than our boat. We raced to throw on our wetsuits and as we jumped in the water there must have been 10 whale sharks gliding along the surface around us…
Journal entry: Kruger National Park, South Africa September 13…A pride of five lionesses sat motionless along the bank of a creek seemingly not interested in our safari vehicle. We waited and watched as these beautiful cats stared intently through the trees. 15 minutes flew by as I snapped photo after photo. They never even looked our way as they crouched as still as statues in wait. Were they about to lead an attack on an unknowing herd of zebra? Was there a rival pride of lions nearby? Suddenly with a crash through the bushes two large rhinos appeared and walked toward the pride. Their surprise entrance was a moment I’ll never forget! We were watching two of the “Big 5” staring into each other’s eyes. The rhinos made their way to the creek…
What will be in your travel journal?