Off to Oz!

Well, it's 6pm Australian time (more like 8 to me, I'm SOOOOOOOOO screwed up timewise) and it's been a real day!
We were up and out of the house by 5:15 am this morning. The flight to Auckland was uneventful and our flight to Cairns was delayed by an hour, so we got to sit around enjoying ourselves till it was boarding time. A full flight to Cairns and we flew for 5and a half hours. I started to see reef type atolls about an hour out of Oz. We saw the reef as we were descending into Cairns and the colour of the water is incredible.
Our shuttle was a small bus with a little trailer for the luggage. He dropped us off at a very nice hotel with pool, internet, beer I can take to my room and an easy walk to a large shopping center in the center of the town. It's a small place but is it full of birds! Parakeets, some kind of crane or ibis on the verges of lawns, miniature doves, mynahs and parrots. I'm sure I will see lots of other things too. It is nice and warm, so off with the boots and on with the sandals and the sunscreen. We had some curry in the mall foodcourt as we were hungry and bought some nasharay (I invented the spelling as I have no idea how it should be spelt) to have in the room. I bought a beer (my first since I left Canada, as it is too cold in Welly to even think of having one). As we were walking back to the hotel, we could hear this amazing cacophony of bird sound and saw what looked like (I thought) parrots, but I realized they were bats! HUGE BATS! They filled two trees and must have been waking up to go out and find fruit. I'm guessing thats what they are anyway.
I've gotten pictures of them and a great deal of other plants too. Stuff Nina hasen't seen yet either. Amazing!
This is a beach town, full of hotels and churches. There is a church for the Polynesians two doors down and Nina and I have been treated with the most amazing singing you have ever heard. The whole congregation in harmonies that only they can do.
Our day tomorrow starts at 7:25 with a train trip up into the rain forest, game reserves and a few other things that will probably exhaust us entirely. Same the next, but it will all be fun as we get to go out on the Great Barrier Reef. I'm sure this will be a venue for a lot of picture..