And now, the end is here, and so I face the final curtain...

One more WW2 story I heard in Cairns before I left: not many years ago, some men decided to make a path up to to top of the largest peak in Queensland, which is in the Daintree rainforest (mountains are not very big in Australia). Anyway, they made it to the top and spent the night in a cave. The next morning, they explored the cave and found old radio equipment in the back. It was reviewed by government officials, and determined that there bad been a Japanese lookout living in the cave during WW2, right in their backyard.

I didn't go to downtown Sydney because it was raining and I was done walking.

So I will go straight to my final impressions of Australia:
It reminds me a lot of the states with kangaroos everywhere and fewer high-rises (which is not to say I didn't enjoy my tours). They even have their version of rednecks.
I am impressed with how the Australian government and most of the people treat the Maori people and traditions. Most of the people have a high respect for the Moari history and traditions.
My favorite place I visited was Undara - it was cute, had wildlife everywhere, and provided phenomenal customer service (both in knowledge and courtesies). Besides, the snakes catching the bats was cool to see.
The flying fox bats were a trip. You could see them hanging in trees everywhere, in every city - on the highway off-ramps, next to the library, by pubs...it didn't matter. Then, when they took off for the night, the sky would be filled with bats and their Batman-type wings.
Ants were everywhere, from tiny ones (the size of a pinhead), to huge red ones over an inch thick. Everytime we left vehicle, we would comeback to find little ants crawling around. I wouldn't be surprised if some made it home with me (I will be washing everything).

I met an Aussie in New Zealand, and he told me NZ has the best scenery and Australia has the best animals. I have to agree about he scenery. As for the animals, I liked the Koalas (although you almost never see them in the wild), marsupials, and bats, but other than that I mostly saw reptiles, whereas NZ has penguins, seals, and albatross. I call the animals draw.

See you back in Cleveland. Mom and dad, don't forget to pick me up (payback for all those time you told me to drive safely).