Zack's Trials in Traralgon

Traralgon Post Office

Zack works. A lot. Especially in the past month, he's pretty much worked nonstop...including very late nights and weekends. Some of you probably wonder what he does. Well, he works for a company called Accenture, but his current project is with ASIC (Australian Securities & Investments Commission). He is the Test Manager, and a large part of his project went "live" last night. You can watch a video about it or read a news article. It's a pretty big deal, because for every business in Australia, there is now one website for registering names (different states used to have their own systems).

Sunset at Caulfield Station-waiting for the train to go join Zack in Traralgon.

Anyway, the ASIC office is located in Traralgon, which is a random little city in Eastern Victoria. It's a two hour train ride to get there, and lately Zack's been spending most of the week there. Sometimes, like over Cinco de Mayo weekend, and this past Thursday night, I hop on the train and go join him for a night or two. Though he spends a majority of his time working, we at least get to have dinner together, and at some point in the evening he comes home and goes to bed!


To be honest, there is not much to do in Traralgon. When I'm there, I go for a run, check out the shops, hang out in a cafe, etc. The only "sight" to see is the Post Office (pictured above). It was built in 1886, and it's a historical landmark. Otherwise, there's a mall, one main street with some shops and restaurants, a few hotels, and the train station. Not very exciting. But hey, if it means I actually get to see my husband, I'll make the trip to Traralgon every now and then!

Wetland area in Traralgon where I went for a run the other week.

Kuranda by Train and Cableway

Barron Falls near Kuranda

Sorry for the lack of posting lately; Morgan and I have been in the Outback with no cell phone service and definitely no internet! Lots of catching up to do (with many stories). Anyway, this post actually should have come before the one about our flight over the reef. Oh well. My mom was nice enough to write some blog posts for me, so this one's in her words again...

Kuranda Scenic Railway

Wednesday, November 9 began early with a taxi ride to the Cairns Station to begin our Kuranda Scenic Railway train ride. We sat in comfortable restored passenger railcars, which rambled and wound their way through the city and forest to the tourist town of Kuranda.  Once there, we trekked a two-mile trail along the river and through the rainforest.  We had an adventurous lunch – crocodile, emu, and kangaroo burgers.  They actually were delicious!

Cindy shows off her kangaroo burger.

Aubree, Zack, Cindy, Justin, and Ray canvassed the souvenir shops. Justin, the expert on all things sweet, discovered and bought some taffy that even those of us who usually find taffy too sweet, found to be quite tasty.  Morgan and I went to the Kuranda Koala Gardens where Morgan officially and completely fulfilled her lifelong dream to hold a koala – it was an exciting moment to behold!

My mom crashes in on Morgan's koala picture.

Next we boarded the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which looked like a ski gondola and traveled over and across the rainforest canopy.  Our trip included two stops that allowed us to walk down to and explore the rainforest floor. 

Just a little walk through the rainforest.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent casually walking the beach, reading, taking naps, cooking the “never ending pasta” meal and playing Uno at the mansion.  This relaxing family time is priceless!  -Sue

The Coral Sea looked beautiful from the Skyrail Cableway!