CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA

I was behind the wheel all exhausting day as we made our way north to Cairns--probably our longest driving day in Australia. Queensland, like Florida, is billed as "the Sunshine State," but it's been raining more here than in New South Wales or Victoria. A local told Chris that it's been the wettest April on record here. Grrr....

As we drove north, we passed through the town of Innisfail, which was devastated by Cyclone Larry just four weeks ago (a Category 5 storm). It was sobering to see the miles of stripped rainforest, downed trees, smashed signs, and missing roofs--a lot like South Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The town's banana crop was apparently ruined for this year, although much of the sugar cane fields looked like they weathered the storm okay. Fortunately, it seemed to be a pretty compact cyclone, as the damage didn't appear to extend to Townsville to the south, or Cairns to the north.