Sweaty paradise

We waved a sad goodbye to Sydney which nearly all of us will never see again. Of course, one of the reasons it's so unspoiled is that it's not that easy for Americans to visit!
We are now in tropical Cairns which reminds me somewhat of Montserrat, my last English-speaking rainforest.
I still haven't heard anyone say "mate." It may just be that the accent prevents me from hearing it. I have heard "no worries" many times which is a delightful expression.
Jay and I were very happy to see that the hotel has a ping pong table. Jay used to play tournaments in his youth in Denmark. After we played, I was quite sweaty and the girl behind the counter said, "You're all sweaty?! This is winter, dude! I was wearing a jumper [sweater] earlier and tonight I'll be wearing a flannel nightie." I certainly wouldn't want to be here in summer... I understand it gets up to 100 degrees Farenheit and is quite humid.
The outing of the day was to a aboriginal cultural center. I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of people presenting their culture as a tourist attraction, but if it's okay with them, I guess it's okay with me. We saw a dideiridoo exhibition which was amazing. Real didgeridoo playing involved circular breathing which all by itself is a major accomplishment. Then on top of that there is the embouchure and then all the sound effects. At the highest level it's a whole rhythm section by itself.
Interestingly, the didgeridoo is not native to the rainforest tribe who was giving the exhibition. It comes from the desert areas, where termites hollow out the middle of hardwood trees. The bush name for the instrument is something like "yiggi yiggi". The name didgeridoo was coined by a Scotsman.
We also got to throw boomerangs and spears. I dimly remember throwing a boomerang a long time ago. I never had expert coaching before, though, and this time I got quite a good result.
We saw a film about the truly abominable treatment of the aborigines by the English settlers. Of course, if that hadn't happened, we probably wouldn't be enjoying this trip to Australia, since it's much more pleasant to visit an English-speaking country. It is sobering to admit to oneself how many of the pleasures of life involve the suffering of someone else.