Great Barrier Reef

  Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Thursday, June 12, 2008

Diving

Tuesday 10th and  I'm up early for diving the great barrier reef. I've splashed out and signed up with T5 Tusa to take me to the outer reef for 3 dives. It's a nice big boat, great cuppa and choc cake on arrival, so far so good. 5 mins later mid briefing I'm sick as a dog as the boat sways all over the place and crashes at speed across the waves. Stupidly I didn't take my travel sickness pills as been fine recently! I do have them with me so take them quickly now, better than nothing. At least I'm not the only one - others look at least as green! We are meant to be having a quick briefing on the back of the boat to ensure we know how their dive watches and equipment work. I am listening, but can't lift my head out of my knees and the brown bag, and if one more person tells me to look at the Horizon..... I keep trying; it makes it worse! I feel a bit sorry for my buddy as it's just the 2 of us heading out and I think he's wondering if I'm going to make it. However the boat slows right down as we make it to a site and I'm finally able to sit up and get my kit on ready. Greg and I hit the water leaving the others being assisted. We head off along the coral war and through a coral garden. The visibility and the coral is 100% better than the Whitsundays. It's absolutely stunning down here. I was worried about the weather as it's expected to be wet and cloudy until the end of the week, and today was meant to be the best of the next couple of days although overcast; still, I couldn't fault the visibility. On return I do some more snorkelling above one of the coral gardens as its very high up. The colours sparkle as I dive down to the little Nemo protected by a bigger fish. Then there's a school of massive lovelip fish in many colours. As I dived right down to join them they just stayed there chilling. Dive 2 then followed in the same spot, this time we stayed longer in the shallower gardens, incredible just floating with the lovelips, then watching the tiny fish dart in and out of the coral protecting them. The peace of just drifting around watching the beauty of a totally different world - until the air runs out! Time to surface, must be lunchtime! Over a great buffet lunch we get a talk on the Great Barrier Reef as we move to the second dive site. Again it's a stunning site, great vis. I see an attractive little stingray hiding under some coral. Somehow we manage to lose the boat (we aren't worried we have our giant luminous inflatable sausages!) but surface right next to it - weird! What an awesome day. Back on the boat and brace for the return journey back to Cairns. Now time to pop in the Qantas office and try and confirm my rearranged flights. I think Hitler would have been more helpful - but finally agree to miss out Perth and fly direct from Cairns to Singapore on the 12th, lucky I went diving today, and I need to rearrange my Cape tribulation trip to a day trip tomorrow, but at least its sorted!
 

Daintree reserve

Yep, it's another early morning.7.25am pick up and we're off on yet another bus to Cape Tribulation. I get on the bus to meet Ashleigh and Paul from Fraser Island which is an added bonus to the trip so we can catch up as we trundle along the countryside to our first unscheduled stop of Port Douglas. Port Douglas is a resort town, created from the gold rush era but destroyed many time so all relatively new. Onwards, and next stop Mossman gorge and a walk through the rainforest - with a sprinkling of rain thrown in for free! It's a world heritage site and a gorgeous walk as we stop to by the river for a swim. Our guide assures us there are no crocs here....

Croc cruise

Then on to the next stop, the Daintree River cruise, this time for some croc spotting. Nearly immediately after the boat leaves the jetty we spot a large crocodile on the far bank and go up for closer inspection. We're all quite excited as the cameras come out, and the guide turns the boat for the other side. The guides very blasé - 'He's just a small one!'

Croc sunbathing

We move on down the river and way before any of us the expert has spotted a baby croc just on the water edge - now that is small. You could pop it in your pocket. They look quite adorable when they are tiny! Apparently very few survive in the wild; perhaps we should take it with us! We carry on past all the mangrove roots sticking up from the water edge for air.

More crocs

We look out for tree snakes wrapped around the riverside branches, but no luck. Round the corner of an island and we meet George - now George is gigantic! Its hard to judge exactly how long he is as hes curled around, but he's certainly no small beast as we move the back of the boat around to get a close up look! Apparently if he decided to attack us he could reach right up to the roof of our boat....he attacks full grown cattle. Now that's a good reason for us not to feed it - he can't associate our visits with food... A little further down stream and we meet Isabel, his girlfriend. She is a little smaller and also relaxing on the side of the bank. After this we turn around to head back and spot another baby croc on the far bank - not a bad sighting for a one hour cruise.

Back on the road, and on the Daintree ferry to cross the couple of metres width of the Daintree River into the Daintree national park. No bridge has been built and no electricity cables reach the Daintree national park in order to preserve the region as word heritage sites, where the historic rainforest reaches the great barrier reef. The rainforest is dense and beautiful as we drive through the tree tunnel.

Cassawaries

We stop at the cassowary sign - now famous for its graffiti. There are 2 of the yellow diamond signs. One is a speed hump and the other a cassowary. However the speed bump has very simply been adapted to look like a lying down cassowary and 'before' added to the standing cassowary and 'after' to the lying down one - very clever! Now off to Alexandra lookout for views of the Daintree river and coral sea from high up in the forest before finally making it to cape tribulation, Here I follow the boardwalk through the mangroves and swamp land out onto a very long beach which is nearly deserted. It is idyllic.

Cape trib beach

The white sands stretching empty in front of me as I stroll down the beach, the forest to my right and the Coral Sea on my left. I settle down on a patch to relax - and trying hard not to picture a cassowary appearing from the depth of the forest to attack after all the stories we've been told on the bus about them kicking  and clawing, ripping open the stomach on attack! All's well, no further cassowary spotting.

Cape tribulation

A little paddle in the warm water and having walked the length of the beach its time to walk back to get the bus back to Cairns. Exhausted, so time for a sleep on the long uneventful journey back - that is until the outskirts of Cairns when I am awoken to a loud thud. I assume it's a kangaroo we've hit after the stories on what to do on colliding with a kangaroo - obviously a common problem here. Make sure it's properly dead, move it from the road and check the pocket for any babies - which you can then have as a pet! Unfortunately the thud was not a kangaroo but a dog.
 
Thursday and I can't believe I am leaving Oz already. 8.50am and no sign of my free airport shuttle, yep they forgot me, but ok as give me a 9.30 one, and I have plenty of time! 2 others on the bus are having a minor fit as it's getting on for 10 and their flight is 10.30. Well they did choose the 9.30 shuttle! I'm on a Jetstar flight to Singapore via Darwin. I'm not too please that Qantas have downgraded me again to their economy subsidiary, Jetstar (budget airline) flight. At least I get the emergency exit seat as a small perk! Also a blanket but Alicia insists that they're not to keep!!! I have my food already prepared as Jetstar didn't feed us on the last flight and it's a long day to Singapore. Not a problem, this time all the Qantas passengers are well looked after! A couple of hours later and we are in Darwin. It looks beautiful as we fly above it. Endless beaches and the sun is shining as we leave the plain to thirty something degrees, this is more like it, I should have come here! Back on board and it's only another 4hrs to Singapore.