I was too tired to write last night so I will catch up this morning. I only slept for about two hours Wednesday night. I was sluggish and tired all morning long.
We left the hotel around 8:00 and headed to the wharf where we boarded a catamaran for a 45 minute journey across the Coral Sea to the Great Barrier Marine Park. There we had two hours to walk the rainforest path, swim in the pool, walk along side the beach or go snorkeling.
I sat by the pool for about an hour. I found a place in the shade and away from most of the people. The island was really crowded with several huge groups of school children from Asia. I had trouble peopling in the morning.
i did manage to walk down to the beach and stick my toes in the sea for a bit. It was a hot day in the 90’s and the skies were bright blue. I loved the different colors of the ocean – ranged from a brilliant blue turquoise to a deep dark blue.
We then boarded a different catamaran and took a 55 minute journey to the Outer Great Barrier Reef. There was a limit of 300 people on this island so had lots more room to explore. They hooked the catamaran up to a huge multi-level pontoon boat. No land involved really.
We ate lunch and then got on our gear to go snorkeling. I choose to put on the full body stinger suit. I put it on more for sun burn protection than sting ray protection. Nicole helped me get brave enough to get into the water. I do not like to put my head under water. I did manage to a few times and the views of the corral were amazing. I had put a life jacket on and floated around more than anything.
I finally went back to the boat and ask the lifeguard if I could just float without the flippers or the mask. The wind was rather high so he told me the area to stay in so I wouldn’t get blown out to sea. I floated around for a bit and enjoyed the beautiful water. It was very relaxing and fun.
Taking off the wet Lycra suit was a bit of a challenge though! They had outside showers and a very small inside changing room.
They had an under ground observation deck and we saw several sharks while in there. We also rode on a partially submurged submarine that gave us great views of the coral and fish. Nicole got some really good picture of that.
We took a two-hour ride to get back to Cairns. We choose to walk back to the hotel instead of taking the bus. After we dropped out stuff off in our room we went back out and found dinner. Ate at an Irish pub and had the best food we have found in Cairns. I had baked salmon that was cooked perfectly and served with veggies.
It was a nice warm evening and we enjoyed our walk back to our hotel. I crashed early. Woke up two hours later and thought I was ready to go for the day. Got up and took a bath and was able to go back to sleep for a bit. The sun came up at 5:30 this morning and woke me up.
Today we are going to ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway that goes through a rain forest. We will see a native dance performance and have a BBQ lunch. This afternoon we are going to the Koala Wildlife Park. The evening will be free.
Only three more nights and we head for home. Saturday we travel to Melbourne for two nights and one full day. Monday we head for home.
Floating in the water at the Great Barrier Reef has been one of the better days of the trip. The weather was perfect and the views spectacular.
Grateful for the beauty of Mother Nature, grateful for the chance to go down under and experience Australia and New Zealand, and grateful for my Marine and his wife back home that allowed me the chance to get away!