Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. It may take one to two hours to get there by boat and will be a rough sea ride they tell us and they even recommend sea sick pills. Hands down they say it is worth it . Port Douglas is there too and a spectacular drive. Our tour guides on board say it is a quaint holiday town and one to spend a vacation at. The ship offers a secluded spot called Green Island for just swimming and beaching. There is a train and cable car excursion with amazing views along with a rain forest trip offered too. But we booked a private tour with a group from the roll call of the ship online with Cruise Critic. These are folks that are on our cruise and many of them did this circle cruise in 2012 when it did a similar itinerary. They are seasoned cruisers with the knowledge of the ports and vendors that we don’t have. We are taking a catamaran with sails to the Great Barrier Reef with about 18 other folks. We are paying probably 1/3 of the cost that they are charging on the ship’s tours.
Our reef trip today is to Upolo. We will take a tour first of the area and then on to two places to snorkel. We have a female captain and three assistants. They give us a briefing and then take off sailing with coffee and tea available. As we are underway we get the proper instructions for getting our gear on and rules of the reef. Our guide knows about 100 species of fish. He says the jelly fish that are dangerous are not where we snorkel and we can get a wet suit but don’t have to. The sky is partly cloudy and I hope it stays that way. Up goes the sail on our catamaran. The weather is really perfect. Dan and I have our own masks which are the new ones that completely cover your face. Mine is prescription too so for a change I can really see. The water is very warm but there are some waves and current and you really have to work to get out to the reef.
The location where they drop us has no other snorkelers which is great. We probably snorkel about 45 min and then I head back to the boat. A few folks have trouble right off and need assistance. Several have coughs and colds and probably should not have come. They have trouble breathing and need help getting back on the boat. Once we all are on board they take us to another location in the reef to snorkel. Both Dan and I felt the reef looked bleached and the water was murky which is disappointing. They say the waters are warmer than ever and that the reef will come back but we wonder if this is more a sales pitch than reality. We don’t see as many brightly colored fish as we saw at the Pink Beach or as brilliantly colored coral.
After the last stop they serve a nice lunch of fried chicken, sandwich fixings, salads, fresh fruit and then later a cheese and cracker plate with wine. They take a group photo for Facebook which they say they will post. We have a great ride back to the port and once off the boat we are able to pick up Internet right there along the wharf. We really like the atmosphere of Brisbane and the night life is out in full force. The Harbor is beautifully lit up and the air is warm and pleasant. The ship pulls out late that night from port. While we sat there we watched hundreds of Flying Fox fruit bats come from town and fly out onto the port area. It must have continued in a steady stream for over 20 minutes!! We reluctantly board the ship and head to our cabin to shower up and then get a bite to eat on the Lido deck. This is our favorite place to eat. The staff always knows us and the atmosphere is easy, inviting, and quiet unlike that of the main formal dining room. All the food is served to you except for a few items that are on plates to avoid contamination and the transfer of germs. We appreciate that! Even having a salad is done for you behind a screened area; you just tell the server what you want in your bowl; they will even toss it for you with your favorite dressing! The all aboard for the ship is 9:30 pm which gave folks a nice long day in Cairns. You can pronounce it “Cairns, or Cans or Carins!” They accept all those ways which makes it confusing to me :). The Ship did provide a shuttle bus to the downtown area and that night on the Lido deck they had an Aussie Outback Cook In with the servers all dressed kind of like cowboys in the outback! They even showed the movie “Australia” in the theater onboard and the entertainment that night was the movie “Open Water 3: Cage Diver” which was about the great white sharks!
Starting out on the catamaran
They serve drinks and snacks in the middle
Cloudy and overcast as we leave the port.
Looks like it could rain
The sails go up!!
Dans drying one of our towels after snorkeling and the weather clear up!
The water certainly was blue
Hardly any clouds now
Heading back to port after two fun attempts
The ship is still there !! And now the cloud cover returns
The hotels and apartments but right up to the harbor area.
The flowers are lovely along the boardwalk and there are many outside eating place. It’s very clean and green.
Dan carried all our gear as usual!!
We really enjoyed this port and would come back. Just the right sized town. Very quaint and inviting.
No comments:
Post a Comment