Australia - Cairns

There was one and only one reason we went up north; The Great Barrier Reef. This is an absolute must-see when visiting Australia and we weren’t about to miss it. I had initially thought about taking this as a scuba lesson, but RJ preferred to snorkel and I didn’t really care either way. There was definitely no let down with this choice.

Each boat in Cairns holds a few dozen people split into divers and snorkelers. We travelled about an hour and a half out towards the edge of the reef where we parked at our first of three stops. Once we were in the water, it was impossible to tell who anyone was. Everyone was wearing stinger suits because in Australia everything is out to kill you and the same goes for in the water. There are jellyfish about the size of a fingernail whose sting is said to be excruciatingly painful and requires instant hospitalization. And it can be fatal.

The reef itself isn’t quite as colorful as one might expect (parts had a somewhat greyish tint) but the parts that are, dazzle in the water filtered sunlight. Then there’s the fish. They’re absolutely everywhere. They range from tiny to massive and come in all sorts of colors; everything from radiant yellows to dull greys.

During our three stops, the highlights for me were; the massive fish about the half the size of a full-grown human male and the clown fish. Yeah, I found Nemo. The others I was on the lookout for were turtles or reef sharks, but was unable to see any of them. RJ on the other hand did. At the third stop he saw both within a few minutes of each other. It’s too bad I didn’t give him the camera for that stop.

The next day, and RJ’s last in Australia, we went into the Daintree rainforest. The trip lasted all day and was split into two very distinct sections. The morning was filled with nature hikes and trees and whatnot. The afternoon took us to several lakes and waterfalls. The latter was much more entertaining. We swam in a crater lake and underneath two waterfalls. The first waterfall was a 30 foot drop off a cliff and was so powerful that you could really only swim around and behind it. The second was a river that poured over a series of boulders. You could swim up and lie flat against the rocks, letting the water stream over you and give you a nice massage.

The next morning, RJ was scheduled to fly out really early. I woke up to him having missed his taxi and also his flight. Fortunately it was only a connector to Sydney and he was still able to make the international flight home. My day didn’t truly start until the afternoon. I took a bus north of town to their tropical zoo. It’s a small, but very well run, wildlife park and they encourage being hands on with the animals. You can walk through wild bird sanctuaries, get extremely close to crocs, feed kangaroos, and even hold a koala. Which is the whole reason I came to the zoo. It was like holding a stuffed animal. They’re so cuddly.

From here I was off to Brisbane and the surrounding coastline. I had four more days in Australia and I wanted to do little more than lie on the beach. Especially since it was my birthday.

However, I’m saving all birthday stories to myself. Some things are just better left unsaid.