Great Barrier Reef, Cairns
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First off, it’s Mar 7 here which means it’s my Mother’s birthday. So Happy Birthday, Mom. But, since it’s not Mar 7th in the States, I need to wish her happy birthday again tomorrow I guess.
We spent a very hot night in the camper and decided before we did much of anything that we’d stay in a hotel tonight and probably tomorrow. Les was having Michigan summer flashbacks.
We got back into Cairns in good order, with enough time for a quick bowl of cereal before boarding the boat. The boat is brand new, only a few months old and apparently cost 3 million to build (Australian dollars I assume). It’s really a beautiful boat. It’s a catamaran with twin motors and a sail (which they put up, but didn’t do much good, at least on the way out). It’s called the Passions of Paradise, which is a pretty dorky name and hard to say with a straight face when people ask which tour you’re on.
The boat was only half full, which was great. Two Japanese tourists. A couple from Spain, a few speaking German or Dutch, one Swiss that we know of, and assorted others. A clear calm day. Not a cloud in the sky. Hardly a ripple on the ocean. We applied sun screen liberally and managed to survive the day without any sunburn. I’m amazed.
Just the boat ride was really nice. We headed out east from the coast and got a good view of Cairns harbor and the headlands on either side. The reef is about 20 or 25 miles out and it took us about 2 hours to get to the first spot. We got our little safety talk and found out what to do “in case we hit a crunchy” (abandon ship). Dirk, who was giving the talk, suggested we listen carefully for the abandon ship signal, since the captain, who would be giving it, would be well on his way back to shore by the time he did.
Each of the tour boats has their own private mooring. We found our spot and tied up. So now we had a decision to make. You can snorkel, or you can do a “trial” scuba dive where they give you the quick overview and if you’re okay, you can pay extra and go scuba diving. We decided to give it a try.
Here is the gist of the overview: “This is the breathing thingy. Keep it in your mouth. Don’t forget to breath. Make the ‘ok’ signal back when we do or we’ll take you to the surface”. That was about it. Off we go…
Well, it was a bit more than that, but essentially, they strap you in, throw you overboard, do a couple of quick tests to make sure you’re not panicking and send you down. It’s a bit freaky I must say. It takes awhile to get past the fact that you’re underwater and breathing. Then worrying about your mask, swimming and everything else. And oh yeah, look the reef and some fish.
We were down about half an hour the first time (yes, we went twice) and went down maybe 25-30 feet. Les loved it. I thought it was okay. Couldn’t quite get relaxed and past mask leaking issues and what not enough to really enjoy it. The reef is teeming with life as they say. We saw giant clams that were 2 or 2 1/2 feet across, schools of colorful fish, weird coral formations and all sorts of stuff. Marion had bought me an underwater camera which I used, and once developed, I’ll post anything worthwhile.
Getting out of the water is the hardest part. The tanks are *heavy* and pulling yourself up the ladder, with swim fins on to boot, is a tricky experience. But we managed. We then got snorkels and went back in for awhile. Actually, I went back in for awhile. Les went back in until they pretty much made him get out so we could go to the next place.
The next place was a sand island with a different type of coral around it. It promised rays, turtles, and reef sharks as well as the rest of the things we’ve seen. There was an option for those who had done the trial dive to dive again at this spot. Les was all for it. I wasn’t going to. But I was afraid I wouldn’t see the rays and things from the surface, and I thought being more experienced, it would go better this time, so I signed on too.
It was a longer dive, but shallower. And we did see a ray that was sleeping in a cave. Also saw clown fish (like Nemo) and one of those fish that hides in the sand on the bottom. We saw it come out, move to another spot and totally disappear by shaking itself into the sand. Cool. At the end of the dive, for the grand finale, Dirk the dive instructor, threw food out for the fish to swarm. He’d throw a handful at your face mask and the fish would swirl around your head.
Can’t say I took to it any better the second time. I think my scuba days (well, day) have come to an end. But a great experience. During the dives there was another diver taking underwater pictures and we bought a few as souvenirs. They’re on the photo page. Check them out!
Coming back in, the put the sail up again and a bright red jib that really looked great against the deep blue sky. For a brief while we continued under sail alone, with no engines. But the wind just wasn’t strong enough to get us very far. During the cruise back, Les struck up a conversation with the bursar, Amanda, who was born in the US but ended up in Australia when she ran off with an Italian man she met. She was a gymnast, which prompted the conversation, because Les’ daughter did gymnastics as well as his wife Sharon. She’s getting married in July (to the guy after the Italian).
We docked and the whole crew lined up to shake our hands as we got off the boat. A nice touch. We went back to the hotel we stayed at on Friday night because the people had been so friendly there. They remembered us, asked us about the reef dive, etc. We had also talked about going on a rainforest tour. Penny had suggested one, but the guy we talked to tonight suggested a different one. The owner of the tour was in the bar and we went to talk to him, and he of course talked us into it. He’s been at it about 15 years. Gave up a successful sales career to do it and has been happy ever since. Wonderful sites, great driver, etc. etc. How could we say no?
We seem to be throwing all our money overboard here at the end, but you have to end with a flourish. And anyway, it’s just too damn hot to spend another night in the camper and we made such an effort to get here that we ought to enjoy it while we’re here. So Daniel can go to a state college instead of Stanford and Stephanie can go to Portland Community College and it will all work out.
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