Cairns, Australia - Along the Great Barrier Reef
Today is Saturday, February 17th. We arrived early yesterday morning in Cairns, Australia, looking forward to our big day on the Great Barrier Reef. The only part of Cairns that we saw during daylight was the harbor side area consisting principally of residential buildings and restaurants on our port side as we arrived and later as we walked toward our reef excursion catamaran for boarding. The landscape is beautiful and the development along the boardwalk very appealing.
The catamaran was a large three decker with the capacity to hold several hundred people.
The ride out to the reef took an hour and a half. Once there, we tied up to a very large covered platform with changing rooms, seating and tables, as well as storage and distribution areas for wet suits, flippers, masks and snorkels. Some of our fellow travelers elected to go diving, and the facilities there also accommodated all of that specialized equipment. There were also lots of helpful staff around.
On the outside long edge of the platform facing the reef were a number of elevated life guard stations that look out on the area designated for snorkeling and diving.
We poured ourselves into wet suits (to protect ourselves from jelly fish that are active in the area), got whatever other gear we needed and went snorkeling. The coral, fish and other life forms were spectacular, even though there wasn't as much color as we would have liked.
Other activities were also available. Some people went for helicopter rides taking off and returning to a separate platform just off the big platform and shuttling by boat between the two.
Others, like us (after we finished snorkeling), went for a ride in a glass bottom boat.
After we got back to the platform and while I was taking some photos of snorkelers still in the water, I got to talking with one of the lifeguards, a 23 or 24-year old Brit who had graduated from university and wants to travel the world a bit before settling down. We talked about a lot of things. At one point, projecting on him my own reaction having watched a few hundred of our fellow passengers of all shapes and sizes (many overweight) squeeze themselves into wet suits, as we ourselves did, and then struggle to get all the other necessary equipment on and into the water, I asked him if, looking at our crowd, he didn't find the prospect of aging depressing. Without missing a beat, and with a big smile on his face, he said he rather found us all inspiring because at our ages we were obviously determined to live life to its fullest. My sense was that his response was genuine. He knew all about our cruise, how long it is and how much territory we are covering. That conversation made my day.
The catamaran was a large three decker with the capacity to hold several hundred people.
The ride out to the reef took an hour and a half. Once there, we tied up to a very large covered platform with changing rooms, seating and tables, as well as storage and distribution areas for wet suits, flippers, masks and snorkels. Some of our fellow travelers elected to go diving, and the facilities there also accommodated all of that specialized equipment. There were also lots of helpful staff around.
On the outside long edge of the platform facing the reef were a number of elevated life guard stations that look out on the area designated for snorkeling and diving.
We poured ourselves into wet suits (to protect ourselves from jelly fish that are active in the area), got whatever other gear we needed and went snorkeling. The coral, fish and other life forms were spectacular, even though there wasn't as much color as we would have liked.
Other activities were also available. Some people went for helicopter rides taking off and returning to a separate platform just off the big platform and shuttling by boat between the two.
Others, like us (after we finished snorkeling), went for a ride in a glass bottom boat.
After we got back to the platform and while I was taking some photos of snorkelers still in the water, I got to talking with one of the lifeguards, a 23 or 24-year old Brit who had graduated from university and wants to travel the world a bit before settling down. We talked about a lot of things. At one point, projecting on him my own reaction having watched a few hundred of our fellow passengers of all shapes and sizes (many overweight) squeeze themselves into wet suits, as we ourselves did, and then struggle to get all the other necessary equipment on and into the water, I asked him if, looking at our crowd, he didn't find the prospect of aging depressing. Without missing a beat, and with a big smile on his face, he said he rather found us all inspiring because at our ages we were obviously determined to live life to its fullest. My sense was that his response was genuine. He knew all about our cruise, how long it is and how much territory we are covering. That conversation made my day.
Our ride back in to Cairns was uneventful. Just more beautiful scenery and, for some of us, a nap. As we approached our berth we passed a few pretty nice looking boats.
There were two cruise ships in the harbor, ours and a German ship. We returned to ours,
showered, grabbed something to eat and then walked into downtown Cairns because we wanted to see what it was like. By the time we did that it was dark and still very hot and humid. The city is immaculate and almost looks new. Its infrastructure is in great shape. We passed lots of restaurants full of people. We didn't linger long, though, because of the heat. We would like to have seen more of it, but not everything is doable. We did learn today that there are several huge public swimming pools all around because, even though surrounded by beautiful ocean water, it's impossible to go swimming in the ocean just off of Cairns due to the presence of crocodiles and other human predators.
From Jan in Portland: I'd say you and Janis looked pretty buff in those wet suits, David! Your blog inspires all of us readers and world voyeurs to seize the day. Look forward to the continuing saga. Cheers.
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