Wed 10 March
The flight to Cairns from Ayers Rock Resort airport lasted about 3 hours and when we arrived it was thundering, lightening, raining hard and the skies were dark and gloomy - but at least it was warm! I had to reset my watch yet again - Queensland is 30 minutes ahead of Northern Territory. It's quite a feat working out what time it is at home every day!
The transfer bus was there on schedule and I was soon at yet another motel! This one looks very nice with a pool and a restaurant and bar right next door! It's a bit away from the centre of Cairns but there's a bus every 20 minutes so.
Thurs 11 March
I was picked up from the motel at 8.40 for my day trip up to Kuranda and taken to the skyrail terminal. From there I went all the way up into the mountains - 7.5 km - in a cablecar. The rainforest scenery was beautiful. You get to stop twice on the way, at Red Peak station where there's a boardwalk, and at Barron Falls station where there are lookouts over the falls. There's been a huge amount of rain recently so they were really in full flow.
As I was walking along one of the rangers pointed out an enormous golden orb spider which I'd just walked under - without exaggeration it must have been 6" or 15 cm from the tip of one of its top legs to the tip of a bottom one. Ugh! The ranger said it was quite harmless!!!
When I got to Kuranda there were lots of market stalls but everything was pretty pricey so I just wandered round until it was time for the programme of events to start. First of all we were taken round the wildlife sanctuary where I had yet another close encounter with a koala - they're so furry and cuddly and extremely placid - as one of the rangers said "There's not a lot going on in there". We also saw a variety of other native animals such as kangaroos lazing around and I got to stroke a bearded dragon and an Eastern water dragon (both very scaly and hard)!
Then it was time for our Army Duck ride. We had a ride through the rainforest while the ranger pointed out all sorts of different trees, lizards, butterflies etc and then he drove it into the water and it became a boat - quite good fun.
Next came the Pamagirri experience where a group of young Aboriginal men danced for us. I have to admit that watching athletic young men dancing around with not much on was extremely enjoyable!! The Aboriginal young men were all very modern Aussies despite their body paint! After that they showed us how to play a didgeridoo, how to throw a spear and how to throw a boomerang. We all had a go at that - needless to say, mine went a very short distance indeed!!
Then we came back to Cairns on the Kuranda Scenic Railway which is an old train now used just for tourists.
It was a really interesting day and the weather was very hot and sunny - and extremely humid!!!
In the evening I got the bus into Cairns - they stop wherever you want which is great! I wandered around the touristy parts of town especially the night markets which I really liked. I bought a couple of boomerangs there and then decided that, as I have a very early start tomorrow, I'd better get back and go to bed. The bus driver on the way back was extremely helpful and stopped right opposite the motel for me. He was Aboriginal and seem to be a part of the community much more up here.
Fri 12 March
Had a fantastic day today! I was picked up at 7.00 and taken to the marina for my trip to the Great Barrier Reef for a day's snorkelling. I was a bit apprehensive, not only because I've never snorkelled before and certainly not out in the ocean(!), but also because I was afraid I might be the only person over the age of 21. At first my fears were confirmed as all the other people seemed to be nubile young things with firm bronzed bodies and not a grey hair or wrinkle in sight but then I spotted a few "more mature" people and two ladies who were even older than me!! I was rather proud that of us 3 "oldies" I was the only one who stayed the course - the other 2 gave up quite quickly - but at least they gave it a go which a lot of "senior citizens" wouldn't. I got chatting to two groups of people - everyone, even the young ones, was really nice and friendly.
The trip out to Michaelmas Cay took 2 hours and was very choppy to say the least. I was so glad I'd taken seasickness pills because an awful lot of people were throwing up and generally looking green around the gills! At the front of the boat, which was a huge catamaran, between the hulls was a sort of huge hammock which a lot of the young people lay in to enjoy the sun. When we got out to sea and hit some huge waves it came up through the netting of the hammock and drenched them all. They were shrieking and giggling and having a whale of a time and so was I, just watching them. I got literally soaked to the skin too just sitting nearby - but nobody expected to stay dry today!
The first snorkelling expedition was from the beach so it was very easy. We were all togged up with stingersuits which cover everything except your face - this was because of the box jellyfish whose sting is extremely painful apparently and not many people wanted to chance it! We also had flotation belts and the most enormous flippers as well as the snorkel masks so we looked very strange! The reef starts within a short distance of the beach so I was soon seeing all sorts of fish and lots of different coral formations - the real deal! Apparently I wandered out of the correct area so they sent a dinghy out to help me but I didn't need help - I just had no idea I was too far away! I swam back and when I got back on the boat the crew were all saying how fit I must be to have swum so far but I'd only drifted !!! It was quite an experience to see the reef and all the fish etc.
Then we were served a very nice lunch - chicken carbonara with tons of different salads followed by a huge amount of fresh fruit. Delicious! After our lunch one of the crew threw some food into the water and the most enormous fish appeared to gobble it up - a real feeding frenzy!
Then we sailed for about another 10 minutes to Paradise Reef. It was a bit strange getting off the back of the boat into the deep ocean with no land as far as the eye could see but the crew took very good care of us. Some people went off on their own while others, including me, decided to do a guided snorkel which was good because the instructor knew so much about the different types of coral and sea creatures and pointed out lots of things I would have missed such as giant clams - she swam down and touched it so that it snapped its jaws shut, a long line of squid, a stingray and lots and lots of brightly coloured fish and huge coral in all sorts of formations - it was lovely and I took loads of pics with a disposable waterproof camera..
After that we had coffee and biscuits and sailed back to Cairns for 5.00. It was a really brilliant day and I couldn't fault the crew in any way. They were all young but didn't ignore us oldies at all - in fact they went out of their way to make sure we were ok all day long.
Once again I got a bit too much sun though I had put suntan lotion on before I left and the stingersuits stopped us being exposed to the sun most of the time.
On the way back one of the crew members, Simon, did magic tricks for us and another crew member volunteered me to be the magician's assistant. Simon was really good and I've no idea how he did the tricks. I was also given a complimentary glass of champagne (or sparking wine) which was a nice surprise - no idea why but it would have been rude to refuse!!
When we got off all the crew lined up to say "goodbye" and I even got a couple of hugs from two athletic young men - I'm doing well this trip! ;-)
It was really a brilliant experience and I'm so glad I did it.
Then back to reality - washing and ironing ready for my departure tomorrow.
Sat 13 March
After a long and much needed sleep I got up and packed yet again. At the end of this trip I'll have slept in 19 different motels and hotels!
I had several hours before being picked up and taken to the airport so I got the bus into Cairns to have a look around - the first time in daylight. It was raining when I left the motel but shortly afterwards it was extremely hot and humid.
I took my disposable cameras from yesterday to be developed and then wandered around the Esplanade and lagoon - a huge open-air swimming pool right by the sea which is open all day and free to everyone.
It was very quiet in Cairns with very few people about. I wandered round the tourist tat shops but resisted the temptation to buy yet more T-shirts! I was amused to see that they call flip-flops “thongs” which could lead to some confusion! I was still really tired from yesterday's exertions so I took it easy, collected my photos (there were about 45 of the reef all looking very similar!!) and got the bus back to the motel where I was picked up and dropped off at the airport for yet another flight (number 7 of 13 ranging from 13 hours to 30 minutes!!).
I must say that I loved Australia and the Australians who are amazingly friendly and very laid back.
Edited: 13 years ago