Wednesday, March 21! Great Barrier Reef. Dream Come True in Cairns

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

YES! YES! YES! Looking through the curtains of our balcony cabin we would see glimpses of blue sky and the Coral Sea was only a little but choppy as we made our way to the Cruise Terminal in Cairns (pronounced CANS). I grinned all morning since we were about to realize that our dream of snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) was about to come true.

We met our excursion group at 9:10 AM in the Casino Lounge where we were broke into two groups numbered 11 and 12. The only difference was a difference bus to take us to the pier where we would catch the Great Adventures boat to Moore’s Reef. It would have been faster to walk to the pier than gather all these people, about 200 than take the bus. The bus ride was about 10 minutes where we passed the white topped convention center, various resorts and the center of town. It appeared that there were about 6 streets of Cairns rather than the one that Airlie Beach had. It looked similar to many beach towns of South Florida. The town also had a lagoon where people swam so they were protected from the jellyfish and the strong undercurrent of the Coral Sea. There were green lush islands and mountains surrounding Cairns which are because of all the rain they get here but today we missed the rain that we could see in the distances and on top of the mountains.

We disembarked at the pier where inside the cruise terminal there were some volunteers were giving the cruise guests a sample of the sweetest, ripe, juiciest papaya that I ever had. There is another cruise ship in port but the cruise line is one I never heard of. I am guessing that it was from Japan since there were many Japanese tourists in town and on our tour boat. We hopped on the busses that dropped us right at the pier which is at the edge of town where there are lush gardens, trees and plants. It was very clean and orderly.

Our Great Adventures tour boat had about 400 passengers on it thus it was just not only Princess guests. The boat had three levels. The lower level was all enclosed with comfortable cushion seating and the snack bar. The second level had indoor and rear outdoor seating. The top level has all outdoor seating. The interiors had flat screen monitors that explained what we might see when we got out to the reef. It took two hours and about 25 miles out into the Coral Sea to get to Moore’s Reef in the Great Barrier Reef. There was a stop at Green Island that had beaches and water activities at about 30 minutes from town. Joe and I sat outside on the second deck in the rear of the craft. After three days of rain, I craved the sun. We sat in the last row where the wind blew into our face and hair which was perfect. Joe moved to a shaded area of the aft area after about 20 minutes since his skin is so sensitive to the sun.

It was recommended that we rent Lycra Suits to protect us from the nasty stings of the jellyfish in the reef. We both rented them at $6.00 AUS each and they were like a second skin from head, to finger tips to our feet. They were actually quite comfortable but a challenge to put on. The key was to get your feet in one foot at time and pull up bit by bit. It had a strong zipper in the front. We got to the reef about 12:30PM where the tour company had a huge reef platform that was attached to the bottom of the ocean floor but not the reef. It was just on the outer edge of the reef. One could tell you were at the reef by the waves hitting the coral. From the platform or the boat the reef looks brown. The only way to really see the stunning colors and multiple types of colored coral and fish is to snorkel or dive. The tour company had a semi-submersible reef viewer which I took after my hour snorkel adventure but rating it to a snorkel or scuba dive it was a 2 on a scale of 10. One could not see the vivid colors in the reef.

It did not take Joe and me long to get in the water. We quickly got our snorkel gear and fins and stepped down to the snorkeling platform where you could put the fins on. It is not smart to try to walk across the deck and down the steps with the fins on. The crew instructed us not to stand or touch the coral and only rest in sandy area. The coral needs 3 main things for growth-warm water, sunlight and low nutrients. One must remember that the coral is an animal but this is the first time that I actually believed it with the coral going in and out, sideways and sucking. It was so cool looking. As soon as I jumped in the water, there was a large school of inch long silver fish swimming at the top of the water. I snorkeled for an hour which is the longest I ever had since there was another beautiful sight to see. There was a thick type forest of staghorn coral of various colors but I loved the blue typed flowers at the tip. There were so many species of fish of numerous colors and sizes. The biggest one I saw was a monster that must had been six feet long and a foot wide with a snout head that moved very slowly. It was towards the middle of the top of the reef and the bottom. A scuba diver was able to get right next to it and pet it. The monster stayed right there! The fish had varying hues of gray. There was some emerald green coral that lined some other coral. Pink, blue, maroon, purple colors were seen. I saw one giant clam that was about a foot in length but they come much bigger than that. Some giant clams live up to 50 years! There was a big fish with very sharp bottom teeth that laid beneath some coral waiting for little fish to swim into its mouth then chomped! I was transfixed by this fish. It did not snap each time a fish swam into its mouth so the tiny ones had a big surprise. I also saw a large stingray nestled itself in the soft sand then wiggle out swimming gracefully and quickly to the top of the reef. There are 1500 different fish at this reef. There is very little visible plant life here but there were microscopic plants that live in the coral’s skin and produce sugar by photosynthesis. The coral absorbs much of this sugar for up to 90% of their food while the plants benefit from a safe house and a good supply of carbon dioxide. I did not remember that coral are animals in the same family of jellyfish but make a solid skeleton of limestone. The coral animals can pull themselves into the skeletons which I was able to observe many times on my snorkel adventure. I saw brain coral, mushroom and plate coral. I saw fan coral and coral that looked like waves of hair. They told us that there are 400 species of coral on the reef with many brightly colored. I did see one large jellyfish with its long tentacles which was easy to stay a good distance away. I survived with no stings just tired about one hour. Joe lasted 15 minutes but I am proud that he did it since snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef has been a bug dream of ours.

The Great Adventures tour group had a lovely buffet lunch for everyone that consisted of fruit, rice, beef curry (super delicious), chicken stir fried, and some type of fish. There was also scalloped potatoes and salad. It was after lunch that I joined one of the semi-submersibles.

The boat left the platform at 3:30PM. If one had some deep pockets, they could take the helicopter back to Cairns which had its own small separate platform. The ride back was a bit more bouncy which happens in the afternoon at sea. I had gone for some time up on the third deck. With the seas bouncy, it was a real challenge walking up there. One person would catch me to the left before I would bounce to the right a few feet. One could get seriously hurt up there. After I got settled to a handrail, I spread my feet way apart. I must have looked ridiculous but at least I was safe. I got a few laughs at my ingenuity.

Joe enjoyed sitting on the inside of the second deck while I stayed and got some sun. I had 70 proof sun block on me and I still got some sun kissed cheeks.

We arrived back on the pier at 5:30 and we did not have to be back on board the Ocean Princess till 7:30PM. I sent Joe back to the ship while I shopped for my Cairns, Great Barrier Reef t-shirt and magnet, and a soft Australian hat. I walked back to the ship and got back on board at 6:30PM. It gave us both plenty of time to rest a bit and to take a long desirable hot shower. After all the kicking in the water and bracing myself on the tour boat, both my knees were yelling at me so I took Advil PM. I should have taken just plain Advil.

Cairns is a tropical town in North Queensland dating back to 1876. Remember that Australia is a young country where the first settlement was in 1788. Cairns’ port was originally served as a port of gold and tin. There is a huge rainforest that has the largest concentration of ancient flowering plants in the world where 13 are recognized as primitive. Behind the mountains is the Aboriginal township of Kuranda. Some of the best produce is raised in the tableland beyond the mountains where there is rich volcanic soil.

Seafood is plentiful here thus the most popular meal where they eat tropical reef fish called the red emperor and the coral trout, huge tiger prawns (yummy) and freshwater barramundi. Crocodiles are farmed here also (who would think) but they are grown for their skins but there are Croc Burgers in Cairns if you wish to partake.

Cairns (CANS) has a tropical climate since it is located on the northeast peninsula of Australia. Papua New Guinea is located north of Cairns. There is little distinction between the seasons here. Temperatures are warm to hot all year with an occasional cold snap during June and July which is Australia’s winter. The rainy season is between November and May noted for sudden downpours and an occasional tropical cyclone which is comparable to hurricanes in the USA.

I barely could walk to our dinner table where the other three couples were seating. The glass of wine helped speed the Advil to work somewhat. Again our table was one of the last to leave the dining room. Our waiters get such a kick out of that. George from Romania is our main waiter and he has a grand sense of humor. His 10 month contract is over when we get to Bangkok where he will be home for 2 months before he does another 10 month tour on the Ruby Princess which is a bigger cruise ship. George likes the bigger cruise ships as does Joe.

We skipped the Stardust Show since it was going to be slow and we were beat. Joe wanted to stop at the Casino bar for a Pina Colada. I had a lovely Kahula and Cream. I have got to have that one again! I could not keep my eyes open at the bar cause of exhaustion so we headed to the cabin at 10:30AM.

We now have three whole sea days until we get to Darwin, in North Australia. It will be full of rest and way too much tasty food. We will attend lectures, grab some sun, and attend the art auction. I saw a piece that I wanted.

As I write this, it is Thursday, the 22^nd of March at 5:10PM. We woke up late which a smart thing to do. We sat on the pool deck. I sat in the water of the pool. We sailed along the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef where there are lots of islands and reefs of varying types. We could see mountains that edged the ocean in the west. There was no human activity or development in this area. It is pristine except for ship buoys. There were also rocks of varying types that made the coastline interesting. The sun was out with partly cloudy skies which made it comfortable being outside. The temperatures were in the mid eighties I suppose. Joe attended a WWII lecture while I attended the Art Auction and won the Art Trivia contest that got me four drawings for a grand prize at the end of the voyage. The art piece I wanted was not shown but I learned something new and I got a free glass of champagne.

I got the name and email addresses of our great tablemates.

John and Marg Forseth of South Dakota

Gerry and Edna Harley of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

John and Pat Pryke of England