Man-made beach/lagoon in the center of Cairns
Passing islands on the way to the Outer Barrier Reef
Overhead view of the coral reef at the Agincourt Ribbon
Fish feeding
In the semi-submersible
Poor lighting doesn't do the pictures justice - the views were much better in person
Protection from the stingers
Reminded Melissa of the book Swimmy
Knocking back one of Australia's finest
Aerial view from the Skyrail
Looking up the mountain at the begining of the journey
Traveling over the Tablelands
Skyrail view of Barron Falls (during dry season obviously)
Drew's employer
Skyrail view of Kuranda
Bees making fresh honeycomb at the markets
Rainforest in the Atherton Tablelands
Faint rainbow in the upper left-hand corner (you could also see the coral reef beneath the ocean surface from the skyrail as well - various swirls of color made the ocean look like a mosaic)
The obligatory Hook Em
An insane amount of Japanese/Chinese tourists in Cairns - every single retail sign in dual languages
Two weeks ago Melissa and I spent a long weekend in Cairns, TNQ. Cairns itself is nothing spectacular - it's home to heaps of European backpackers (who came blame them...the weather was perfect; also, the city caters to the backpackers - so good cheap food and drink was everywhere...the $2 schooners we drank on Sunday were by far ourt cheapest alcoholic beverages in Australia) and Japanese tourists. There are no beaches in Cairns, which is tucked in between the Great Dividing Range and the shoreline - you have to head about 20 minutes north to find sandy beaches; however, there's a man-made beach and lagoon that sits in the center of town along the Esplanade. Most people staying in Cairns use it as a jumping off point for:
1) Day trips to the Outer Reef
2) Extended stays on Outer Reef islands
3) Cruises
We used Cairns for reason #1. On Saturday we took a Quiksilver operated tour out to the Agincourt Ribbon in the Outer Barrier Reef. The trip started with an hour-long bus ride from Cairns north to Port Douglas along the Captain Cook Highway; lowlight - the sugar cane fields (I don't quite know what we were expecting, but they looked like overgrown wheat fields)...highlight - views along the two-lane highway, which hugged the beaches on the right, while the mountains on the Great Dividing Range were only a few feet to your left.
From Port Douglas we took a catamaran out to the Quicksilver platform on the Agincourt Ribbon. There we spent the late morning/afternoon in a semi-submersible vessel viewing the reef at greater depths, as well as in sweet spandex bodysuits snorkeling above the reef. Attempting to use words to describe life on the reef is impossible - it's 20,000 years old, home to several thousand unique species and is 3000 kilometers long. We witnessed fish of every size, shape and color imaginable - there was one fish in particular (neon blue, about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide) that seemed to be the resident pet of that area of the reef - it would swim right up to you and let you pet him. Very funny actually. Neither one of us are huge fish/marine people, but this experience was truly amazing (especially considering the fact that increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere means more CO2 dissolved in ocean water, which acidifies the water and slowly bleaches and kills the coral; some scientists estimate the reef may disappear in 20-25 years). Melissa was excited b/c she saw Nemo!
After a long and exhausting day at sea, we spent Sunday in the rainforest at the Atherton Tablelands. And how we got there was a bit unique - we took the Kuranda skyrail, the world's longest at 7.5 kilometers. You hopped in a gondola, which takes you up 2000 feet up to the Red Peak, over the tablelands, past Barron Falls and into Kuranda. And considering Drew has a paralyzing fear of heights (which he slowly overcame during the 45 minute trip), it was an adventurous ride to say the least. There were a couple of stops along the way where you could take a walk in the rain forest and get an up close view of Barron Falls. The skyrail was definitely the best part of the day - there were several walking trails around Kuranda, but the village itself had become a huge tourist trap. We did have our first experience with Sri Lankan cuisine (which turned out to be quite yummy - can't say the same for the well water unfortunately). On the return trip, as we came over the top of the Red Peak, you could see out over the reef and ocean for miles on end.
Alice Springs/Uluru has a lot to live up to if it's going to be the Australian highlight of our trip...
