Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

[Sat 11/19 - Mon 11/21]

We landed in Cairns around noon, grabbed our bags and stepped outside into sunshine, 90 degree weather and 85+% humidity. Welcome to the tropics! Caught an Uber to our apartment, a spacious 2 bedroom with a view of the water and surrounding mountains, and across the street from the cruise ship terminal (theme here?). Checked in, dropped our bags and headed back out to explore the town. 

Cairns is in the northeast corner of Australia, in the state of Queensland ('The Sunshine State'), on the Coral Sea, and is known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. We were both expecting a beach town - and it definitely feels like one - but the waterfront here is a muddy crescent-shaped lagoon. There's a waterfront boardwalk, the Cairns Esplanade, that's lined with restaurants, bars, and a large, man-made swimming park. We walked the length of the boardwalk, stopped for a light lunch, then walked back through the city center toward the aquarium which, unfortunately, was about to close. We shopped for a couple things, then went back to our apartment to relax and start a load of laundry. We went to an early dinner across the street at Hemingway's Brewery, then headed straight home and to bed to rest up for our reef excursion on Sunday.

Lagoon on the left, (massive) waterpark on the right

Hemingway's Brewery - good food and brews, right on the water

Up at 6:30 Sunday morning and out the door at 7 for a short walk to the harbor, where we checked in for our reef tour with Ocean Freedom tours. Karri, of course, had done her research and Ocean Freedom is one of the top-rated tour companies in Cairns. We boarded our 70-person boat around 7:30 and were underway by 8, cruising for about an hour, some 20+ miles off-shore, before we arrived at Upolu Cay. The tour offers the option to scuba, snorkel or both - we opted for snorkeling and were happy with our choice. We put on our gear ('stinger' bodysuit, fins, snorkel and mask) and jumped in!

The reef was amazing - colorful, varied, full of amazing fish and sea life. We snorkeled for over an hour, rested a bit, then climbed in a smaller, glass-bottom boat for a short trip out to another section of the reef, where we jumped back in the water and let the current carry us back to the main boat. Buffet lunch on the boat, then we headed to another section of the reef, where we snorkeled for another hour or so. Equally amazing reef, plus a sandy spot where you could stand in 4' deep water... 20+ miles from shore. Our only regret is that we didn't have our GoPro camera to capture some of the underwater sights (though we did befriend a young German woman who had a GoPro and happily took our email address with the promise to upload and share some of her footage... fingers crossed).

Heading out to the Reef

Crystal clear - and calm - water

Snorkelers on the Reef

We returned ashore around 4:30, then headed back to the apartment to shower and relax before heading out to an excellent seafood dinner at Tha Fish on the waterfront. We were both exhausted after an amazing day, so headed back to the apartment and, again, were in bed by 9:30.

Up early Monday (Happy Birthday, Karri!!), organized our stuff, then took an Uber to the airport for an aerial tour of the reef. Karri had booked a 45-minute sightseeing flight with Daintree Air Services in an 8-person prop plane - another amazing adventure. It was such a cool way to gain perspective on the immensity of the reef and see some spectacular sights. We also spotted the boat we had been on the day before.

Green Island

Patch of white sand in the middle of the Reef

Our boat from yesterday at Upolu Cay

Pilot announced he saw a shark in there (can you find it? - I couldn't)

Back on the ground!

After the flight, we caught an Uber back, with a stop at the main airport terminal to pick up Victoria, who had just arrived from Sydney to join us for the rest of our travels. We went back to the apartment, packed up, then Karri and I walked a couple blocks to Avis to pick up a car we have reserved for the next 6 days. I have to confess I had been a little anxious about driving on the left side of the road in a right-side drive car, but after riding in several taxis and Ubers, I was ready for the challenge. We picked up Victoria and our bags back at the apartment, then drove for about 90 minutes up into the mountains to the town of Atherton in the Tablelands region.

Ready to roll

The Tablelands is a farming region, but it's also home to several lakes, rivers, waterfalls and a rainforest. Karri booked us for 2 nights at the Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge, a small, eco-lodge in the middle of the rainforest. We arrived around 2, checked in, then headed to the nearby town of Yungabura for a quick lunch at The Gillies Cafe & Bar, arriving in a thunderstorm, just before they closed at 3pm. After lunch, we drove to a few sightseeing spots Karri had researched - Cathedral Fig Tree, Malanda Falls, and Curtain Fig Tree, and a platypus viewing area that was lacking platypuses (best viewed at dawn and dusk). I was skeptical of the fig trees, which made the experience all that much more impressive.

Cathedral Fig Tree; started from a seed... about 500 years ago!

Curtain Fig Tree

With our late lunch - and few restaurant options - we decided to stop at a grocery store to pick up some snacks, then a 'bottle shop' (aka liquor store) for some adult beverages, then headed back to the lodge. We're now sitting in our living room (which doubles as a kitchen and Victoria's bedroom), enjoying cheese, crackers and a beverage, telling stories about our travels, hearing more about Victoria's time here in Australia, and celebrating the birthday girl!

43 hours of birthday celebration (spanning time zones)!!