Cairns & The Reef

What a beach-oriented place!! The whole town of Cairns looks like a postcard - green mountains in the background, sand and alternating shades of blue in the foreground, and wildlife somewhere in the middle there. The past two days have been pretty eventful and quite exciting, so I thought I would update. Well, that and I found an internet place that only charges $1AUD for 2 hours - granted the price compensates for the fact that these computers were originally going to be thrown out because they function so slowly, but still, only a buck. Fantastic.


As I was making a phone call (to KATY in South Africa) in the middle of center city, two friends from my Kakadu Tour group recognized me and scared the living daylights out of me as they ran up behind me - I thought I was going to get mugged to be completely honest. PS - my only problem with Australia is that they only put public phones RIGHT NEXT to very busy intersections (sometimes in between medians) so when you are having a conversation with someone, basically you are only talking to yourself. That said, we caught up over some DIPPIN DOTS - couldn't believe it when I saw it...like a beacon of light that sign. We ended up booking a Green Island/Great Barrier Reef Sail and Snorkel tour together.


With an early start, we boarded the moderately small sailboat with approximately 20 other and headed out of the bay towards the Great Barrier Reef. On the way to the reef, the waves were quite small so I got to enjoy moving about the ship without the fear of becoming sick (yea, not the best sailor). Our sailors, or skippers (but you have to say it with the thickest Scottish accent you can manage), made the trip very fun with their laid-back attitudes and incredibly sarcastic humor. It was great to just stand up at the back of the boat and catch the winds coming off the ocean (like a dog out of the window of a car going 60mph). Once the Green Island came into view after the 1.5 hour sail, the varying colors of the reef became quite noticeable - how BEAUTIFUL!! My Grandma's favorite color is turquoise and if you can imagine each individual color that could possibly be used to make some shade of turquoise, it was in the waters that we overlooked. The darker shades of color were thick collections of coral and sea plant life that were quite close to the surface of the water. Once the boat anchored some 500-600 meters from the Island's beach itself, it was on with the sexy snorkeling gear and into the somewhat frigid waters of the GREAT BARRIER REEF to get a closer look at all of the 5000+ species that live in these waters. After I got a hold of how to snorkel without breathing from your nose (sadly, something that took me about 10 minutes to master), I was completely enraptured by serenity of life underwater. It was AMAZING!! Literally it was as though I was swimming through the set of "Finding Nemo" - there were Dori's everywhere and some of the most colorful fish I've ever seen in my life. One was rainbow-colored with different colored lines separating the sections of rainbow progression....how cool is that?!?!? Another, clearly on vacation from Sweden, was a strong baby blue color and had a thick yellow sideways cross that covered each side! The endless number of coral species that covered the ocean floor like a shaggy multicolored rug from the 70's were SO impressive! Some appeared as little tubular cylinders, some as dreadlocks, some as an outline of the venous system (yes, yes I am a dork thank you), some as feathers, some as what your neighbor's shrubs look like, some as pom-poms, and some as Japanese fold-out fans - a much welcomed texture overload. Once I strapped on the good ole neon orange safety vest (you wouldn't believe how tiring it is to just tread water for 20 minutes), my focus turned solely on my surroundings (no longer on how not to drown) and I was able to truly appreciate the environment for what it was...UNREAL, BRILLIANT, FABULOUS, PHENOMENAL, ________(insert the enthusiastic adjective of your choice)!! Basically, if the water were a bit warmer, I could have stayed out there until sundown. When you completely submerge your head underwater, the rest of the outside world disappears... it didn't matter how far away the boat was, how many other snorkelers were in the area, and what anyone was saying on the surface. When I was in the water, I was IN the marine world.... I could HEAR the fish calling each other, HEAR one fish swim through its anemone, HEAR other fish try to find tidbits of food on a rock coral nearby - you do not normally associate the sense of hearing with water activities, but I must say, it is one of the best ones you can use! Reluctantly, I got back on the sailboat so we could head to Green Island and discover what it had to offer on land.


Ok, let's be serious...the land was awesome too. The three of us headed to the Marineland Melanesia, a zoo-like establishment that housed a series of aquariums showing the most common and rare species of coral and fish one might see in the reef, a lagoon of three huge sea turtles and a variety of colorful fish, and a crocodile park. The crocodile park is probably where we spent the majority of our time, as there was a whole room that contained stories, personal accounts, newspaper clippings, and pictures of shark attacks that have occurred on the Top End of Australia for the past 20 years. Quite a few, I'd say...enough to fill an entire room, anyways. The pictures were quite graphic as well....I will spare you most of the details, except the two pictures that have stuck with me: one was of a crocodile holding a forearm in its mouth, fingers dangling lifeless and the croc almost smiling while the other showed a picture of a croc on its back and a group of hunters pulling out human body extremities after cutting open the croc's stomach! AHHHHH!! Ok I'm done, I promise. Well, about those stories anyways. The crocodile park itself housed a number of saltwater crocs of different sizes - one croc's name was Colossus if that is any indication of how massive he was...his head alone must have been the size of a Volkswagon bug. Crocodiles scare me, I will admit it...it's not so much how dangerous they are, but more so of their creep-factor. They just SIT there, mouth agape and will not move until something comes close enough where it can strike....they look like painted ceramic lawn ornaments - soooo creepy. Their eyes don't even move to follow the person walking around them, as if they momentarily underwent cryogenic freezing....or taxidermy. We had the opportunity to watch a trainer come in and feed some of them (talk about worker's comp) so we would see what these reptiles are capable of doing. Basically, when they unfreeze from their temporary state, they almost immediately, and with great force and fury, just up out of the water at a 45-degree angle and about 5 feet in the air. Imagine an Evil Knievel-like stunt that propels a stretch limousine off an angled ramp...kinda like that. So, long story short, steer clear of saltwater crocodiles....they make freshies and alligators look like a batch of puppies.


After that show, we headed back to the boat and sailed some rough waters to return to the Cairns port. We all met up again to head down to the Casino for some cheap grub - did you know food in Casinos are generally cheaper than most restaurants in the city that the casino is in?? Me either... just a little known fact, at least in the Top End of Australia. As we were walking down to the Casino, I quickly became aware that there was a HUGE party that we were not invited to, as we soon became the only dressed-down bunch on the streets of Cairns. Girls were walking by in strappy heels, designer dresses, and either hats with diameters that rival golf umbrellas or with a pin in their hair that looked like something kids make it 1rst grade craft class, as they were just loaded with various sized beads, feathers, and pipe cleaners. Ok, maybe not pipe cleaners, but I am pretty on point with the rest of it! I had to ask what was going on....Cairns Horse Race. And why does that answer explain why you all are dressed this way? Did anyone else know you were supposed to dress up for horse races at the track, because I sure didn't! I don't really get it, but hey, they were all having a great time (apparently it is normal to drink ALL DAY LONG when you are at the tracks as well, because everyone that was dressed nicely walked in haphazard patterns and tended to slur obscenities at their friends). The best outfit I saw all night was a man in his mid twenties, black bowler hat and tie, and a HOT PINK suit...classic. Had to take a picture - ps another thing I learned that night, security guards in casinos really don't appreciate people taking pictures in the casino. Whoops, my bad! After taking in some food and the first game of the Rugby World Cup (Go Argentina, SA, and NZ), we called it a night. What a FANTASTIC DAY - and a big thanks to Andy and Ri for letting me tag along all day, your company really made all the difference!


On Sunday, I took a tour to Cape Tribulation, the Daintree Rainforest, and Port Douglas. The tour guide was fabulous (I am really lucking out) and very knowledgeable, so the tour was even better than I could have imagined. Left Cairns at 8am and headed north along the Rt 1, a very scenic coastal highway that provided fantastic views of the greater Cairns area and port. We first stopped to take a little circuit hike through part of the Daintree Rainforest. When you walk into such a lush forest, the beauty of all the natural surroundings is OVERWHELMING! I've never seen so many flowers, such intricate tree roots, or heard so many animals at one time. Senses overload once again. The walk was just beautiful and took us to an overlook of the beautiful Mossman Gorge, which is quite mystic as the fog comes off the water running over the rounded stones that cover the gorge floor. Usually when you walk through nature paths, you look down so you don't trip..here, you literally CANNOT look down because you are fixated on the beautiful canopy above. What a fantastic start to the day...and it only got better!!


We then headed to the Daintree Mangroves Wildlife Sanctuary, a cute little place owned by a husband-wife team who wanted to provide a safe environment for some local native species. There was a fantastic collection of various cockatoos, another crocodile farm, cassowaries (really strange birds that have the body of an ostrich, a blue and red neck that looked like the gobble of a turkey, and a little conehead at the top that was made out of the same cells that form human finger/toenails), wallaroos, egrets, pythons, and bettongs - the smallest and CUTEST of the kangaroo family. Quite a collection of native Australian wildlife - we even got to hold a bettong and cockatoo, which I thought was pretty cool. There was a wallaby that was roaming free in the park and loved to follow us around and, like an obedient pup, waited for us outside the encaged bird sanctuary until we returned. How adorable!!!


Heading over the Daintree River, we stopped at Alexandra Range Lookout, which provided us with a panoramic view of the Daintree River, Port Douglas, and other capes south of Cairns. I love lookouts because they remind you how small you are...and, of course, they allow you to visually map out where you have traveled and walked that day!! Always a good thing. After that, we took a walk on the Marrdja Boarwalk through a mangrove swamp in the beautiful Daintree. Mangroves are AMAZING...they are trees whose roots need enough air and certain environmental specifics that a swamp does not always provide...so instead of die, the tree can grow another system of roots in a more suitable environment further away, while the old roots begin to emerge from the ground and stop growing when they hit the open air. It is amazing to look out over a swamp and just see heaps of roots - rounded, sharp, or knotted - all emerging from the mud surface of the swamp. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

We ate lunch near the lovely beach of Cape Tribulation, which provides a 360 of ocean, mountains, and rainforest - can you really go wrong with that combination. The tide comes onto the beach in a certain way, creating these tiny mountain ranges that are quite hard to the touch of your feet...and it is pretty difficult to "squish" these mini-mountain ranges, which when you look out over a group of them, look like the details of a fingerprint. The sound of the ocean coming, the whisper and hiss, is truly calming - and when you sit and close your eyes, you find yourself swaying to the rhythm of the tide without even knowing it - quite cool. After lunch, we headed to the Daintree Ice Cream Company for a little dessert of tropical fruit ice creams. The combination I tried consisted of four flavors: wattleseed (really good, tastes like coffee, probably because the seed is roasted before it undergoes the ice cream process), jackfruit (a humongous fruit that tastes like a subtle banana bread), yellow sapote (could very arguably be a vegetable...so the taste took some getting used to - it tasted like really cold vegetable, so it would probably be very good if someone came in with no idea what ice cream is "supposed" to taste like), and passionfruit (a favorite of the Aussies', not of mine). Once we were completely stuffed, we headed out on a river cruise of the Daintree River, where we spotted crocs, snakes, and various species of fish-eating birds. It was a beautiful ride as we got to see the sun slowly make its way behind the horizon, casting an amazing amber glow on the rainforest ahead of us!!! THANK YOU!!! A-MAZING! Coolest bit of information of the day - the blackbean tree seed, which is poisonous to humans, was ground and then boiled by the Aboriginals, ridding it of the poison, and then used as an antidote for some illnesses...TODAY, it is a component of AZT, a drug commonly used in the pharmaceutical treatment of AIDS patients and is used in some chemo treatments as well!!!

The beauty of this area keeps showing itself to me....this time in the people. On Monday, I headed to the Rainforestation Nature Park in Kuranda, a nearby town over the hill that has immense character and appeals to most everyone that travels there. At the park, I had a one-on-one tour from an Aboriginal man of the Panagirri tribe, where I learned their practices of hunting (how to use and throw a spear, and how they used boomarangs to hunt birds perched high in trees). He let me throw a few....and theirs actually come back to you after traveling quite a distance - in that moment, I won't lie, I felt pretty cool. Then the didgeridoo and explained how they played it for ceremonial purposes and imitated animal sounds to pay tribute, respect, and appreciation to all animal life! He imitated the sounds of a kookaburra (a bird native to Oz that makes a laughing call), a kangaroo, and other wildlife that lived in the hills surrounding Kuranda. SOOOO cool and super excited to practice when I return! He was a really genuine man that taught me a lot and patiently answered all of my 2034992834928349 questions. Thank you to him. The day ended in performance where the Aboriginals performed dances depicting animals, food gathering, and hunting. For the last dance, they pulled 3 people from the crowd...and being the only person in the audience not of Japanese decent, I of course was chosen. It was fun to not really care and jump around like a kangaroo, stomp around, and shake a leg (most literally)!

This brings me up to today! A two-hour horse ride through the rainforest, bushland, and farmland on their 1,200-acre property. Now, in the brochure, it says "leisurely walk"...when I got there, I realized I was going with only one other gal on the English-speaking tour (there were 30+ Japanese tourists that went with the Japanese-speaking guides). Well, as I was signing the injury waiver papers, the guide asked my level of experience...."I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've ridden a horse, the last time being about 4 years ago." Somehow, he talked me into putting down "medium rider" on the sheet, a label that a had a subtitle in small print underneath it saying "50-100 rides." The ride itself was FANTASTIC and because there were only two of us, we were able to cover 5x as more ground, of various terrain, at a faster pace. You don't really realize how massive these animals are until you are on one, cantering, then galloping out of control, your body flying all over the place, like a bouncy ball at the end of its turn. All that really matters is that I didn't fall off... the bruises on my legs are a badge of honor :) Good ole' Magnus didn't buck me off, something the guide later said he does often enough, so I was very happy with my horse! Turns out, the other rider, is a riding instructor.... she teaches others how to ride for a living ... as in, does it every day, has her own horse. So although the pairing probably wasn't fair for either of us, we managed, and we got back in safely, and we had a BLAST!! That's all that matters.

Tomorrow, I plan on doing absolutely nothing, lounging in my newly-washed clothes (I did them by hand, scrubbing them on stone...so fun), and hopefully connecting back up with Rachael from Sydney/NZ, who I recently discovered is still here. Hope everyone is doing well. Much love to all. Miss ya.