Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

After Noosa we drove to Brisbane to take a 2 1/2-hour flight to Cairns, still in Queensland but a world apart.  Our hotel was across the street from the public library, which has a lawn full of tall trees.  We learned at dusk that those trees house thousands of bats.  What an amazing sight!  The bats, as large as hawks, unfortunately eat only fruits rather than the flying insects which abound, but watching them swirl out into the darkening sky was amazing.  During the day one can see them as they hang from the tree branches, moving and stretching their wings like capes.  Another frequent sight is that of parrots perched in the trees around town, bright green and red against a clear blue sky. 

The esplanade along the shore boasts a park and a swimming lagoon, and large cruise ships dock in the harbor.  Cairns itself is relatively new city, as most highrise buildings were built within the last 20-30 years.  We were surprised at the number of diners out every evening, as the streets teemed with visitors and locals alike.  The mall, too, was full of activity on a weekday morning. 

The girls were interested in a horseback ride, so we chose a horse riding outfit that picked us up from our hotel and shuttled us up into the rainforest.  We passed under a skyride that goes right over the canopy of the forest and up the mountain.  During our two-hour experience we rode along through terrain that looked more like high savannah than rainforest, and we saw plenty of brahma cattle but no kangaroos or koalas.  We could, however, hear the distinctive call of the kookaburra, and other birds twittered or squawked as we rode along.  It was a delightful two-hour ride.

But the crowning jewel in the Cairns area is the Great Barrier Reef.  We had a day-long trip to the reef, and it was a day none of us will ever forget.  The catamaran left port at 7:30 loaded with divers and snorkelers eager to see the coral reef.  When we arrived at the reef, I was surprised to see an island—in the middle of the ocean, sand has accumulated on the reef to form Michaelmas Cay, a small island that is a bird sanctuary to two species of seabird.  The ocean floor here is only a few meters deep, so it was easy to see plenty of fish and coral through the glass-bottom boat our guides took us aboard.  Then we began our underwater adventure.  Although I had originally planned to snorkel with Glenn and the girls, I decided to try scuba diving after listening to the briefing; when the glass-bottom boat tour ended, Glenn and the girls were taken to the island to snorkel while I was taken back to the catamaran to gear up for diving. 

I must admit, I was apprehensive about being on and in the ocean after my less-than-seaworthy performance while dolphin swimming, but this time was quite different.  To begin, the water here is much warmer than around New Zealand’s South Island, eliminating that initial involuntary recoil upon entering the water.  Even though it’s warm enough to dive or snorkel in a swimsuit, we thought it prudent to invest the extra $7 per person to hire dive suits to protect against jellyfish stings.  My instructor, Simon, made me feel safe and confident, and within the first two minutes of being at the surface of the water in my scuba gear, I felt ready for a dive.  Amazing!  The undersea world was teeming with activity!  The coral itself is astounding, as over a hundred different varieties in dozens of colors grow there, but the number and variety of other living creatures astounded me.  I saw stingrays, turtles, huge clams, clown fish and other brightly-painted fish, and possibly a jellyfish.  Simon permitted us to touch some of the coral, which felt soft and silky.  I was glad to have rented an underwater camera and came away with dozens of pictures.  The variety of textures and colors is astounding, and after experiencing the reef, I understand why it is classified as a World Heritage Site. 

After the morning in the water we were famished, and the crew had prepared a lunch buffet for us that was sure to please.  They had plenty of vegetarian options, and everything was tasty.  Shortly after lunch was cleared, we were off to Paradise Island, another snorkel/dive site along the reef.  This one, though, is used only by Passions of Paradise tours, so it wasn’t crowded or rushed at all.  The girls and I opted to go into the water again, while Glenn stayed aboard the boat and enjoyed the sights top-side.  The dive was about half an hour, but I was surprised at how quickly it went.  I felt as if I could have stayed down all day!  The crew threw out some small fish to the angelfish that had followed us all day, and we started our two-hour sail back into Cairns.  Glenn and I both said that we never in our lives had thought that we would ever find ourselves swimming at the Great Barrier Reef, but now we all have an experience we will never forget. 

Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast

It’s fall in the Southern Hemisphere, and getting cooler and wetter in New Zealand.  The girls have a two-week school vacation that coincides with a conference in pediatric emergency medicine that Glenn is taking in the Sunshine Coast, so we’re off to much-more-tropical Australia!

Our flight left Wellington on Friday morning at 6:00 a.m., meaning we had to wake up at 3:30 to be at the airport in time.  The uneventful flight arrived in Brisbane around 8:30, and after clearing customs and dealing with our credit card company’s fraud alert department (we forgot to tell them we’d be in Australia), we were in our rental car and off to see the sites.  Actually, we saw a lot of sites over and over again, as we kept getting disoriented in the roundabouts and having to retrace our steps.

Brisbane is a beautiful, modern city that has a feel similar to La Jolla, CA.  There’s a river through the city—not a man-made gully like the one in Oklahoma City, but a real-life, thriving river with water taxis and development along the banks.  We ate at a café and strolled along the street, window-shopping and watching children play in the lagoon-like pool.  Not far from the city (if one succeeds in following the map) there’s a koala reserve named Lone Pine, so we headed there for some koala cuddling.  They have you sit or stand, then carefully place the koala on your lap or chest and allow you to take pictures.  You’re expected to pay for one picture that they take, and after that, you can take as many pictures with your own camera as you’d like.  Their photographer even offered to take some additional pictures with my camera!  The reserve also has a large field with kangaroos that can be hand-fed.  The animals seem to enjoy the interaction with humans, and lie very comfortably about and allow people to approach as they nibble on grass or snooze in the sunlight completely unperturbed.

After a short afternoon in Brisbane, we drove a couple of hours northeast to Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast.  It’s a subtropical environment, and it’s absolutely beautiful.  Wild turkeys strut about, and exotics bird fly overhead or can be heard calling from the forest just outside our hotel.  The beach has fine, white sand stretching far into the distance, with a gentle slope into the warm ocean water.  I was delighted to feel the sand wash from under my feet with each wave, pulling my feet gently under the sand until I was buried ankle-deep.  

The beach was fairly crowded, and I noticed more than half a dozen lifeguards between the red and yellow safety flags.  I walked over to one of the lifeguards and asked, “So how’s the water?  What sorts of dangers are on this beach?”  She replied, “Well, you see the yellow buoys way out there?  Those are shark nets, so as long as you swim inside them, you should be OK.”  Asked whether there was a strong undertow, she said, “Not really, not now, anyway.  The tide’s going out.”  Hmm.  Not sure what kind of rip tide we might find at another time of day, or tomorrow, when there’s a full moon… “Anything else?” I asked.  “Not any jellyfish today,” she relied.  “Today?” I asked , somewhat incredulous at her blasé attitude toward these creatures.  The box jellyfish is the most poisonous creature on the face of the planet, and they are known to lurk in these waters.   “So,” I continued, “how do you know whether there are any jellyfish in the water?”  She shrugged and said, “When the first ones start coming in, you know.”  “You see them?” I asked, obviously still not getting it.  “No, the first people start coming in,” she said.  “Stung, you mean?  You don’t know there are jellyfish in the water until people start getting stung by them?’’  I couldn’t believe this.  She just sort of shrugged again and said, “Well, you know, the first ones aren’t too bad—they’re just the babies, usually.”  I turned to Katy and Beth and called, “Girls, stay right here, next to the shore.” 

Sunday was a day for the Australia Zoo, home of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.  What a fantastic zoo!  The enclosures are large and heavily planted, and visibility is fantastic.  Animals have space where they can retreat from the public when tired, and the signage is interesting and appealing.  Fun facts are given at every stop, and the zoo manages to make its plea for not buying products that endanger animals without being preachy.  

The girls and I got to walk through a kangaroo reserve and see a joey peek from its mother’s pouch while she inspected Beth’s outstretched hand.  We saw a few of the highly venomous snakes Australia has to offer, so I’ll be able to identify them when I see them.  On second thought, if I see a snake, I won’t be sticking around long enough to decide whether it’s venomous!  Australia abounds with terrifying creatures, including crocodiles of both the freshwater and saltwater variety, so one isn’t 100% safe near any water’s edge.  We saw photographs at the zoo of Wes, one of the zookeepers, who had to enter a croc enclosure following a terrible flood.  In the inky darkness the croc escaped the eyes of the human watchers and dashed across the enclosure to attack Wes, who was saved only by the quick thinking and heroic action of Steve Irwin.  The attack required 187 surgical staples to close Wes’s wounds, and Steve barely escaped unharmed. 

In the aviary we watched parrots and other native birds, including the huge kookaburra.  The zoo boasted other native Australian animals such as wombats, rhinoceros iguanas, and red pandas, and it had Asian elephants and tigers.  Katy was moved to tears by the plight of the tiger, which may be extinct by 2020.  All three of us were thrilled to feed the elephants; we stood on a mat that was a trunk’s length away and handed them carrots, lettuce, and fruit one piece at a time.  It was interesting that each elephant used its trunk in a slightly different way to grasp the food and place it into its mouth.  Although they call this the Sunshine Coast, it has rained every day we’ve been here, so we enjoyed the zoo through a light mist much of the day, which I supposed was fortunate because it reduced the heat.

Today is our last full day in Noosa, and once again, it’s pouring, so it looks as if the beach is out of the question, at least for now.  We may drive down south to see the huge pineapple (go figure), the ginger factory, and either Aussie World or Underwater World.  Glenn’s conference ends at 1:00, so the girls and I will stick near the lodge so that we can do something together in the afternoon.  I plan to enjoy one last summer-like hurrah before facing winter in July.