We're here! Cairns (pronounced "cans") is in the northern-most part of Australia in the state of Queensland--whose nickname is "The Sunshine State!" As soon as we walked off the plane, we felt the wonderfully warm temperature: 26 degrees! (79 degrees F) I love it, but Steve was less enthused. ;)
We had decided to check our bags on the flight from Sydney to Cairns because we were on a different carrier than usual (Virgin Australia), and we were unsure of bag requirements. We were quickly reminded of why we like to not check a bag while we waited at the baggage claim for nearly half an hour! Oh well. We picked up our bags, grabbed a cab, and set out for Koala Court Apartments! Getting a two bedroom apartment was less expensive than a hotel, and we have SO much space! We also have a kitchen and a living area as well. It's so cute!
We checked in, got a map, and out we went for the Esplanade! Our hotel (apartment, whatever) is about a 20 minute walk from the Esplanade, or boardwalk, is the main drag, if you will. That's where most of the restaurants and shops are. There aren't a lot of beaches in Cairns, as I anticipated there would be. Instead, it's a "jumping off point" for excursions such as hot air ballooning, boating, train rides, rain forest adventures, helicopter rides, and of course the big finish: The Great Barrier Reef!
Steve and I stopped for lunch at Barnacles Bill's Seafood Restaurant where I tried the barramundi fish they have everywhere--it's like tilapia--and Steve got the prawn pizza. We organized our afternoon plan of attack over lunch: Steve would go for a run and stop at the grocery, and I would go to the Cairns History Museum and plan out itinerary of excursions for the week. Ready, set, go!
The Cairns History Museum was quite interesting. There were artifacts ranging from Aboriginal culture, farm life, Bush Pilots, daily life, immigrants (lots of Chinese culture, as you may imagine from the proximity), sea life, etc. The city was very instrumental in WWII, and the museum covered a lot of that. Apparently there were many naturalized Australian Italians prior to WWII, but nearly all of them were sent out during the war. American soldiers were stationed in Cairns, and the Australian men were all quite jealous of them because they got all the girls--American soldiers were exotic and exciting! ;)
There was a lot of information crammed into just a few small rooms upstairs in the building that houses the museum, but the volunteer who was running the place says they are expanding! The museum will close and the end of this month or the middle of next, and it will be renovated and updated for the next 15 months! I can't wait to come back and see what they do with the place. =)
Next stop... Excursions! I went into one of the dozens of tour offices around and spoke with an Australian girl who set me up with some great adventures! We decided to do the hot air ballon ride and ferry trip out to Fitzroy Island on Tuesday, and the train ride through the rainforest to Kuranda village on Wednesday. What fun!
And now for New Zealand Naturals ice cream. :) I got some sorbet made with tropical fruits--quite the treat for an afternoon stroll in the tropics!
Steve found me reading a cultural sign at our meeting point, and we walked back to our hotel. The next morning was to start at 3:30! We had to be ready for a 4:15 pickup to make our sunrise hot air balloon ride!
Hot Air Ballooning
Yep, morning came early this fine day! Steve and I were ready and waiting for our bus pickup at 4:15. The driver was a sweet Japanese man. He got our information sheet that the woman from yesterday's tour office had given me and let us on the bus. We made several more stops, and around 4:50, the driver said we'd be heading up a mountain to a small village called Mareeba, where the balloons take off from. It's an hour drive! And so we began winding our way up the mountain, down a bit, up some more, through emu and kangaroo territory (road signs here really do warn of kangaroo and emu popping out onto the roads, just like deer in the States!), and round and round we went...
Observation: Steve and I were the only white folks on the bus, everyone else was Asian. A large portion of out busmates were from China, so our driver gave instructions in English AND Chinese!
The balloon ride was very serene. It's so calming to be up high above the hustle and bustle. We saw the beautiful sunrise, fog settling over the Atherton Tablelands, islands rising above the water in the distance--beautiful! I think Steve liked it pretty well, too. We even saw a bunch of wallabies hopping around through the trees on the way back down! What interesting to me about hot air balloons is that they are truly guided by the wind. the pilot can make the balloon go up or down and in circles, but not in any particular cardinal direction. But we did indeed land where he thought we would. There was virtually no wind up in the sky, but the pilot let us down enough to catch a southerly wind below us and get us to an open landing field. Any hot air balloon landing is really just a controlled crash, which I find humorous! This landing was smoother than the one I experienced on my balloon ride in Turkey a couple of years ago. For the landing position, you face backward, hold on to the designated rope loops, bend your knees slightly, and there you go! The pilot said on windy days, the basket sometimes tips over, but not today!
Another group was waiting to go up after us, so our group (only 16 people plus the pilot in this balloon, as opposed to 60 per balloon in Turkey, which are the biggest hot air balloons in the world!), awaited instruction on how to exit and let others on without letting the balloon take flight again prematurely! Steve was the first out, a new person got in, and then I got out, and a new person got in, etc. they did that over and over until we were all switched out! Once it almost got off the ground, but someone climbed in quickly so it wouldn't float away!
And then it was back to the bus and down, down, down the mountain. Next up, the ferry to Fitzroy!
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The Secret Fear
What a lovely ferry ride! The water here is a beautiful bluish-green, and you can tell by the dark spots in some places that reefs are there. The day is a beautiful one here, and made more so by the contrast of the blue sea and sky with the green of the islands betwixt. There's something addictive and contenting about being on the water.
When we got to the island, we made a beeline for the bookings shop (rental place) to pick up our snorkels and fins!
Most of the shore on Fitzroy island is not sand, but dried, dead coral. It's been bleached white by the sun, so from a distance it looks like sand. We found a locker to rent for the day, took only our towels to the coral shore, and in we went to brisk South Pacific!
I have a great secret to confess to each and every one of you who has ever commented on my bravery... I am, and have always been, afraid of swimming in the ocean! I so wanted to go to the Great Barrier Reef, but would I be capable of mustering the courage? Could I possibly allow myself to miss this much anticipated, first-time ever opportunity? Let's find out together, shall we?
I had intentionally avoided thinking about the possible dangers. For months I fought the urge to let my mind run away with me, but there we were on the ferry, reading through the information we were given about the day, and Steve said it: " Oh good, it's not ray season," meaning stingrays and other rays. Now my mind just couldn't stop itself... There are poisonous, lethal things in and among the reef. Oh dear.
So we got our gear, found a spot to lay out our towels, and started toward to water. Steve dove right in. And I stood there, knee deep, fretting!
The water was cold, so I let Steve think that was the reason for my slow decent. If I admitted to anyone I was scared, I might not do it! So in I went, put my face in, and there it was!
The Great Barrier Reef!
It's beautiful! It's all colors and shades of neon. It's big. It's small. Parts of it look like a brain. Parts of it look like intestines. Fish of all kinds glide right through it. It's close the the surface. It doesn't look real, but there it is!
You're not supposed to touch it--don't worry, I didn't! Though it's gorgeous, fascinating, interesting and unlike anything I'd ever seen before, I truly felt respect toward it and even responsible for it. I wouldn't have wanted to touch it even if that was allowed. It's peaceful and serene, even with the loud colors. I wouldn't want to disturb it, and I hope others feel the same.
After about 15 minutes of swimming around less than 10 yards from shore, I was done! My goggles kept fogging up anyway. I swam to a spot where I could sit in the water but still be on shore, took off my gear, and enjoyed the scenery from above the water for a while. Steve, who was the much more adventurous one of us today, swam over to check on me. When he saw I was fine, he decided to swim further around to see more. I'm so glad he enjoyed it so much! He told me later it was a primary highlight of the trip so far!
I confessed to him later that I am afraid of swimming in the ocean. :) We sat on our towels on the hard coral shore for a while, enjoying the sunshine and each other's company. The rest of our day was spent hiking around the island, taking in views of the ocean, and taking another quick dip into the South Pacific to wash away the day's grime. Tonight we dined on pizza--seafood for Steve and Australian for me, which included "bacon," which in American terms is thinly slices ham, tomatoes, cheese, and egg. And for my next trick--time for bed!
Tomorrow's big adventure involved a train ride through the rainforest and potentially holding a Koala!
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