North Queensland – Part I – The Barrier Reef – what more can I say?

So my sisters are down from India to visit me and with winter set in Sydney I needed to show them the real aussie sun, sand and surf – so were can one head in June (2009) in Australia for that – North. An early morning flight for which we all get up groggy and cold and like very smart people decide we won’t need sneakers in Cairns and so wear thongs and get out at 7am. Some how we manage to reach the airport on time, have donuts and coffee (the donuts back home in India aren’t very good so when one sees Krispy Kreme you gotta stop and get one), head to the aircraft and are asleep before we know it. Luckily we wake up just in time to get a beautiful glimpse of the coast, the barrier reef and the numerous small islands in the Coral Sea – what a sight. Just a slight warning to all, the airport at Cairns is being renovated and the amount you have to walk to baggage claim isn’t very pleasant.

My first thought on landing was, ‘I wanna get rid of my jeans’. Before we knew it our coach arrived from ‘Bohemia Resort’ and we were checked in and changed back out in a jiffy to take the bus transfer into the city (having had a few not so pleasant hostel experiences AKA Surfers Paradise, I decided a relaxed resort a bit away would be a pleasant change, plus when in charge of 3 young girls i can't take risks). We walked straight to where all the tourists in cairns head to – the Lagoon pool at the Esplanade. Had a bite to eat at a cute bistro and showed my sisters the aussie way by getting a beer with our lunch. Then what can I say, 4 girls, too tired to swim but never tired to shop, so that’s was we did. Booked all our tours for the remaining days, headed to the local pub, had a couple of jugs of beer, vodka-red bulls, and listening to 80s music we all got sentimental and had heart-to-heart talks . That was it for the day and back we went to go to bed for an early morning start to the Reef.

I have to say this here before I begin with all the activities we indulged in over the week, if your looking to relax and sit on the beach, don’t waste your time going to Cairns for a short trip, this city is first meant for activities and sports and then if you have the time relax. So getting back to the action, we began our trip with the most obvious thing one goes to see in Cairns the Barrier Reef. Up at 6.30 am ready to head out to Port Douglas from where our cruise was meant to start, got there and realized that all we were booked in for was snorkelling and I mean that’s just stupid if you going all the way there you have to go scuba diving and see the corals and the fish up close and personal, and so as soon as we got on, we all booked ourselves to head ‘down under’ and explore the water world. Neither of us has done this before and it was some experience just getting prepared for it and getting the coaching on it, but as long as your not a nervous person by nature I say just go for it, hell even if you are, as the aussies say ‘harden the fuck up mate’ and just do it (unintentional nike punch line).

It is one of the most beautiful sights I have seen so far, I might be repeating that through this trip.

But the minute you just dip your head into the water for the practice session of your breathing, you can see a whole new world. They live below us in a world that is so clam and beautiful, I was taken a back. For a minute there I stopped listing to the instructor and was just spell bound by the abundance of life underwater. The colours, the shapes, the textures, the life is just something you would have never seen or even thought of before. We had a 30-40 min dive and believe me it wasn’t enough, 12meters / 36ft underwater and all you can think of is how beautiful their world is and how oblivious most of us humans are about this. We were even made to feed one of the fish there and he was adorable, friendly and fun. His scales were just so smooth. I can’t even remember the names of the different fish and coral we saw and felt but each one had a uniqueness about them. So there you have it, you have to go scuba diving, I am totally geared to go to Wollongong and take up the PADI course to get my certificate cause living in Australia it is totally worth it to have one. After this experience, snorkelling was like a piece of cake and not such a delicious one, if only we had enough money we would have gone down for a second dive. Alas we had to make do with snorkeling, which for the ones who can't dive for various reasons is a really good option I have to say cause literally the cruise takes you right above the corals and you can see a lot. That done, we got back to Cairns having had one of the most amazing experiences, and there is more to come…too exhausted to go out into the city, we just got take out and headed to our room and were asleep ready for another long day of exploring.