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| Joan - Lulu - and Mike Nelson "Then I grabbed his face mask!" Sea Hunt |
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| Coral on the Great Barrier Reaf |
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| Green Island - people stayed there overnight. |
Lulu says the Great Barrier Reef is a highlight of her life. After 40 days in Australia - she absolutely loves this tropical blend of weather - ocean - isolation - and entertainment. We are staying at the Hilton Cairns - it is a pretty old hotel right on the water. There is a boardwalk lined with restaurants and boats and the bay is surrounded by mountains coming right down to the sea.
We are as far north as you can go in Australia - which means tropical weather. It is spring time - 84 degrees and partly sunny. This compares to 51 degrees in Canberra - down south where we lived for a month.
We left the hotel yesterday at 10:30 AM on a charter board to the Great Barrier Reef. There were about 200 people on the boat - some just going out to Green Island to spend a day - but at least half were going the full distance to the platform on the reef. The coral reef is 1300 miles long - you must be very careful not to destroy the formations. They have taken thousands of year to form - so the reef is highly protected by the government.
The platform is moored over the reef - they had plenty of snorkel outfits for us - there was lots of shade and benches to put on our gear.
It took about 2 hours to get to our spot - about 20 miles off the mainland. You could just barely see the mountains on the shore. It was sunny - a mild chop - no rain - and the water was 82. The wetsuits kept you warm - the life jackets kept me buoyant. Lulu swam without a jacket. She had on a mask - snorkel - and fins. On the way out Lulu got queasy from sea sickness - but she really enjoyed the swim with the fish and the ever waving coral.
Joan and I also chose to ride the semi-submarine. It never really dived under the water - but we were inside - about 15 feet below the surface. With the giant windows - we got a better look at the stuff.
We were on the reef from 12:30 to 3:30. We had a very nice lunch - which was provided hot. The bathrooms were clean. The platform was much more stable than our boat.
At 3:30 - the boat horn sounded. Everyone climbed on board. They counted the passengers about 10 times. As we pulled out - I did notice they kept a crew on board the platform. I am guessing they were preparing for the next day.
Lulu found a place to lay flat and slept the entire trip back. She wasn't the only one. After all the swimming - or just keeping your balance on the swaying platform - you were easily fatigued. It was a very quiet ride back with many people sleeping. At 5:30 we arrived - I had not realized that the dock was maybe 100 yards from our hotel. It was great getting a hot shower and knocking some of the salt grime off your body.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the top 5 natural wonders of the world. It can easily be seen from outer space. The word shark was hardly mention - but it is famous for sharks and attacks. They constantly had life guards watching for trouble. With 100 people in the water - I figured I only had to swim faster than 1 of them. I only saw a few fish bigger than 4 feet. No sharks.
I was taking pictures with mi iPhone. It is supposed to be waterproof - but I did not trust it. I put it in a plastic sleeve and had a lanyard around my neck. It was hard pressing the buttons. I was afraid I would drop it. I did the best I could - after a few days I could probably adjust.
We have 2 more nights in Cairns - then 3 nights in Sydney. Then we have the 14 hours ride to Los Angeles. It still amazes me that a jet can dependably go that far. That is about 7000 miles! It is twice as far as Lindbergh's famous flight.
Lulu taught her class this morning - she has another one Thursday morning. It will be evening back home but it is 8 AM in the morning here. So far - we only had 2 mishaps. Lulu had a cold - no covid. Our plane to Cairns had a 3 hour delay. This seems minor after two senior citizens spending 40 days way out of our comfort zone. We are lucky. Jefferson said - the harder I work - there luckier I get.
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| Our Cairns Hotel |
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| Our ride to the reef |
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| Getting equipment |
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| Coral take with iPhone |
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| Lulu loves to swim |
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| Our diving platform |
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