After the National Parks that we had so looked forward to seeing, the last big ticket item fr our trip was of course to visit The Reef! It is considered to be the largest living thing on the planet, as the entire reef itself is in fact alive with many species of corals. The plan was to get to Cairns and either spend a day snorkelling or diving the reef from there. Our budget wasn't any bigger than before, but our anniversary was coming up and we gave ourselves permission to be spoiled at least a little.
So we headed across the desert for the last time, south from Litchfield and then east to the coast. After being in Oz for nine months, this was actually the first time we had seen the east coast, other than from the plane. In Cairns we found some information on the weather for the upcoming week (which of course affects the seas quite drastically) and some info on reputable and affordable companies to sail with. While the reef is massive, it is still quite a ways off shore, so it is necessary to take a boat out to really see it. We made the decision to go on a day with calmer winds and seas about a week later, so we ended up with a bit of time on our hands to see some other area in the meantime!
Cairns was sadly not an affordable place to stay, as there was absolutely NO free camping, and a caravan park would cost at least $35 per night. It's too bad, because the night markets seemed really nice and there were plenty of interesting shops and restaurants by the beach. So we made our way up to the Tropical North, a couple hours above Cairns, and covered in tropical rainforest. We camped at Noah's Beach campground, which, while not free, was minimal in cost and facilities, and suited us well. The site was a good size, and only twenty metres from the beach! While we were there we went for many walks in search of cassowaries, but only found some lace monitors and other small lizards. The rainforest was lush and beautiful, but damp. No wonder. It was a lovely area but after a few days we were longing to dry out our sheets and clothing. We drove back down to Cairns and bit the bullet, paying for one night at a caravan park before our Reef excursion.
The boat was a good sized catamaran, and the company we went with was called Sea Star. They were very professional and knowledgeable about the reef and its inhabitants. Most of the crew were dive masters, and although we decided to only snorkel that day, we learned a lot of SCUBA from them. The trip out to the outer, more pristine reef was about two hours. It wouldn't have been bad, but my stomach was not particularly behaving that day and I soon felt nauseous. I spent the majority of the trip at the back of the boat getting the air and sea spray as a result. When we reached our first location at Michaelman's Cay, we were immediately greeted by very large and colourful fish as we geared up. The water was quite clear, turquoise blue, and seemingly warm enough, but that changes after being in the ocean for an hour or so... We tried to take as many photos and videos as we could, but soon our hands were shaking too much to keep the camera steady! The corals were beautiful, with tons of blue finger coral, large and small plate coral, brain coral and the occasional fan. The most unexpected thing we saw were the giant clams! They are massive creatures, with a pale grey outer shell, then blue or purple lips, and often a red interior. The lips move with the waves, and an electric blue membrane flutters just inside and creates a very intriguing illusion of blue and white lighting up the clam's mouth. Jason took a dive down to one of the clams, and snapped his fingers in front of the clam to demonstrate how their mouth closes up to protect themselves!
We made a quick visit to the cay itself, which was covered in thousands of seabirds, and was formed over hundreds of years by parrot fish who chew up the coral and spit out the fine ground coral bones to form the powdery white sand. Then we had a lovely buffet lunch on the boat as we sailed to our second destination. There were many vegetarian and vegan options, which we had called about to make sure, and there was fruit and tea at almost all times. The break also allowed us to warm up slightly in between excursions, though our wetsuits were still cold and wet when we had to put them back on. The second sight where we snorkelled was called Hastings Reef, and was even further out than the first. The coral was pristine, and the reef was quite shallow in most places so we had to hover on the surface many times to avoid kicking anything and damaging the reef. This allowed us to get really close to some of the creatures and fishes though, and we saw so many varieties it was a bit overwhelming! We found plenty of beautiful types of clown fish, angelfish, rainbow-coloured parrot fish, tangs, butterfly fish, and even one great big moray eel. Jason had to dive down a ways to get a photo of him, and I could see just how big the eel was in comparison. We snorkelled around and tried to film until we were cold and shaking, and it was time to head back to shore.
We were exhausted, and the ride back was a bit rough, but we made it in one piece. It was an amazing experience that we won't soon forget, and are looking forward to exploring some more underwater worlds when we get to Asia! All of our videos are on Youtube, and there are plenty of photos of our reef adventure on Flickr. Please enjoy, and stay tuned!
