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Published: February 18th 2010
Welcome to Cairns
Taken from our balcony as we tie-up at the dock.A name you have heard numerous times already, Captain James Cook, sailed up the North Queensland coast on his first Voyage of Discovery in June 1770, aboard his ship the HM Bark Endeavour, and he mapped the future site of Cairns, naming it Trinity Bay. Cook was the first known European to visit the site where today’s City of Cairns is located. There is some dispute that the Dutch explorers were on Cape York 175 years before Cook. The journey down the coast by the Endeavor was not a pleasant one. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most difficult waterways in the world to navigate.
Cairns, pronounced like Cane or Caan, depending on who says it locally, was actually founded in 1876, hastened by the need to export gold discovered in the area. The land belonged to the Walubarra Yidinji people, who still recognize local indigenous property rights and interests in the area.
During World War II, Cairns was used as a staging base by the Allied Forces for operations in the Pacific. And now, because of its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef, tourism is a very big part of the economy.
As we have
Another View
Another taken from our balcony. had a fair amount of rain, and a forecast for continued rain and possible thunderstorms, many people we know were cancelling the Great Barrier Reef excursion because the long ride there can be rough. Even the Captain was forecasting bad weather. We decided that because we had come this far, we were going…period. It’s an 8-9 hour excursion, leaving a pier near the ship on a catamaran that takes us to the Reef Magic pontoon, almost an 1hr and 20 minute ride. There was a momentary shower on the way, but after that, the skies and weather could not have been better. They gave us a briefing along the way and offered us several additional packages. Someone could scuba dive if they were certified and had their card, get an introductory scuba lesson, go snorkeling with a marine biologist or, for the experienced snorkelers, do an adventure snorkeling with a marine biologist along the reef wall in deeper water. Also included was a 20-30 minute ride in a semi-submersible coral/fish viewing tour. A buffet lunch was also provided on the pontoon. And, for those who were interested, you could take a helicopter ride back to the pier rather than the
Reef Magic Catamaran
This is our ride to their pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef. long boat ride…it wasn’t cheap. Because it is jellyfish season, the other option was renting a full-body lycra suit for $6.00, and not risk the chance of being stung. It was also a perfect 100spf for not getting sunburned.
Annette chose the snorkeling with the marine biologist and Doug picked the adventure snorkeling. So after getting to the pontoon, we donned our lycra suits, got our mask, snorkel & fins on and got into the water. They have an area marked with buoys that everyone stays within, so we snorkeled around for a while. The fish and coral were amazing. Annette’s event was at 11:00 with Alex, and she had a fabulous time and really enjoyed it!
After that we had lunch and each took a ride in the semi-submersible. It was also a great experience! Then Doug put his gear back on and got in the water. Then came fish feeding time! One of their crew brought a container of small fish (anchovies or sardines) over to the platform and started feeding…and what a feeding it was. Wally, who you will see, comes right up on the platform for his food. Wally, is a Maori Wrasse. He’s
The Happy Travelers
They took our photo before boarding the catamaran. the friendliest fish in the sea! You can pet and play with him. Doug is in the water stationed at the base of the platform in the middle of all the activity. Annette was able to take a lot of great photos with Doug in the water!
Doug’s tour time started at 1:45, and was also with Alex. We each had about 10-12 in our groups. Doug met with his group and we took a boat out to the reef, a couple hundred yards from the pontoon and snorkeled along the reef wall. We were in schools of some big fish, like Tuna and Jack fish. There were hundreds of incredible different species of tropical fish...of all sizes. We saw a couple of reef sharks and the variety and color of the coral was simply indescribable!
As we made our way back toward the pontoon, who comes swimming up to us but, Wally. If you put your hand out with an open palm, he would swim at it and bump his nose into it and you could pet him. Then their underwater photographer started taking photos of us with him, a sea cucumber and a sign saying “Great
On Our Way!
We've departed the Cairns Harbor and on our way to the reef. Barrier Reef”, which we were able to buy later on the return boat ride to the pier.
So, the day could not have been more perfect! And, we were able to say to the folks that were fearful of the weather and cancelled…”Boy, you missed the trip of a lifetime”.
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