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Published: April 5th 2011
Its going to be hard for me to write this blog...for the first time ever, I think I'm going to record disappointment.
I decided to leave Alice on Saturday. Just as the weather was perfect. Sunny days with a great breeze, cool nights and lots left that I could have explored. I really wanted to get in a snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef, so even though the weather has been really unpredictable in Cairns and Queensland in general, I had checked and it seemed good so I went ahead and went.
As I said in my last blog, I arrived to cloudy skies and apparently, worse weather to come. Even though I was dead tired, I booked the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling trip for Sunday morning. At 6:30 am I was out of bed, got dressed and packed up my bag. The skies were completely grey with clouds and the wind was howling. I took the free hostel shuttle bus down to the pier and found out that Stef, really awesome girl from the UK, was also going out for the day. I was excited to have someone nice that I could chat with on the boat. The marina area was really pretty and we checked in with no problems. When we got to the boat, I was happy to see it was a rather large boat with a couple of decks and a large inside area. I got in and immediately claimed a seat in the rear of the boat and put on my motion sickness wristbands. I also talked to the girls at the beverage bar and asked when they started selling beer. They said anytime and I talked to them about my motion sickness problem and asked how bad they thought the seas were going to be that day. They said pretty bad. The one lady suggested I try the ginger beer...non alcoholic but has ginger and carbonation...I ended up drinking 2 throughout the day and they really helped. Stef and I got settled again and the boat set off. We had about an 1 1/2 hours till the first stop for the day. Once we were out in the harbor, the boat started rocking immediately. Stef was also feeling a bit sick so we stopped talking and both started starring out the window at the horizon. The problem was, the boat was up and down so much, it was hard to always see the horizon. It would disappear behind a wave. Oh boy...this was going to be rough. I barely listened to any of the instructions on the way out to the reef...the only important information that I caught was, we have stinger suits if you'd like to wear one to protect you against the jelly fish. Its still (some sort of deadly jellyfish) season and we suggest you stay covered. I made a mental note to get one of those suits on before I got in the water. And Mom was afraid of the sharks...um Mom, apparently its the jellyfish that are going to kill me. By the time we got to the first reef, I was really ready to get off the boat. I had done ok, but was feeling awful. The ginger beer was doing a good deal of help though.
And to just verify how rough it was...there were about 30 passengers on the cruise...at least 1/2 of them were vomiting. One girl literally slept thru the entire day. So basically, she paid $130 to sleep on a rocking boat all day. Even some of the crew were getting sick. I found at after we were back and docked that we were in 40 knot winds. I really don't know how accurate that was, but either way, it was crazy rough.
So, as I rush to the back of the boat, I quickly get one of the stinger suits. Its like a wetsuit but really thin nylon material. I don't even hesitate putting it on...normally I have serious issues with wearing these types of things...too many other people wearing them...you never know how clean they get...people pee in their wetsuits people! My concerns are valid! Ok, so anyway, I throw the thing on, grab my flippers and gear and head to the back of the boat. I'm practically pushing people out of the way. Its so rough that people are falling over trying to walk around. How the boats were allowed to leave the marina I will never understand. How it was deemed safe for us to get in the water and swim...even more of a mystery...but either way, getting in the water was the only way to feel better. I sat down on the edge, got some very brief instuctions and slide in. Aw, almost immedate relief! Now, all I had to do was contend with the current and the waves. They required everyone to use a noddle (you know the floaty thing you use in a pool) as they got in the water. It annoyed the crap out of me and made it harder to swim. But either way, off I was. Swimming like a mad women against the current. I only had to go maybe 10 meters but it took forever. When I finally came upon the reef I was so upset. First of all, this was the stop to see a ton (literally they told us they would be all over) of sea turtles. I was in the water at least an hour - no turtles to speak of. Second, this was supposed to be a great fish area and coral area. The majority of the coral was dead. The rest of it was almost colorless due to the sun being buried behind multi layers of clouds. And, to top it all off, about every 3rd breath, waves would crash over the top of my snorkel. Let me tell you what's not good for an upset stomach...swallowing mouthfuls of saltwater. Yeah...this is not good. I was in the water and so upset. I had no option...getting back on the boat was a death wish (in terms of my stomach) and staying in the water was a marathon. I chose the marathon. I was the first one and the last one out. I did end up seeing some pretty cool fish, but overall, the experience was pretty bad. I was thinking during part of it, maybe its because I was so spoiled in Fiji...
I finally got back on the boat when I literally couldn't fight the current and the waves any longer. I was talking to one of the dive guys and asked what was up with this site and all the dead coral. He made a face like, crap, she noticed and said that next stop would be better. Let's hope so...
I peeled off my stinger suit and put my gear in its spot and headed inside for lunch. I was actually really hungry but also nervous to eat. My stomach was feeling pretty good so I took a little bit of food - which was all awesome! - and settled back into my seat. Some guy had sat down next to me and kept trying to talk to me. I finally had to say, I'm sorry I'm not being rude, but if I don't stare out the window, I'm going to puke. I can't talk to you. I'm not sure he understood, but he stopped talking to me. This was not my day to be social. The ride to the next reef was pretty short. I would say less than 45 min. I was happy for that. The bad part was that now it was raining. The good part was that we parked on the side of the reef that helped to block some of the big waves. So there were still waves, but this time, not quite so large. Awesome (note the sarcasm). Again, I was the first one in the water. After about 5 meters, I could see the reef and I have to say, it was huge! This reef was quite cool and it had little bays to it with all sorts of different and colorful coral. The current was not as strong here and the waves only crashed in on the snorkel about 1 in 10 times, so staying in the water was much easier. When the rain let up, the clouds seem to thin a bit. At no point did the sun actually come out - we never had blue sky - but for about 10 min, the water did lighten up and you could actually appreciate the color of some of the coral. Swimming in the Great Barrier Reef is a huge item on my bucket list. I've been so fortunate over the years to have great weather and success at seeing all that I've wanted to see. I think I've been pretty spoiled actually. So it made it so tough to swallow this experience. Here I was, in the water, freezing cold and fighting the elements and looking at one of the most prestious things in the world. I could see its beauty but it just couldn't shine as it normally does. It was so hard not to want more. It was so hard not to wish I'd skipped this part of the trip. But, I stayed in the water for more than 2 hours and soaked as much in as I could. I saw some amazing fish and they were HUGE! Much bigger than anything I saw in Fiji. That was really cool! I was also swimming along in one of the bays by myself and encountered a white tip reef shark. What, what what!?!?!?!?! Yeah mom, you read that right...I was nose to nose and side by side with a shark. Apparently they don't like to eat humans and I was at least twice its size, but nonetheless, I still squealed into my snorkel and froze in the water. I then decided that he could have that bay and that I was done looking at all the stuff in there anyway and I'd move on. Whoa...close call :-) The one thing I did not want to see - but later was really glad I did. I was in the water so long and swam so far along the reef that they had to send the little boat to get me. And, what made it worse, they wouldn't let me swim back in, I had to crawl into the little boat. Awesome (again, sarcasm). On the ride home other passengers had to comment on my getting into the little boat...really, let's not talk about it.
By the time I got back on the big boat, I was feeling much better. Almost like new. Thank god too...the ride home was relentless! At one point I stopped worrying about my stomach and started worrying out my safety. The waves were crashing up on the sides of the boat so badly. You couldn't even see out the windows and the force was amazing. I was so happy we weren't out on one of those out catamarans. By the time we got back to the marina, I think everyone, including the crew, was happy to be there. All in all, I have to say that I saw what kind of potention the GBR has, but I did not get to experience its true beauty. This will have to be something that stays on my list of items to see in the future.
Stef and I had about 45 min to kill so we walked along the shoreline in Cairns. Cairns is...strange. Its like a huge tourist town and it was almost annoying to me. Perhaps that's because I'd just come from the Outback and even that's a bit funny to say because Alice has to much tourism associated with it, but Cairns is more relentless and in your face. I didn't like it at all. The scenary was surprising though. Its surrounded by mountains and they were really green. Again, on a sunny clear day, I bet its beautiful. The boardwalk was really nice to walk along and we stumbled upon a live band playing in a big park. That was cool. By the time we got back to the hostel, we found out that the weather was getting even worse and they had canceled all boat trips for Monday and perhaps Tuesday as well. Good lord...I thought they should have canceled our trip. I mean, I would have been upset to fly up to Cairns and not get to swim in the Reef, but as it was, I felt like it was almost wasted money. I'll have to do it again to really see its glory.
I ended up going with Stef to get a free dinner at this bar in town. This place does a free dinner of small plate stuff. I got spagetti and then for $5 added a salad and garlic bread. Since I hadn't eaten much all day, I chowed down! It probably wasn't good food, but damn if it didn't taste good right then! After we finished eating, we both left. I was exhausted and she was getting up early the next morning for another excursion thing. I was in my pj's and in bed by 8:15 pm. Dude, I'm so lame. Ha! And ended up finishing my book. These books are so good!!! The second one was even more amazing than the first! I was out like a light at 9 pm.
Monday morning...I woke up and it was 8:45 am. How happy was I?!?!?! I slept almost 12 hours. God did that feel good. I got up, had some brekky and checked the weather. Grey, cloudy, rain was scheduled for all day. Ok, then...this really was turning into a wasted trip. I ended up using the free internet at the hostel to catch up on my blogs (I typed the Alice one and then lost more than half of it...it was like 2 hrs of stuff I had to re-type) and then I started reading the 3rd Larsson book. I pretty much typed and laid around all day. It did feel good to have a day to do nothing. That night I partook in the big BBQ the hostel puts on. The owner, Gaberiel, loves to do it and it was super fun. I ate kangaroo, salt water crocadile, emu sausage, regular sausage and all sorts of salads. They put all these tables outside and all the guests came out for it and there was some story telling all sorts of good stuff. It was probably the best part of my time in Cairns. I ended up in bed early again. I had to catch the 4:30 am shuttle to the airport in the morning.
Tuesday morning...my alarm went off, but I did not get up. I blame the crazy young boys in the room. They were in and out and in and out and I was up like every 30 mins between 10 pm and 1 am. I was out of bed at 4:28 am, grabbed all my stuff and rushed outside. I'd missed the shuttle. This is not good. I waited 10 mins to be sure and then called. The guy was super nice and said he'd swing back around to get me. By the time I got to the airport, it was 5:10. My flight wasn't until 7:20 am, but it was leaving from the International terminal for some reason and Cathy at the hostel suggested I get there 2 hours before due to some strange rules. As I walked up to the counter to check in I noticed that JetStar had 2 flights listed and both of them were canceled. Yeah...this wasn't going to be good. So the flight I was supposed to be on was coming in from Japan and they overfilled the plane or something there and therefore had to take bodies out of seats to keep it at a safe weight. Apparently the airline sent me a text message to inform me that my flight was canceld. JetStar is the cheap airline in Oz. You can't buy a ticket without giving them a phone number. My phone is not on. I don't have a local sim or phone. I asked for things to be sent to me via email. Yeah, I didn't get an email. Awesome. They walk me down to the re-booking guy and all I'm thinking is, if I'm on an afternoon flight and I could have slept in this morning I'm going to cry. Turns out, they put me on the 5:45 am departure on Qantus (their sister airline) and not to worry, I'll even get a hot brekky. Sweet! I rush over to the domestic termanial and check in. I get to the gate and they won't let me take my bag on. Now I have to gate check it. I actually told the gate agent, I don't care what I have to do with the bag, just get me out of this town. Once on the plane I settled in and even watched the movie with the free headsets! Double sweet! The brekky was not a hot one, it was cereal and when I asked if they by chance had soy milk I was told that I should have special requested that when I booked. I chose not to explain the events of the morning and ate my cereal dry. All in all, the flight was great. My arrival in Sydney was nice as well. I was happy to be in a big city. I used the hostel shuttle and although it took forever (2 hrs) it was free. When the hostel found out how long it took, they gave me some free internet (5 hrs worth - triple sweet!). I settled in and then set out.
I'll do a complete Sydney blog all at once...sorry no photos from Cairns...it really wasn't worth the space on my memory card, or my brain.
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Rachel
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Nemo & Friends hide on rainy days
Courtney, So sorry to hear about the miserable weather! Too bad all of Nemo's friends were hiding from you!! I so wanted you to see the sea turtles up close and personal!!! That would have been a real treat! Maybe fate means to bring you back to the Great Barrier Reef, some time real soon. Can't wait to hear about Sydney! Rach