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Published: September 8th 2011
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Hi all,
Well our day started early with a 7am arrival at the airport. We left Sydney on the way to Cairns to surprise our Canadian friends as they thought we would be arriving the following day little did they know we would be waiting at the airport for them with our disguises. We arrived at Cairns domestic terminal and made our way across to the international terminal with our signs that John had made. When we arrived in the terminal we were the only ones but it soon filled up . We had hired a stretch limo to transfer us to our Cairns hotel so the driver held the sign with their name on it while we hid off to the side. It was an anxious wait as people started emerging from the arrivals door. At last they arrived and bee lined for the driver with their name on his sign and they were a little confused when he informed them they had friends waiting. It was worth it to see the look on their faces when they spotted us.
Off to the hotel we hit the streets of Cairns to explore the boys booked a fishing and
OMG
what are you doing here crab catching trip for the following day and we thought we would just shop, relax and catch up. Thanks to Donna's great suggestion us girls spent a leisurely afternoon eating seafood and chatting. We walked back to the wharf to meet the boys and see if they had been succesful on their trip. Nothing to show but they had a fun afternoon as the boat owner was a real character.
The next morning we were picked up to board our Great Barrier Reef Encounter. We took a shuttle boat which took about 1hr to meet the boat that we would spend the next 3 days on. Once we boarded the boat we couldn't believe that there was to be only 6 passengers us 4 and another couple. There is normally around 40 passengers so we just about had the whole boat to ourselves with 15 staff to look after us. The Canadians were very impressed that we had managed to organise this private cruise for them. (Ha Ha)
We went for our first snorkel which was a little disappointing as the weather was a little windy so the reef was a little choppy. The next day John and
I can't believe this
you're not supposed to be here until tomorrow I decided that we would be game and try the scuba dive after a little apprehension from me down we went with Lucy as guide. It was beautiful seeing all the fish and corals. We were lucky enough to have the services of a marine biologist to explain all the creatures and underwater life to us. Next day we did another scuba dive at Saxon's reef which was even more colourful than Hastings Reef.
After returning from the reef the following day we took the scenic railway up to Kuranda. We went to the Koala Gardens were our Canadian friends were in tears as they cuddled the koalas and fed the Kangaroos again it was as if we had planned a private tour as we seemed to be the only ones there. Once again they were impressed. We took the cable car back down the mountain which took around an hour stopping half way to take a walk through the rain forest.
We enjoyed our last dinner in Cairns munching on prawns and oysters discussing our flight to Bali we were taking the next day.
On the way to BALI .......It was a long day as we
had a 5 hour stop over in Darwin so on arrival we checked our luggage into storage and took a taxi out to Stokes Land Wharf we sat and watched the wild dolphins swimming in the harbour. Back to the airport to take our flight to Bali..................... to be cont...................
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robyn munro
non-member comment
looks like you are having a great time
loved all the photos and all that seafood looked so appetising