'THE GREAT BARRIER REEF' & GREEN ISLAND, CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA

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I am dedicating this ' Down Under' tour in memory of my dear friend, Tina Day Coffin, who helped make it possible.

I decided to go on a 17 day Grand Circle Tour of Australia and New Zealand with 8 friends, all from Cape Cod, we called ourselves the Cape Cod 8! This was my first tour with GC. I flew from Denpasar, Bali to Sydney, Australia, 9 hrs., where I had to clear Australian customs, take a bus to the domestic airport and then fly to Cairns, 3 hrs away. Cairns is on the Northeast coast, along the beautiful Coral Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef. It is quite a lovely beach town, with good restaurants and shopping. Unfortunately, the day scheduled for snorkeling the reef was extremely windy with seas 8-10'. We had an exciting boat ride out to Green Island, on the first reef, where the majority of us decided to spend the day, however, the weather conditions didn't allow for snorkeling. A few were able to get out to the outer reef, a much longer boat ride. We enjoyed a very nice lunch and swam in the turquoise, warm, water!

The Great Barrier Reef extends along the north eastern coast of Australia for 1500 miles. It is not one large reef but a network of 2900 individual reefs and supports 1500 different fish plus 400 species of coral.

North of Cairns, was also the site of the 'Battle of the Coral Sea' May 4-8, 1942. The U.S. came to Australia's aid, with our aircraft carriers and strong air force, we inflicted serious damage to the Japanese, which ended the Japanese stronghold on that part of the South Pacific. The Australian's are very grateful to the U.S.

We visited a crocodile and kangaroo, wildlife area & learned more than we needed to know! Did you know that a crocodile can go 8-12 mos without eating? That they can digest bone? They can hold their breath for over 45 mins, have the strongest jaw of any animal. These crocs are known as saltwater crocodiles but they can live in both fresh & saltwater, they are found in northern parts of Australia & SE Asia. These crocs are the world's largest living reptile & can live to be over 100 yrs old. They are in rivers, streams, the open sea, experienced fishermen have disappeared along with young children playing at water's edge, they are vicious. When someone is killed, the authorities kill the crocs until they find the remains so the person gets a proper burial.

We stopped and visited Wether Station, a large cattle ranch, where pedigree cows were raised, all grass fed. Once processed, 90% is shipped to the U.S. A delicious buffett followed. at the rancher's home.

If you're interested in seeing a few more pics, please scroll down.

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Photos

Rancher, Mr. Wetherby, 70 yrs old
Mr. Wetherby maintains the range with minimal help.

Comments

[warren and judy]

Hi
We really enjoyed Australia too. Watch out for the jelly fish. Worse than the crocs, Cheers W & J

[Carlynn]

Love It
Hi, Sweetie, Love the photos and wish there were more, my adventurer friend. Keep them coming. You look beautiful!! Wish my mom could see them. Love, Carlynn

[Patricia Haggerty]

Great Blog...I learned so much about the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island.