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Published: July 17th 2007
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I am in Cairns, in the tropical north of Australia. It's almost hot here, in the tropical winter: the high 20's with some humidity. I got a little sunburned on my first day in Cairns. My first day in Cairns was just an orientation of the city, and to decide which day trips to take. I also went to the Botanical Garden, very lush, dense and green. There is a boardwalk over the swamp forest, and with all the sounds of the jungle: crickets, birds and trees creeking in the wind, it all was quite amazing. I haven't seen any crocodiles yet, this is croc country and there are warning signs in a few places.
I walked to the Botanical Garden, about 3 km along the waterfront, what is called the Esplanade. It's a vast mudflat when the tide goes out, not a beach. Shorebirds and crabs can be seen the entire length, and the 1 km out. I doubt the water is very deep anywhere here along the coast because the reef is just a few kilometers out.
My reef trip was yesterday, and it was a dissappointing day. How could the Great Barrier Reef be dissappointing?
I got really really sea sick on my way out on the boat. A couple of us did, but I was the most sick. I refunded my breakfast a couple of times. Now I've been on boats before, but this was the worst feeling I've had. I couldn't do anything. The crew were really helpful. I had even taken a couple of ginger tablets as preventative measures. All I could do was lay down and hold my stomach. The crew told me I'd feel much better in the water wading around. I tried but I just couldn't get into the water. As I tried, any motion was enough to tighten my stomach. The reef so tantalizingly close was out of my reach. I couldn't put the snorkeling gear on. And I had even signed up for an introductory 15 minute scuba. There was no way I could do that. It was all for naught.
Like I said, the crew were helpful. They suggested I take the helicopter back. I did that. You know how expensive helicopter rides were, but there was no way I could have withstood another 1 hour 20 minutes crashing through the waves, up and down,
side to side to get back to shore in the boat. The boat was a sort of large speed boat with 80 guests and crew. So while I didn't get to see the reef from 2 m under the water, I did get to see the reef from 200 m above. I was holding my camera and stomach for the return journey.
A dissappointing day. I thought I knew my limits, and I suppose a speed boat on mild water waves is yet another limit I have to add. Looking back, it's not too surprising as I haven't been traveling well this trip - I'm generally not a good traveller - and motion really affects me. I got sick on the plane coming to Australia. I've never been sick on a big commercial airliner before. And while traveling by train on that windy stretch of track from Sydney to Brisbane I was a bit queasy. So there you go. I changed my plans for today. I was supposed to go by road to Cape Tribulation and the rain forest. It was postponed until tomorrow, my last day in Queensland and the east coast. Today is a rest and recovery
day.
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