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Maori Wrasse
Swim back, fishie! We caught a late flight to Cairns from Brisbane Airport, having had no trouble at all getting through security, etc. in Brisbane. We sat next to a fellow who worked on patents and environmental conservation, and who was keen to talk to Jon. We got a shuttle from the airport to our hotel, and were dropped off across the street from Gilligan’s Backpackers.
We had to wait *forever* at check-in, and Jon was getting slightly exasperated by the slow desk clerks and the loud party at the bar attached to Gilligan’s across from reception. We finally check in and collapsed in the hotel room.
The next day we had an early pickup for our snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef with Quicksilver. The bus picked us up right in front of our hotel, and we went around picking up other guests before driving along the coast (very scenic!) to get to our port. Jon and I dashed off the bus as soon as it arrived so that we could beat the cue to confirm our place on the boat and get our entrance tickets (good thing too, because it was a long line!). We sat on the boat and
Me
Wheee chatted until we left port, the weather looking more and more ominous.
When we reached the place we were to snorkel, however, the weather had cleared and the water had calmed down. Jon and I were the first ones in the water, and boy, it was fantastic! Very different from Heron Island’s reef system, this was very colorful and there was a big coral brumby right where we jumped off.
As we were getting into the water, a friendly Maori Wrasse came to visit, which was pettable. ^__^ He was really big and really pretty! There are some photos of him in the ones I uploaded—check him out! Female Maori Wrasse are lots smaller and less colorful than the males.
I got some good pictures (considering it was a crappy disposable underwater camera) of the fish and corals. Yay! I had a great time swimming around and checking everything out. Jon and I only got out of the water for lunch (which was good) and a semi-submersible tour around the coral reef, where we saw a turtle (a green, I think). It was a lovely day, in all.
We got dropped off after our tour, and
Fish
Tropical and lovely got showered before we headed off for dinner across the street at a little Italian joint. I was absolutely starving and devoured my meal. Yum, pasta. Jon enjoyed his too, even though it wasn’t exactly what he was expecting.
We crashed for the night, exhausted after our long day of swimming. In all, however, Gilligan’s was definitely a party hotel, and we were woken up by drunks at some ungodly hour… Where we stayed in Gilligan’s had a beautiful new hotel room, but was definitely not my style—too loud and too interested in parties rather than the sights. Ah well—it was our last night in Cairns, so Jon and I just went back to sleep, because we had another early morning the next day…
We check out of the hotel and put our stuff in storage while we went to Kuranda for the day. Kuranda is a tourist town, essentially, on top of a rainforest-covered mountain with spectacular views. We took a train from the base up to the top, stopping once along the way at a giant waterfall (Barron Falls). The flow over Barron Falls right now is pretty low because it’s been fairly dry.
When
we got to the top, Jon and I did a self-guided rainforest hike, which was beautiful. The rainforest was really pretty, and we got to hear and see lots of birds. It was tranquil and lovely, and away from all the shopping and tourist-y-ness.
We did do some shopping, however. Jon purchased a set of three panoramic photographs of places we’d been in Australia together (the Reef, Kuranda’s rainforest, and the Sydney Bridge and Opera House) to get framed for his apartment. I ended up purchasing a piece of Aboriginal artwork, a canvas of a Kangaroo, which wasn’t too expensive.
We then caught the Skyrail back down the mountain, making sure to stop at all the lookouts on the way. The views were fantastic! We’re also pretty sure that we saw a crocodile in the river on the way down from Kuranda (eep!).
I also accidentally dropped Jon’s camera case off the side of the mountain while trying to get his photo in front of Barron Falls. There was a series of expletives uttered as I watched the case bounce down the side of the mountain… I felt absolutely terrible, and promised to get Jon another camera
case as soon as I was able.
When we got back from Kuranda, we picked up our bags from Gilligan’s, grabbed a taxi to the airport and got through security really quickly. We had a flight to catch to Sydney!
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