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Published: December 13th 2007
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After our Reef adventure we decided to see a little more of the Australian landscape. We were in northern Queensland (northeast coastal area) and wanted to visit the Atherton Tableland. It is from there (50’s era Atherton Motel, home of the rare 24-hour internet access!) where I posted a blog entry last month.
After circling counterclockwise from up north Daintree National Park, Mossman Gorge, down to Antherton, then Yungaburra, and Crater Lake, we decided we really wanted another day out at the Reef. We had planned on a day in Yungaburra, but it really is a very small town that is easily seen in an afternoon, so trucked on back to Cairns (and saw some wild kangaroos en route!) and made another launch at the Reef.
This time we decided to go to Green Island, which, instead of being a boat tour which plops you in the Reef (and which we also highly recommend), is a small island which is populated by tourists during the day and by guests of the Green Island Resort after 4pm. We booked a night in this rather fancy-pants hotel (the only one on the island) and, for the record, feel that this was
Wild Kangaroos
After we stared at each other for a minute or two, Steve yelled out "Hey There!" really loud, and they hopped away just like kangaroos! one of those cases where the Australians were indeed taking a lot of our money, but at least we felt it was worth it. We arrived early in the day and were warmly welcomed as special guests of the island. The key to enjoying this exclusive resort is in the towels; if you carry with you the blue striped towels issued by hotel, all doors open to you. We sat down at some lounge chairs on the beach that normally cost $18, but by flashing our neat-o towels, the charges were waived! We wanted to visit a little underground observatory that costs $10 per person, but the staff spotted the towel and presto! in we went without paying. When renting our snorkeling equipment and stinger suits, they spotted the towels around our waist and bingo, no charge! We then spent the whole day walking and swimming around the island amidst a whole gaggle of tourists, thoroughly enjoying the sun and water.
Then, at 4pm, the magic sound of tourists boarding their return boats floated in the air, and suddenly the population of the island dropped about 98% and peace filled our souls. As we were walking back to the
Wild orchid on Green Island
great things happen when you look up! hotel, Steve looked up and spotted a wild orchid just hanging onto a nearby tree. We realized that probably hundreds of people walked by that tree today and likely very few were able to take the moment to see this incredible orchid.
The first order of business was the champagne sunset. As the sun sank to the west, a small clutch of resort guests gathered around and enjoyed the moment (again; free of charge, and no towel required!). After a peaceful walk on the beach, we ate dinner and then joined the stargazing/crabfinding walk. By now it was pitch dark. Green Island can be circled on foot in about 45 minutes, so we joined our naturalist and went about finding ghost crabs and naming stars. He then took us out to the pier where he pointed a super powerful flashlight into the water and showed us the various wildlife fishing around in the night. We saw huge turtles, flat skates, tons of fishies, and even a black-tipped shark! They are the safe kind, but they are about 5 feet long and would give a great startle if you ran into one (note: foreshadowing).
After a lovely night in
With these towels...
...oh the places you'll go! the hotel, we woke up early and set out for the snorkeling before any of the tourist boats arrived. This is what we had come for; the snorkeling conditions were perfect and we saw a bevy of colorful fishies and corals - I saw a clownfish doing his little “back in again, then peek out again” routine in the waving coral (actually anemone) that is their home. This time I saw a whole bunch of sea cucumbers and fantastically purple-colored creatures and lots of other great goodies. There are lots of parrot fish (aptly named due to their colors) that gnaw on the corals for their food and when your ears are underwater you can hear it the nibbling, crunching sound all around you. Amazing!
At one point I heard a little “scuffling” nearby and couldn’t quite figure it out so I poked my head out of the water and on the horizon saw Grace flopping around Steve, clearly wigging out over something. I swam over right away but Grace is a much faster swimmer than I am and was swimming in the opposite direction towards a ladder on a pier. It turns out she had come face to
On Green Island
getting ready to snorkel by the pier face with a black-tipped shark! I’m not sure who was scared more, she or the shark, because both high-tailed it away from each other with great haste. I swam up to the ladder to see if I could get more details, but she was up that ladder, on that pier and yelling at anyone who might listen that she had run into a shark.
After we all re-grouped, we awarded Grace an honorary Medal of Honor for her bravery. Well, not an actual medal, but an Ice-Cream Cone of Honor.
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