The Outer Reef Beckons!

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Arriving in Queensland we were astounded by the tropical climate and geography - it looks like Hawaii with lush green mountainsides, white sand beaches, and cool ocean breezes! Pineapple, mango and sugar cane fields are abundant. We flew into Cairns and drove straight up to Port Douglas, about an hour north. Several people had suggested we visit this seaside town and we sure are glad they did! It reminded us a bit of Cannon Beach, Oregon with one main street of shops and restaurants, a nice long beach, and many places to stay.

We really loved Scoops, an ice cream shop on the main drag. It is open air with glass folding doors to lock up at night (or in bad weather). The flavors of ice cream were exotic and delicious. The owners were so pleasant to talk to about the area and our travels around Australia and theirs around the US. They are selling the shop and moving back to Melbourne though, so we wish them the very best!

Port Douglas is also the jumping off point for the Outer Barrier Reef, so we booked a day dive/snorkel trip on Poseidon - a large catamaran that holds 80 passengers. We usually try to book on smaller operations to avoid the crowds, but this was recommended as the best of the bunch. The ride out to the reef was smooth despite the wind. The three dive sites on the outer ribbon reef were amazing - with endless fields of coral. The dives themselves were only OK, catering more to beginner divers, and just skirting the reef rather than going through it. Most of the snorkellers were flailing around with pool noodles and CM had to carefully avoid being kicked or cut off while trying to enjoy the reef. We did see several black tipped sharks, a sea turtle, stingrays, huge starfish, a large cod, giant clams, and plenty of tropical fish.

We had always associated the Great Barrier Reef with Great White Sharks, but actually the water is too warm for them, so they are more prevalent in the colder water of southern Australia. It was jellyfish season, so we did have to wear lycra suits for protection. We arrived just about two weeks after the great yearly coral spawn, where hundreds of miles of reef simultaneously spawn on the same night so that fish can't possibly eat all coral polyps. Amazingly, coral taken from the reef and grown in a tank will also spawn on the same night, and scientists haven't figured out the common trigger yet.

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Photos

Which Flavor?
At our favorite ice cream shop in Port Douglas.

Like the Necklace?
J bought it in Bali.

Live Music
This guy could really sing - our favorite was when he played "The Gambler!"

Giant Pool
The trick to these photos is to use a circular polarizer filter to cut the glare off the water and darken the blue in the sky.

Fluffy
The boat's zany resident marine biologist. He snorkeled with a weight belt so he could dive down to 15 meters or so and stay under over 3 minutes. With that kind of skill, who needs scuba?

Crazy Setup
J was salivating over this underwater camera setup.

Comments

[Pamela]

Nice....
I love the "Great Barrier Reef" photo.... beautiful. CM looks great in the "Strike a Pose" photo.... what a beach bunny.