Cairns Daintree Rainforest and Barrier Reef

---

Sat 25 April Anzac Day

Saturday was Anzac Day, a fairly major day in Australia where the country comes together to celebrate their armed forces and remember those who gave their lives in the many conflicts Australia has been involved in. In all the major cities there is a Dawn Service followed by a parade. Wherever we have been in Australia it is clear that a lot of time and money is spent on memorials and gardens to honour those killed in combat including nurses which I think we sometimes forget to do.

Sun 26 Apr Kuranda
On Sunday we were picked up and driven to the Skyrail station to go to Kuranda. The Skyrail opened in Aug 1995, has 47 gondolas stopping at 2 rainforest lookouts and in total covers a distance of 7.5km taking approximately 1.5 hrs. It offers spectacular aerial views of the Baron Gorge and Daintree Rainforest In the wet tropics of Queensland World Heritage area north of Cairns. When we arrived in Kuranda we took a Boat trip on Adelaide River where we saw more crocodiles and learnt about the flora and fauna of the area. Afterwards we walked around the shops and had lunch before returning to Cairns on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. Construction of the railway began in 1882. The railway was completed as far as Kuranda in 1891. Passenger services began operations on 25 June 1891. Many lives were lost during construction as numerous tunnels and bridges were built. 15 hand-made tunnels and 37 bridges were built to climb from sea level to 328 metres up the Macalister Range. Three million cubic metres of earth had to be excavated during construction.



Mon 27 Apr Barrier Reef from Cairns We had to be at the Marina for 7.30 to pick up our cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a beautiful sunny day and already getting hot with little wind so perfect conditions for snorkelling! We filled in the necessary disclaimers and boarded the catamaran, Osprey V. The first task was to go onto the upper deck and collect snorkels masks and fins, then down below for our welcome talk and outline of the day. There was tea and biscuits during the cruise out to the dive site. Some of us were snorkelling and others doing an introductory scuba dive. We still needed to wear stinger suits which are generally ok at the beginning of the day but not so nice to put on once cold and wet! Our first dive was off Norman Reef which had large mounds of coral but were quite tricky to negotiate as it meant it was quite shallow and there is always the risk of damaging the coral with your fins. There was an array of small fish and a few larger ones and Tom spotted a turtle but I think the waters off the Whitsundays and Cape Tribulation were better. Whilst I think GoPro cameras are brilliant underwater it's really off putting to see people swimming across you with extended Selfie sticks!! When we boarded the boat it was lunchtime and we had a feast of barbecued sausage, chicken and fish with potato and pasta salads coleslaw and garden salad. While we were eating we travelled to our second dive site. This was more accessible and we saw a reef shark! I was constantly amazed by the variety of coral, hard and soft and the colours. At 2pm we ended our dive to go on a submersible through the coral with a talk by one of the crew members. Back on board we had fresh fruit waiting for us and on the return to Cairns we had cheese and biscuits with wine. We sat on the top deck for a while but the speed of the catamaran and the wind meant that it started to get a bit as bumpy and some people got drowned with spray! Time to make a tactical retreat downstairs where one of the crew had a guitar and was singing. It was a lovely atmosphere and a really pleasant end to a great day out on the Reef. The crew were all friendly, helpful and made you feel well looked after. Would definitely recommend this trip!

---

Photos

Great Barrier Reef
Amazing experience !!