We almost missed our flight to Australia. They were boarding the plane when they told us we needed a visa to enter Australia and we wouldn't be allowed to board without it. It was a race against the clock, both of us on our iphones frantically filling out the long document and paying the fee.
We raced through the doors as they were being shut!
We flew to LAX and transferred to Virgin Australia. It's a great airline and that matters more when your flight lasts 18 hours! (The whole trip took 24 hours!)
It was as long and grueling as we expected it to be, but we held up pretty well. However, we sure didn't want to get back on the plane in Brisbane to take our final flight to Cairns.
We stayed in a lovely hotel which was close to many restaurants, stores and the beach.
And the library was across the street, which made me feel right at home.
We were told that Cairns (pronounced kanz) is their Florida. It's on the northeast coast and lots of Aussies vacation there in the wintertime and many retire there as well.
We spent our first day in the rain forest. Before this trip I hadn't even known that there was a rain forest in Australia, but we were assured by our hosts that it was not to be missed.
And it was spectacular!
We took the Kuranda Scenic Railway and it was beautiful and restful, with waterfalls and lush vegetation. Many lives were lost building 15 man-made tunnels and 37 bridges for the 23-mile track up the mountain.
We visited the village of Kuranda with lots of little shops and eateries before boarding the skyrail. It was so relaxing to glide above the abundant foliage, and we were able to get out a couple of times to explore the rain forest before reaching our final destination, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures.
And it was an adventure! We got to feed kangaroos, cassowaries, and quolls. (We had never heard of them, either. They are a small, carniverous marsupial native to Australia.) We petted a very sleepy koala. I had no idea that they slept 20 hours a day. We went on a boat to see the crocodiles in their natural habitat, and we saw some entertaining shows as well--one on snakes and other reptiles and another one on crocodiles. During the last show, the trainer stepped into the caged pond with the crocodile and goaded him to attack. That was pretty exciting!
On the second day in Cairns we boarded the Seastar for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef.
I couldn't believe I was on the other side of the world so close to seeing this:
and this:
We had snorkeled in Mexico a few years ago and I was excited to try it again because I had loved it so much, but this experience was quite different. We were on a smallish boat and the waves were quite rough. It was a two-hour journey to the reef and I spent it sitting in the engine room by a young English rugby player, both of us with our eyes trained to the horizon, desperately hoping to keep our breakfast. Sadly, he lost his.
When we reached Michaelmas Cay we weren't given much instruction, just put on your gear, hop into the ocean and follow your guide. We were led far from the boat and it was difficult to manage the strong waves. Last time we snorkeled we were in a bay and it was one of the most meditative experiences of my life. However, as difficult as this experience was for me, I loved the colorful fish, sea creatures and plant life that I saw there. It is a magical world!
The crew fed us a lovely lunch and took us to Hastings Reef. We rode a glass-bottomed boat and I thoroughly enjoyed that. On the return trip, I installed myself next to the rugby player again, but the waves were stronger than ever and soon the room was full of sick people. The crew was handing out bags as fast as they could, then collecting the filled bags to dispose of and passing out bags for a second or third round of sickness. It was miraculous that I was one of the few passengers who never needed a bag, though perhaps I would have felt better if I had. :)
One of the best parts of traveling is meeting interesting people from all walks of life and from all over the world. We met a lovely scientist from Brazil (now living in England with her husband) who was there for a rain forest convention. And one of the crewmen was so kind to me. He came to rescue me in a little boat when he thought I was close to drowning. I have to admit, I was having a little panic attack, but I calmed down and didn't need rescuing, after all.
I'm afraid I didn't live up to my name on this excursion . (Yara is the queen of the sea in Brazil.)
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