The Great Barrier Reef

Today was one of the days we most looked forward to on this trip - seeing the Great Barrier Reef. We booked an excursion with Tusa 6 after looking at many options. They came recommended by the tourist information center as well as over 1,100 reviews on TripAdvisor that rated the company as 4.5 out of 5 stars. That is pretty impressive. While the boat can legally hold 120 passengers, they never take out more than 60. That is still a large group, but we appreciated the fact that a larger boat would be a little more stable on the ocean, and they have access to 16 different reef locations so they can choose the ones that are most suitable for that day's weather forecast. The other companies only have two spots they can ever go to, regardless of the weather.

We left our apartment at 7:30 to walk to the pier as boarding began at 7:40 and the boat was to depart at 8. As it ended up, there were only 56 on board, including the 8 crew members. Nearly half the group was diving while the rest of us just intended to snorkel. Tea, coffee and danishes were available first thing. It took 90 minutes to get us to Hastings, the first reef location. On the way there a
beautiful rainbow appeared, which morphed into a double rainbow.

We all donned wetsuits as it is the end of jellyfish season. Wetsuits are like Spanx on steroids. They are incredibly difficult to get on, even when dry. I was surprised to see that the suit ended right above the knees as that left our lower legs exposed. We were given the option of using a full life jacket or a swimming noodle in the water. We like the snorkeling life vests as you can adjust the amount of air in the vest if you want to drop down more in the water. As they didn't have that kind, we opted to use the noodles. They worked surpringly well. 

We had two hours to swim before lunch was served, and we found out that is a long time in the water. We took a break about halfway through. We both agreed that it was the best coral we had ever seen. All colors of the rainbow were present in either the coral or the fish, and the blue of the water was unlike any I had seen. Jim has an underwater camera, albeit an old one so the technology is not as good as the new ones. Below are some of him pictures.

Because we were not allowed into the lounge area in our wetsuits, that meant we had to get them back off before lunch. Jim didn't get on the boat until awhile after me, so I had some complete stranger help me get the top part off, praying that my swimsuit stayed in place while he assisted me.

Following lunch we took off for the next spot, which was Michaelmus reef. That meant the very wet wetsuit had to be put back on. Jim headed out before me as I wanted to take some pictures, so I struggled to do it on my own. After about dislocating my shoulder, I went to zip it up only to find that I had put it on inside out! Now I had to ask a different complete stranger to help me get the darn thing back off. By the time I was finally in the suit again, I told the man they would probably be calling everyone back to the boat. Anyway, I got into the water eventually, and it was pretty rough. The strong waves would keep carrying me back to the boat, so I didn't venture off too far. Due to the waves, the water was not as clear as our first location so that was a little disappointing. I don't think anyone stayed in the water for the full time period. It was challenging just trying to get out of the water onto the back steps of the boat. Once again I got out before Jim, so this time a nice young woman from Germany helped me with the top part of the wetsuit. I certainly had a lot of people getting me dressed and undressed today!

On the journey back it was quite a wild ride due to the waves. I'm so thankful we are not prone to seasickness, because some people had a rough go of it. We were able to enjoy the afternoon refreshment, unlike some. The boat got us back in port by 4:00. One more item off our bucket list!

Cairns

Yesterday was a travel day, so I didn't write a post. Plus I picked up a bug the day before yesterday that stayed with me through this morning, so I wasn't up to writing. Yesterday's experience at the Sydney airport is worth mentioning. We were dropped off by a taxi at the domestic Qantas terminal, our scheduled airline to Cairns. As in America, we approached a self-service check-in kiosk to get our printed boarding passes and tags for the bags we would be checking. But there the similarity to flying back home ends. We proceeded to a self-check baggage monitor, where a machine scanned each boarding pass, asked us to place our bag on a scale to be weighed, and then to lay the bag flat so the conveyor could read the baggage tag we had secured at the other kiosk. After that, the conveyor took the bag away. No one asked to see our identification at all.

Next we went to security, and again no one checked for ID or even to see if we had a boarding pass for a flight. No need to take off your coat, your shoes, no liquids needed to come out of carry on luggage, and there was no X-ray machine that we had to walk through. The carry on bags were screened, however. I didn't know whether to be impressed or appalled! Certainly a terrorist could walk right into this airport and onto a plane. 

As Admirals Club members with America Airlines, we are allowed to use the clubs of One World Alliance airlines, so we went to the Qantas Club to wait until it was time to board our flight. When I asked the lady at the counter about the whole ID thing, she said, "God forbid we should ask an Aussie to show an ID!" Obviously they haven't had the terrorist attacks like we have in the US to warrant the extreme measures travelers in the states have to go through.

The Qantas flight was great, with the seats in the "cattle call section" as we like to call it seeming more comfortable and a bit larger than American Airlines seats. Plus we got a meal, which doesn't happen on a three hour flight back home. Not that I ate it. In fact, the smell of food was not a good thing for me. Thank goodness for the hot tea on board! The next surprise came after we landed. While the front of the plane was being emptied, they opened a back door for those of us in the cheap seats. We had to walk down an outside flight of steps and across the tarmac to the terminal, but there was sunshine and palm trees, so who cares?

There was free wifi at the Cains airport, which was great as it enabled me to let our AirBNB host know we were on our way. By taxi it took us less than fifteen minutes to get to our scheduled meeting place. Our accommodations here are right on the Esplanade, the boardwalk that runs along the water, so there are many places to eat and shop within walking distance. A view of the water and the harbour from the balcony is a bonus. The unit is only a studio, but we have a decent sized refrigerator so we can keep beverages and food cold. 

Today we have been checking out the town, starting with breakfast next door overlooking the Esplanade. As we walked afterwards we came across the swimming pool pictured below. There is not a swimming beach in Cairns, so the city built the next best thing - it is free and open to the public, as is the town's free wifi! We found Woolworths, which is a major grocery store not to be confused with our old five and dime stores. We were able to pick up some items for lunch, and a light breakfast for the morning. It is sunny with a nice breeze, and in the low 80's. As more of that is predicted for tomorrow, we booked our excursion to the outer barrier reef leaving at 8:00 a.m. We can't wait!

Sydney Day 6

This was our last full day in Sydney, and we started it with breakfast along the harbour. These beautiful birds invited themselves along. One sat on the table and began to drink out of my water glass, cheeky as you please. I was so stunned I didn't even get a photo of it. I snapped the picture below as the birds were looking for a handout at the next table.

Following breakfast we went on a tour of the Opera House. It was fantastic, made all the more so by our wonderful guide, Steve. The building really is an architectural marvel. When construction began in 1957, it was supposed to take 3 years and a $2 million to build. When it was finally completed in 1973, the final cost was over $100 million and the architect, Jorn Utson, had been replaced.

After the hour plus long tour, we came back to the hotel room to change into shorts as the high was predicted to be 75. Then we walked up to Hyde Park, where we saw some old churches and the war memorial. We grabbed lunch at a Korean restaurant, and then continued on to the Chinese Garden of Friendship. It was quite a hike from where we were. The garden is quite lovely, and a surprise within the confines of the city. Modeled on the typical private gardens of the Ming Dynasty, the  garden opened in 1988 and symbolizes the relationship between Australia and China.

Evidently we took a circuitous route back, because it took us a longtime to get back to our side of town. The bonus was that we caught some nice light on the Opera House. It was a fitting end to our time in Sydney. My wrap-up of our visit is that Sydney is a beautiful and vibrant city filled with friendly people. It is very international, and while expensive, is an easy place to be a tourist. We have very much enjoyed our visit, but are ready to see more of this fascinating country.