Unda tha Sea

Because time is flying by, I have decided to try to mark things off my *list* of things to see and do while here in Australia.  The latest adventure took me to the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef.  In order to get to the reef, there are many towns along the coast of Queensland from which to choose.  This trip, I went in via Cairns (pronounced CANS).  Once there, I was delighted to learn that there was not only opportunities to go to the reef, but Queensland is home to actual rainforests!  Of course because tourism is one of the largest (if not THE largest) employers in Cairns, we were spoiled for choice in tour operators.

Day One's adventure was a trip on the Skyrail.  This cable car takes you from Cairns up to a little town called Kuranda.  Along the way, you travel over the rainforest, beautiful waterfalls and the views provided go all the way to the Coral Sea.  From the Skyrail website,

Australia’s Tropical Rainforests cover approximately 900,000 square hectares and are internationally recognised as being one of the most ecologically fascinating natural areas in the world, as one of few remaining truly pristine tropical rainforest places on the planet. Stretching for over 500 kilometres along Tropical North Queensland’s coastline, these rainforests are the oldest continually surviving rainforests on earth and once covered the entire Australian continent.

If I thought New Zealand was lush and green, Queensland gives it a run for its money.  The cable car takes you up and over but it makes stops along the way for you to get out and explore the rainforest up close.  Here are some shots as we traveled up.

 At the first stop, we had to get out of the cable car and had the opportunity to either continue on or walk a designated path around the rainforest.  There was also a chance to take a short tour with a park ranger.  We managed to catch the tour as we made our way around.  Some of the trees were so lush and green but this fella below was huge.  I cannot even begin to articulate how large this tree is except for the fact that I stood at the base of this tree and looked straight up to take this photo.  Not just up, but an actual 90 degree angle from where my head normally sits.

One of the oldest species in the area and it grows to be the tallest, reaching over the canopy of the other trees.

We made our way around to the observation deck to overlook the valley below.  It was beautiful and absolutely peaceful.  So peaceful in fact that some lady just pulled up there at the rail and started hanging out there.  You cant tell but this observation deck is quite small.  Im standing in the corner and there were maybe places for 5 other people to stand if they stood shoulder to shoulder.  There is no ROOM for you to hang out and meditate on life for an hour or two lady, we ALL want photos here.

Overlooking the area

Then it was back in the little cable car and up the hill some more.  The higher we got, the less excited I was about the others in the car *wiggling* around.  I understand you cant see everything from all angles, but please sit still and stop rocking this bubble hanging hundreds of feet above the ground.

The view from our car.  Good thing Im not scared of heights!

One more stop and we were at Barron Falls.  Because it has been rather dry, the falls were more of a trickle than a *falls* but beautiful nonetheless.

Barron Falls

We finally made it to the top!  As with most things these days, they take your photo upon arrival which you can then conveniently purchase in the gift shop for a thousand dollars.  I gave this a big pass for two reasons, 1) I didnt know the other folks in the car, 2) It was a stupid picture of me, and 3) I wasnt paying that much for a bad picture.  I win this one tourism industry.  Of course you must disembark the cable car and the exit takes you conveniently through the gift shop.  I made my way out and into the little town of Kuranda.  There was a bus that took you from the Skyrail station to the end of town then you could walk back to the station at your own pace.  Sounded like a good option to me.

As we made our way around the town, there were tons of little shops, markets and art galleries.  We stopped in a few and did a little shopping all while making our way back to the train that would take us down the hill once more.  I ran across this little church and had to stop and take photos.

St. Saviors - Kuranda

Inside of St. Saviors

It was SO SWEET.  They had few stained glass windows and they were not very large but they were well done and very pretty.  I was completely enamored by this little church and immediately wished we had been able to do this trip on Sunday rather than Saturday so I could attend the service.

Aboriginal art gallery shaped like a ship!!

This is an example of some of the randomness that is Kuranda.  Right across the street from St. Saviours was this.  Yes, that is a building shaped like a pirate ship.  It is an Aboriginal art gallery.    As a matter of fact there are examples of random art all over Kuranda.  This mural was painted on the wall right next to the ship/gallery.

Up the road a bit they had these rock works in the side walk.

Hey, now those are some shapes I recognize.

Who puts a carriage on top of a bar?  The citizens of Kuranda.

So after lunch and a bit of a walkabout, it was time to catch the train to go back down the hill.  You could get a round trip on the Skyrail, a round trip on the train or you could split it up.  I thought splitting it up sounded more fun.

ALLLLLLLL ABOARD!!!!

The trip down was pretty much the same as the trip up, except rather than looking down on it you were right in the middle.  It took us by to the falls so we could see them up close.  Not super impressive but again, it has been rather dry.

If you look closely, you can see two ladies out walking their dogs next to the train.  The locals are thoroughly unimpressed.

Over all, it was a really fun day and I got to see stuff I might not have been able to see other wise.  The weather was perfect for that because it was not too hot or too cold.  I got a little sun and got to see some beautiful flora and fauna native to Australia.  The next day would take me out to see the sea to see what I could see....

This is the catamaran that took us out to the pontoon.  It was pretty big and Id say held about 200 people

I get motion sick and was very worried about this portion of the trip.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ride was not very *wobbly* and I did fairly well.  It started with a few bumps but was calm.  The first stop we had to make was at Green Island to drop off those who were just going to the island for the day and to pick up folks who had gone on in the morning.

Scenery on the way to Green Island

Its a little overcast but look how calm the water is!  It was a smooth ride.

Green Island

Once we picked up the folks from Green Island and deposited those who started out with us, we headed on out to the outer reef.  I didnt realize that the seawalkers were only available on Green Island so I missed out on that but I did get to take a ride on a semi-submersible to see the reef.  With glasses, it makes it difficult to snorkel.

The pontoon at the outer reef.  LOOK at the color of the water!! Ive never seen water that color in nature.

HAHAHA!!! Looks like Gator is everywhere!

The semi-submersible that gives you a view of the reef.

Under the sea, we could view the Great Barrier Reef from a carpeted seat on the semi sub. At first I was disappointed because you could only see some coral and not much else.  As we went out a little further, we started to see some of the natural inhabitants of the reef.  Its hard to tell from the pictures but a whole school of fish just swam right up to the sub.  As we sat inside looking at them, they were looking back at us!

Look Flounder, its PEOPLE!  Have you ever seen such a wide variety of people before?

This is a better shot of the school.  They were so curious and funny!

So I did ok for the most part.  It was touch and go once we got onto the pontoon (which moves more than I think it should....) but the killer was the trip on the semi sub.  As I disembarked and got back on the pontoon, the little fella running the tour helped me off and said, "You right, love?  You look white as a ghost!"  I had a hard time answering because I was trying to keep my lunch down but I sort of nodded.  Then I flopped down on one of the tables and tried to make the world stop spinning.  I got back on the catamaran and waited to die.  We started back and I felt horrible.  After a stop to catch a peek at a whale swimming near by (which I did not see because I couldnt get out of my chair) we headed back to Green Island to pick those folks back up and drop the others back.  Its not like the weather was bad but for some reason it was really rough.  When we finally ended up at the dock, I felt like I had been on a ride in a blender.  Im super glad I went there and can mark the GBR off my bucket list.