February 23, 2023 – Cairns, Australia

Cairns is pronounced ‘cans’.  Hmmm…never knew that.  I’ve always pronounced with the ‘r’.  

Yeah, we’re going on tour this morning.  I’m not feeling my best, but refuse to miss this tour.  Cairns is famous for The Great Barrier Reef but also Rainforest National Park.  I’ve always wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef, so we put on our swim suites, boarded a large, multi-level boat and off we went.  Approx 2 hours later, we arrived at our destination on the reef.  I noticed other dive boats in the area that had marked areas where they anchor.  

O no, the weather started to change quickly.  The sky is black, the waves are big but people were anxious to get in the water.  We each had a skin to put on to protect us from jelly fish or other things that might sting you.  Normally, you’d think of putting on a skin because of water temperature being cold.  No, not here, the water is 90 degrees.  Bob and I put on our suits in anticipation of going in the water.  We brought our snorkel gear with us and just needed fins that they provided.  We sat on the boat watching others in the water going up one wave and down the next.  Bobbing up and down as it’s pouring rain.  We decided to wait to see if the weather would change.  Honestly, if I were feeling better, I’d be in the water by now, but I keep having coughing fits and started to feel anxiety about being in the water, starting to cough and then choking.

My friend Bev and her husband Mike were on this tour also.  Mike braved the weather and went out for a snorkel.  Bev is like a fish.  She’s in the water, no matter what.  As of yesterday, she is now a scuba diver.  The staff on this tour were excellent.  She signed up for a dive into the reef and was very excited.  Fortunately for the divers, they did not have the downpour or waves to deal with.  Like another world, a few disappeared from the surface and soon came back to tell their tales.  Bev told us about a giant clam she saw, many kinds of coral and fish and swimming down through a cavern-like area, away from the rain and waves.  She was thrilled with the tour and decided to go again.  I was happy for her!  What an exciting day.  

Bob and I joined many others having a nice lunch on-board the boat as we watched the weather.  As some point, we decided not to take the plunge, this time.  Although disappointed, the ride on the boat out to the reef was enjoyable.  Due to the short time we have here, we don’t have the luxury of waiting for good weather.  

It would be great to come back to Australia and explore this area too.  The rainforest sounds fantastic and of course, some more time on the reef so we can see the coral and fish.  The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world.  As the world’s largest reef system, it’s composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 1,600 miles.  I had no idea how enormous it was!  My brother, Kenneth, would love the diving here!  I hope someday he can come here too.

Some other tours offered at this port included a scenic railway built between 1882 and 1891.  Even today, it’s considered an engineering feat of tremendous magnitude as it winds its way from Cairns to Kuranda.  Another tour, is the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.  Touted as “The World’s Most Beautiful Rainforest Experience’, the skyrail is a world’s first in environmental tourist, taking you over Australia’s World Heritage Rainforest canopy and deep into the forest.

Our time on the reef was done.  Everyone was on-board and we started our journey back to Cairns.  About 90 minutes later, wouldn’t you know it, the sun is peaking out.  We disembarked and thanked the staff.  We boarded the Island Princess, took showers and dressed for a party.  Tonight we were invited to join some friends at the Bayou Cafe and Steakhouse to celebrate our friend, Pedro’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Pedro! We all sang and toasted to Pedro. We have not been to this restaurant, but will say, the steak was delicious.  I had an 8-oz filet mignon but the majority of people had a 22-oz porterhouse steak.  Our friend, Ashley (officer on Princess) stopped by our table to bring Pedro a special made birthday cake.  It was not only beautiful but delicious.  Ashley, you are very sweet!