Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef really does live up to the hype! Met a boat at 8am at Port Douglas Marina that took us the hour and a half out to sea. We then spent an amazing day snorkelling at three different sites along the reef.

Humpback Whales on the way out, Dolphins on the way back and more fish and psychedelic coloured coral than you'd ever believe, including a fish that was as big as me and swimming but with sharks as well!.. Mind blowing....

Photos to follow from the waterproof camera....

Vanless in Cairns

Our last day in the van today! Eight glorious weeks of travelling, climbing, surfing, snorkelling, sailing and kayaking are drawing to an end...

It's amazing how much 'stuff' you can accumulate over one summer! It took quite a few hours to take down the posters, empty the cupboards and start packing our equipment away. After the snorkelling trip, we'd managed to pass on a shorty wetsuit (too cold to use it in the UK!) and Clare's surfboard to a very greatful recipient. It's nice to be able to pass things on and this morning we filled our surf bucket with the left over food, wine glasses, the coffee maker and all the other bits and bobs that we'd acquired en-route that could be of use to other travellers. 

They were gradually taken away and distributed to passing campers. One lovely lady was so pleased with her 'gifts' that we received an open invitation to her house next time we are back on this side of the world!

By mid morning, we were packed up, cleaned out and on the road. We went straight to Cairns where, we did some topping up on gas and fuel. But not before stopping to check out the coastal views one last time. 

Because Cairns is so hot, yet the sea side so dangerous, they've gone to the trouble of building an inland lagoon swimming area! It's amazing - a giant swimming pool, complete with white sandy beaches, fountains, lifeguards and a big palm tree lined grassy area that was packed with sunbathers. It seemed rude not to have one last dip.

Finally, it was time to return the van to the depot. It had been a great and reliable companion for the journey, during which it had clocked up just under 6000km under our captaincy! Having dropped our luggage at a hotel first, we took a cab from the depot to the Botanical Gardens, where we took some time out to reflect and recharge in the cafe under the shade of some big ferns and palm trees.

To return to the hotel, we followed a boardwalk through the gardens (which was more of a jungle than gardens really).

There were loads of the spooky looking 'strangling figs', that grow up around a heathy tree and eventually choke them. 

This took us past a salt water lake and (we hoped) towards civilisation and the hotel. 

On reaching the city again, we found a sheltered sunny terrace where we chinked a final trip beer. What a summer. What a journey...

The Great Barrier Reef Pics

Just managed to get a few snap shots from the weird and wonderful underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef off the waterproof camera. No more words really needed as its hard to explain the beauty and weirdness of the shapes and colours.... Here's a small selection - see for yourself....

On the Boat

Straight into the water and the colours shine

Reef Shark swims past!

Stag Coral

Brain Coral

Sometimes it get shallow!

Giant Clams

Unbelievable Colour

Looking out for Cassowary

The fields of cattle and crops have changed to mile after mile of sugar cane as we migrated north. Now, in the tropical zone they are replaced with banana and pineapple plantations.

Our first port of call was the tiny little bay of Atty Beach. 

It's a cute little place, but our reason for the visit was to try and catch a sighting of one of Australia's rare and unusual flightless birds - the Cassowary. They look like this...

There's only a thousand or so in the wild, so it was a bit of a long shot, but apparently they like the beach here, so it seemed like a good place to sit and have a coffee break, just in case one walked by (they don't fly). After a very enjoyable elevenses, we had been joined by three sky divers who landed on the beach, but no Cassowary. They have razor sharp claws and can be quite vicious, so it was probably a good thing anyway. As we were driving out if the bay though, a young one (less colourful) appeared and walked out along the verge before disappearing into the forest. We swung the van around to try and get another view and a photo, but by then it was gone.

A few hours on the road further and we'd passed Cairns. We've taken Reg and Dale's advice and come all the way up to Port Douglas, where there are less tourists and better access to the Great Bartier Reef. The drive from Cairns to here was only an hour, but much harder to drive. The road follows the coast line which is beautiful as it's right down by the sea. The downside is that it requires a lot more concentration following the wiggling route than just sitting with the cruise control on. We were both tired when we eventually pulled into Port Douglas - Where swimming in the sea was not advised!

And if the crocs don't get you, the jellyfish stingers will instead! There really is a remarkable amount of dangers in the Australian wilds...

Not climbing at Townsville

To break up the journey to Cairns, we'd decided to pull off the highway and call in at 'Northern Queenslands premier crag' which is just outside the town of Townsville. To be honest, the topo didn't make it look that good, but we were drawn in by the chance of climbing one of the best routes on the cliff - 'Martin Direct'! However, what we'd failed to allow for was the temperatures, which were insanely high and almost incapacitating outside the aircon of the van...

We aborted the climbing plans and quickly formed a Plan B. Further up the road towards Cairns was a small detour that promised to take us past a couple of watering holes. Given that getting emersed in cool water seemed to be the only sensible option given the heat, we went to have a look. The journey turned out to be a little trickier than advertised, but provided a good little adventure! Firstly we discovered that the road was not only 'unpaved', it was also under repair...

Oh, and the tourist office also failed to mention that we had to cross a ford! Luckily water levels were low enough for us to pass today... 

Despite these small obstacles, we made it unscathed to the natural 'spa pools' watering hole outside of Cardwell and wasted no time in getting in! 

The colour of the water was due to various mineral deposits. Even though we had been told it was perfectly safe (i.e no crocs), we both felt a little uneasy in the water opaque waters.

But boy was it cooling!

A ridiculous Olympic diving competition soon began...

Having cooled off enough to be able to consider taking on the remainder of the drive to Mission Beach, we left the pools and bumped our way back out the Bruce Highway.

Arriving in Mission Beach felt like being in a completely different country. Palm trees and coconuts lined the beaches and the temperature and humidity were stifling. 

After sorting out a campsite, we took a walk along the beach, where crabs were scuttling in and out of holes in the sand.

Finished the day off by finding a nice little wine bar at the back of the beach, with a chilled vibe and sea views. Stayed until dark before walking the two minutes back to the van. Although the light faded, the temperature remained unchanged. It tickled us to remember the shiveringly cold nights at the start to this trip, down in Victoria to now, lying on top of the duvet, glistening in sweat with the windows all open. 

We are Sailing! To Bali Hi Island on the S.V. Domino

What a fantastic day! A highlight of the Australia trip for us both. After roughing it camping and sea kayaking for the last few days, today was blissful mixture of luxury and tranquility. 'Sailing in the Whitsundays', we'd been told by almost everyone, was 'the thing to do' - we just wanted to make sure that if we were going to do it, we'd do it in 'our style'.

There are plenty of big sailing boats at Airlie Beach, with room for upto a hundred passengers, all eager to book you onboard and give you a spin around the islands, but not really being ones for 'package tours', we didn't really fancy doing what the normal folk do.

After a bit of hunting about, we found just what we were looking for - Captain Reg Eggers and his lovely little boat the SV Domino.

There is room for 8 onboard, but we sailed with 6 passengers and a little six year old boy, so we had plenty of room. (Especially compared to my only other previous sailing experience on the Pop-Pin' with Captain Poppleton last summer).

After meeting the sprightly, seventy year old skipper on the docks at eight in the morning, we knew instantly that we were going to be in for a good time. With his well tanned skin and wide smile, he didn't need to tell you that he'd spent many, many years at sea and was still excited to be going back. We were soon ushered down below to be shown the charts and plan for the day.

"By law, the Captain has to give a safety demonstration", Reg began. After a thoughtful pause, he continued, "so when the ship goes down, help yourself to a life jacket and put it on.....and that's about it". I really liked this guy! "Hopefully that won't happen though"....he added, almost as an after thought. Then it was up with the main sail, and away we went!

There wasn't a great deal of wind about to begin with, so the motor assisted us out of the port. 

Then with both sails full, we glided out across the ocean - our only task for now, to sit back, enjoy a coffee and some banana bread and watch the water skim by.

I imagine in some conditions, with the boat on full tilt and a gale blowing, it can be quite the full on adrenaline experience, but today, I for one, was quite happy with the more relaxed vibe! 

The sun was shining and we'd soon worked up a right thirst doing nothing; then right on que, we were handed a glass of fresh mango juice to help cool off...

We ended up having to motor sail for most of the crossing as there wasn't enough wind to get us to the island we were heading for, but as far as I was concerned, we were on a yacht, out to sea, so therefore, we were sailing! 

The light winds meant that it was a less extreme crossing, but all the more relaxing for it...

Around midday we arrived at a private mooring just off the uninhabited island of Bali Hi and were taken ashore in a small dingy.

We left Reg on the boat, got snorkels and flippers on and spent the next hour and twenty minutes snorkelling around the reef. Straight off the beach and we were into a huge shoal of fish. A bit further out and the coral started - all kinds of crazy shapes, colours and layers and some big clams. But even better than that was when Clare spotted a big Green Sea Turtle in amongst the coral. It was just sitting there chilling and together we could dive right down next to it.

Out of the water, on top of some boulders was a big Osprey nest, with a mother and two (very big) chicks peering over the edge. We swam up close and as we did, one took off and slowly glided over our heads about a meter above us to check us out. Magical experiences...

When we got out of the water, Reg's right hand man, (there's probably a better nautical term than that; first mate perhaps?), Dale, had prepared a gourmet banquet on a shaded picnic table on the beach. We wolfed down the delicious shrimps, salmon, chicken and salad platter.

Before getting back on board the boat, there was just time to walk off lunch along the deserted beach...

Back at the boat, there were a few hungry catfish who looked like they knew it was worth while hanging around, in case there were any scraps left from lunch. Clare was brave enough to offer some up.

Time was ticking on though and we soon had to wave goodbye to the island and begin our journey back to the main land. 

Without much wind, we had to employ the motor again, so there wasn't much technical stuff to do, just hold the tiller (I think that's the right word?) and keep her heading in a vaguely straight line - a job that even I, with my limited maritime skills, was able to do unsupervised.

We each took a turn at the helm during the crossing...

And also on look out as well. We saw another turtle, flying fish jump past at a terrific speed, but stars of the afternoon were the two huge humpback whales that popped up and made massive splashes with their flippers as well as showing their trademark spurts of water. 

All in all it was a wonderful day out, on a great boat with hugely experienced, knowledgeable and friendly crew. Throughout the sail we had the chance to relax, take part, ask questions or just be by ourselves. Something that you'd never get on a 'tour boat' and can only achieve with such small numbers.

We both stepped off back 'S.V.Domino' at the marina with huge grins on our faces, buzzing from such an excellent day out..

Thanks Reg!...