The A-Team Does Australia, Part 2: Cairns

Since it’s close to a month after the fact now, I figure it’s time to finally post about our trip to Cairns.  While my parents were here, we had the chance to fly up to Cairns and meet them there to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, explore Kuranda, trek around Daintree National Rainforest, and visit Cape Tribulation.

We flew up to Cairns, just under a three hour flight, on a Saturday morning and set off right away to maximize our time in Cairns.  About an hour after arriving, we took a coach to the Kuranda gondola, which traverses the rainforests right around Cairns to take visitors to a quaint, old rainforest town called Kuranda.  The gondola ride itself was beautiful, but stepping into Kuranda was like stepping back into Australian history.  The town is essentially an old hippie and aboriginal town full of galleries, shops, and local artists’ wares.  We had a great time perusing the shops, eating at a local café (where Brad tried an alligator burger and my dad tried a kangaroo burger) and taking a walk through the rainforest.  To get back to Cairns, we took the old time railroad out of Kuranda, which carves through canyons and provides incredible, sweeping views of the rainforest and its waterfalls.

Gondola ride through the rainforest to Kuranda

Wandering Kuranda

 

 

Brad's crocodile burger ... I tried it and was not a fan :(

 

The next day was our chance to get out to the Great Barrier Reef.  We started off early in the morning boarding a large catamaran to take us on a couple hour ride to the outer reef.  Our destination was a floating barge called Marine World, equipped with snorkeling equipment, lounging and eating areas, dive gear, a semi-submersible boat, and a glass bottom boat.  Upon arriving, we immediately outfitted ourselves for snorkeling and dove in. (It is currently stinger season, so one is required to wear stinger suits to protect the entire body from them.  They make for a nice fashion statement. J)  Quite simply, the snorkeling was incredible.  The variety of fish was immense and colors of the fish and coral were the brightest neon colors I have seen.  As we discovered, underwater cameras simply cannot capture the beauty and intensity of colors that can be seen below the water’s surface.  Some favorites include seeing sharks, parrot fish, and several large type of Maori fish about three feet by two feet which were very friendly.  We also fit in a ride in the semi-submersible boat, which provided some great underwater views as well.

Giant Maori fish

The next day we had arranged for a tour up to Daintree National Rainforest.  First, we made a stop to see some animals.  After a couple of hours of driving along the coast, we arrived at an animal preserve.  Here, we had a great time feeding kangaroos and wallabes, seeing crocodiles, holding some large parrots, and visiting the impossibly cuddly and soft koalas.  The kangaroos were especially fun and it was fascinating to see how protective they were.  A male kangaroo kept fighting off geese and ducks who were wandering over while we were feeding what I'm assuming was his wife or girlfriend. :)  I also decided if laws ever permit it, Brad and I are getting a koala as a pet.   They sleep about 20 hours a day and are even cuter in person! 

 

We then moved on for lunch at a rainforest canopy café hidden away in the middle of nowhere and enjoyed some wonderful views and food.  Lunch was followed by a walk on the beach to Cape Tribulation, a stretch of coastline that looks completely pristine and untouched.  Located in the northeast tip of Australia, it is virtually the farthest north that one can travel by car in Australia.  In the afternoon, we enjoyed a trek through the rainforest while a guide taught us about all the incredible ways that the Aboriginal people used native flora and fauna to alleviate all sort of problems and provide innovative solutions to life in the rainforest.  On the way back, we stopped to take a riverboat ride to look for crocodiles.

Cape Tribulation

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Looking for crocs!

Brad and I had to leave the next morning to head back to Sydney, but my parents enjoyed another day of snorkeling the following day on a different location in the inner reef off an island called Green Island.  I was told that it provided some more excellent snorkeling and they had the opportunity to see rays and some other larger animals not seen previously.

This trip definitely whetted our appetite for more, and Brad and I are now looking forward to more travel.  We currently have a trip to Melbourne, Phillip Island, and the Great Ocean Road planned, and are pondering a trip to Tasmania.  We hope to have more exciting adventures to report in the coming months!