CAIRNS, QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA
Welcome to Australia…
We finally have made it to Australia and it is amazing. I cannot explain how awesome this country is. Who wants to come live here with me??? I’m kidding but after reading this I’m sure you will want to come visit as well. The Country is gorgeous, the people are very nice and they have great accents. To begin this part of our trip we made our first stop in Cairns. Cairns is located in Queensland which is situated in the Northeastern part of Australia. The famous and gorgeous Great Barrier Reef is situated right off the coast of Cairns and attracts a huge amount of visitors. Cairns is also a huge stop for backpackers making their way down and up the western coast. The city is just like any city with hotels, casino’s, bars, mall, etc, etc, etc. They even have a Target in one of their malls. We got to Cairns on October 25th at 5pm. Shortly after a group of us got off the ship to explore the town and of course eat. As you walk from the cruise terminal and through town you will notice a couple things. First off the city is very clean. The second thing you notice is they drive on the opposite side of the road here throughout the whole country. The third fact you will notice is that people are very friendly and willing to help you out. This is the general feel we have got from most locals in the ports we have been to in Australia. The 4th and final thing I noticed…the gift shops. They are everywhere and lets just say...Christmas this year is all about Australia. As we got closer to the center of the city we found a public pool sort of area located right by the water. Being that there are not to many beaches close to the city and that there are dangerous jelly fish in the water, the locals have this pool to use as a substitute. On the weekends the whole swim area is filled with kids playing in the water, young people and families sunbathing on the grass and tourists just stopping by to take photos of the fish fountains located on the far end of the pool. The pool and fountains offer great picture opportunities, especially at twilight. We found a Thai restaurant to eat at and then went to some bars and club
s. I went back to the ship to sleep because of our next activity.
After waking up early (I’m saying 7:45am is early) and then going to breakfast we headed out to the Reef Terminal. Today we were on our way to snorkle on the Great Barrier Reef. Our original plan was to find a scuba day trip but being that we had to be back on the ship at 4:30pm and trips come back after that time, we were out of luck. Because of this we settled on a half day trip to Green Island to snorkle. Green Island is one of the only islands located on the Great Barrier Reef and is about a 30 minute boat ride from the city. The island is privately owned and offers many activities. Being the island is a resort there is a hotel on the island and many activities can be done on the island including snorkling, scuba diving, parasailing, a dip in the pool, walks through the lush green rainforest and a chance to see some of the biggest crocodiles in Australia. Upon arrival we dropped our gear on one of the beaches and quickly put on our snorkle gear. Surprisingly the water was actually quite chilly, yet that didn’t stop us. As you swim out into the water you begin to see why this place is what it is. Things that come to mind when you think of the Great Barrier Reef are tropical, colorful fish, awesome colors in the coral, animals not seen anywhere else and crystal blue waters. That is basically what you get. I have never seen fish this colorful and in such numbers. Schools of fish would pass us and practically look like a rainbow underwater. The coral itself has vibrant bold colors and camouflage some creatures and unless they move you might pass right
over them. We had about an hour to spend in the water and right before exiting the water we spotted 2 sea turtle. We swam with them while trying to take photos and videos of them…which we got. They were gorgeous swimming through the water and didn’t really seem to mind 5 people that were chasing them. As we got back to land it was pretty normal tourist things, eating and shopping, and then back to the ship to head to our next stop…Brisbane.
Welcome to Australia…
We finally have made it to Australia and it is amazing. I cannot explain how awesome this country is. Who wants to come live here with me??? I’m kidding but after reading this I’m sure you will want to come visit as well. The Country is gorgeous, the people are very nice and they have great accents. To begin this part of our trip we made our first stop in Cairns. Cairns is located in Queensland which is situated in the Northeastern part of Australia. The famous and gorgeous Great Barrier Reef is situated right off the coast of Cairns and attracts a huge amount of visitors. Cairns is also a huge stop for backpackers making their way down and up the western coast. The city is just like any city with hotels, casino’s, bars, mall, etc, etc, etc. They even have a Target in one of their malls. We got to Cairns on October 25th at 5pm. Shortly after a group of us got off the ship to explore the town and of course eat. As you walk from the cruise terminal and through town you will notice a couple things. First off the city is very clean. The second thing you notice is they drive on the opposite side of the road here throughout the whole country. The third fact you will notice is that people are very friendly and willing to help you out. This is the general feel we have got from most locals in the ports we have been to in Australia. The 4th and final thing I noticed…the gift shops. They are everywhere and lets just say...Christmas this year is all about Australia. As we got closer to the center of the city we found a public pool sort of area located right by the water. Being that there are not to many beaches close to the city and that there are dangerous jelly fish in the water, the locals have this pool to use as a substitute. On the weekends the whole swim area is filled with kids playing in the water, young people and families sunbathing on the grass and tourists just stopping by to take photos of the fish fountains located on the far end of the pool. The pool and fountains offer great picture opportunities, especially at twilight. We found a Thai restaurant to eat at and then went to some bars and club
s. I went back to the ship to sleep because of our next activity.After waking up early (I’m saying 7:45am is early) and then going to breakfast we headed out to the Reef Terminal. Today we were on our way to snorkle on the Great Barrier Reef. Our original plan was to find a scuba day trip but being that we had to be back on the ship at 4:30pm and trips come back after that time, we were out of luck. Because of this we settled on a half day trip to Green Island to snorkle. Green Island is one of the only islands located on the Great Barrier Reef and is about a 30 minute boat ride from the city. The island is privately owned and offers many activities. Being the island is a resort there is a hotel on the island and many activities can be done on the island including snorkling, scuba diving, parasailing, a dip in the pool, walks through the lush green rainforest and a chance to see some of the biggest crocodiles in Australia. Upon arrival we dropped our gear on one of the beaches and quickly put on our snorkle gear. Surprisingly the water was actually quite chilly, yet that didn’t stop us. As you swim out into the water you begin to see why this place is what it is. Things that come to mind when you think of the Great Barrier Reef are tropical, colorful fish, awesome colors in the coral, animals not seen anywhere else and crystal blue waters. That is basically what you get. I have never seen fish this colorful and in such numbers. Schools of fish would pass us and practically look like a rainbow underwater. The coral itself has vibrant bold colors and camouflage some creatures and unless they move you might pass right
over them. We had about an hour to spend in the water and right before exiting the water we spotted 2 sea turtle. We swam with them while trying to take photos and videos of them…which we got. They were gorgeous swimming through the water and didn’t really seem to mind 5 people that were chasing them. As we got back to land it was pretty normal tourist things, eating and shopping, and then back to the ship to head to our next stop…Brisbane. 
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