golfkat Travel Blog

As wonderful and exciting as the City of Sydney, our trip to Australia was highlighted by our trek up to Queensland, and the Port Douglas area to visit the Great Barrier Reef.  It is the largest reef system in the world, 2900 individual reefs, and 900 islands that stretch over 1600 miles, and 133,000 square miles.  The reef is naturally located in the Coral Sea, and as we have been reminded numerous times, can be seen from outer space, and is the world’s largest single structure living organism.
 
More about the reef later.  We hopped a plane from Sydney to Port Douglas early in the morning.  We checked in to our hotel in Cairns (pronounced “cans”), and walked into town.  We were starving, so we stopped at the first or second place into the downtown area.  It was a Middle Eastern place, that had the best lamb and chicken kabob sandwiches we have ever had.  We were traveling with my brother Bob, and his wife Laura.  My friend Mike and his son had been here a few years earlier, and gave us the lowdown on what to do.
 
Our first night there was quite memorable.  Mike had suggested going to the Red Ochre Grill for dinner.  We made a res and walked down there after a drink along the way.  Laura actually stopped and found a pair of shoes on the way as well.  I had my photo taken with the Blues Brothers too.  I ordered the emu and Sheri the kangaroo for dinner.  Bob had the lamb, and Laura, who had just been to the koala and kangaroo farm the previous day, was sick to her stomach with our antics.  She ordered some squash soup.
 
Emu and kangaroo are excellent tasting, full bodied meats.  It tastes similar to beef, but seems much richer, and takes a sauce in a more complementary manner.  A glass of cabernet, and we were in heaven.  We decided to walk off our dinner, and made a nice stroll of Cairns.  We found the best ice cream place exactly at the location we were headed, the Cairns Night Market.  FYI, the ice cream here is just fantastic, probably as good as Wisconsin or British Columbia.  The Night Market was fun, although in no way, anywhere close to the night markets of Bangkok, Penang, Laos, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, or Hanoi.
 
Earlier that day, I met a nice young lady, named Mel at the famous Quicksilver Cruises.  She arranged for our entire trip to the Reef the next day.  The only downside was having to get up at 5am to catch the bus up to Port Douglas, where all the boats leave.  We chose this particular cruise since they go to the outer reef area, called Agincourt Reef.  It only made sense that it would be a better experience, fewer neighboring boats, and better and clearer viewing of the sea life.  Quicksilver has won awards from environmentalists, since they try to leave  the smallest footprint on the Reef.  They have their own two story anchorage linked to the Reef, and nothing is left there each day.  All waste, food, and sewage is taken back to Port each day.
 
I am not fond of ocean traveling, or rather, it is not fond of me.  But armed with ginger candy, scopolamine patches, and sea-bands, I gallantly headed off to the Reef.  I first made sure I had a seat on top of the catamaran, near the side, just in case.  I also chose Quicksilver because of its catamarans, and its ability to pierce the waves.  It turns out that I did not have any trouble, and I actually enjoyed it, even sleeping on the way back!!!  Funny too, that when we got to our mooring, they served a huge lunch.  What about that rule that keeps us out of the water for an hour after eating?  Needless to say, I ate VERY lightly.
 
The staff gave us lessons in safety, equipment, boundaries, rules, and protection of the Reef life.  We rented beautiful blue wet suits to protect against the mini micro sized jellyfish that are known to debilitate even James Bond or The Little Mermaid.  Fully dressed, we headed out to the metal dock attached to our mooring.  Somehow, Sheri had some problems, and I ended up alone.  But I had a ball, going every which way, diving to the bottom of the ocean (only about 12 to 15 feet), admiring the fish and reefs from below.
 
It turns out Sheri hurt her leg while kicking with her fins.  So, she ended up quitting early, and took the submersible down to see the reefs and marine life.  It was a most enjoyable way to spend the day.  We got to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World!!  It was difficult to leave, even though we were tired.  The ride back to Port was long and very quiet.  We were able to sleep after having some more to eat.  When we got back to our hotel, we could barely manage to get cleaned up, and head down to the Night Market food stalls.
 
It is here that I found the BEST salmon sushi I have ever had.  I just happen to buy two pieces at a little stall, just as a small appetizer. Wow, wow, wow!!!!  It melted in my mouth. Nobody else likes it, so I went back for more.  I had some every night while we were there, and for lunch sometimes too.  I cannot even remember what we had for dinner that night.
 
The rest of our stay was enjoyable, as we visited an Aborigine tribe, and the Kuranda Rainforest.  But the highlight was the Reef, and its great expanse and natural beauty.  It is a real shame that it is endangered. The Queensland National Trust that manages the Reef tries to limit fishing and tourism.  But global warming is bleaching the coral, and causes cyclic outbreaks of crown of thorns starfish.  Pollution and declining water quality are the big threats to the Reef, along with climate change.   There are thirty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises here.  Stranger life includes giant sea turtles (which we saw), and salt water crocodiles, along with 1500 species of fish (we did not see them all), and 400 coral species.
 
I would not hesitate to do it again.  But next time, I would hire a private operator.  We must have had a hundred people on our catamaran.  It was a good experience, meeting locals, and other tourists.  The staff is the friendliest anywhere in the Reef area.  But I think a smaller boat would allow us to visit more locations, and have a chance to view sea life that may not live near the anchorage.  And I would love to have the emu and salmon sushi again.