It’s currently Friday, April 5th – our last day in Cairns. It has been such a relaxing stay and a nice reprieve from the first few days of jet setting. Our AirBnb is situated in Paramatta Park and about 20-30 minutes walk to the main attractions of Cairns. The backyard is a tropical oasis, lined with so many trees and plants, it felt like our little hideaway.
Cairns is smaller port city that has grown to accommodate modern tourism in the past several decades, as it’s one of the main gateways to the Great Barrier Reef. You definitely get a sense of a resort town, but it does feel quaint and homey. Everyone is has been friendly, with either a wave or “hello”. No – we haven’t even received a single “G’Day Mate!”.
Cairns does a good job though of being a walkable area for the most part. There was a lovely path we could use that connected to the shopping center that featured Coles (main grocery store), Target (yep that one) and K-Mart! (While dying in America, they seem to be doing well abroad I guess) among other shops you’d tend to find in a mall. The path runs along a static, calm creek of lily pads.
Surprisingly, there aren’t a ton of mosquitoes or bugs flying around what sees to be such static water in a tropical, humid climate. But maybe, we can thank the bats for that.
Yes – all of those black things hanging are bats. I feel bad for whoever lives there because they seem to have called that tree and that tree only as home. At dusk, we would see them fly overhead with their wide, webbed wings. Creepy, but also insanely intriguing to see.
We included Cairns in our itinerary for two reasons:
1. Warm weather and relaxation
2. To see the Great Barrier Reef!
We wasted no time. Our first full day in Cairns was spent aboard a sailboat (assisted by a motor) making our way (about 2 hours) to a snorkel spot on the outskirts of Green Island. The trip out might have had some fierce downpours, but we made it! Then seasickness set in….
I have an unfortunate long history of motion sickness, something I’d hope to grow out of one day. I never have, so here we are. We’re given a safety briefing, pull on our stinger suits (April is the tail end of jellyfish season in Australia), add on some flippers, mask, and a snorkel, and we’re told to jump in.
We each jump from the boat, holding our mask tight to our face. We surface. Immediately, we start swimming around, looking down through our mask. The water is a turquoise blue, it’s quite clear. Faintly we can see about 20 feet below some outlines and definitions of the reef. But then we move our sight slightly ahead and we’re over top of the reef. It’s within touching distance, so shallow.
We see a school of little yellow fish being pulled with each wave, many large blue, orange, brown fish feeding off the reef, coral spiraling up towards the surface. Beneath the surface, it’s so calm. All of the ocean life is moving through the water gracefully and with ease.
Meanwhile on the surface, I feel like a cat in a bathtub. Trying to coordinate swimming with fins in an open ocean, breathing through a tube, all while feeling like you might hurl at any second wasn’t making it the most graceful experience. There was a lot of trial and error, but when, all the elements and motions aligned, it was a magical experience.
To help ease some of my motion sickness, we chose to spend some time on Green Island after lunch on the boat (Asa ate, I was trying to survive). I’ve never been so grateful to be on land.
We spent some time on the beach as I recovered only to find Asa had several missed calls from my cell phone! Amazing news – someone had found my phone. We quickly were trying to call my phone back, but of course, knowing it was in “Lost” mode, we were doubtful a call would go through. Shout out to my mom who in a hurry also tried to get connected with us and my phone. We spent about 30 minutes on the beach trying to figure out how to get ahold of my phone – no dice.
There was a small resort on the island that featured a small bar next to the pool. I ordered a pina colada (wait weren’t you just seasick? Yeah I know, but you try saying no to a frozen tropical drink on an island in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef). We’re sitting at the bar when I come to realize I can play a sound through my phone through Apple’s “Find My” platform. I log into my Apple account with Asa’s phone and do just that. And then, it happens. I’m getting a call. A choir came out singing in the background, a golden glow appeared around Asa’s phone, fireworks exploded in the sky. Our luck might just be turning.
I answer, it is indeed our driver. He lets me know that I have lost my phone, we exchange numbers and now we hope to meet him at the airport in Sydney during our layover. I ask for you to please cross your fingers, pray, send good vibes, do a “Shannon finds her phone” dance in hopes that this happens. Update to come in the saga of Shannon Leaving Her Phone Behind.
We return to the boat and make our way back to the mainland, this time we do really get to experience sailing. They cut the engine and we were really cruising on wind alone, it’s a very peaceful way to travel. We arrive back to Cairns safe and sound, just having experienced the legendary Great Barrier Reef. It was beautiful, but also, there was a weight knowing our experience is a contributing factor to the worsening health of the Great Barrier Reef. Also, a lot of the coral was “bleached” due to excessive heat in the water – the Antarctic tides didn’t make their way as far up north this year, not allowing the water to cool.
We hope the Reef will recover. According to a quick Google search, it appears to be a complex issue on judging the health of the Reef and helping restore it. But we are so grateful to have seen one small piece of it in our lifetime.
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