Michael and I are back now from some travels around Australia. He was in Perth for a few days while I did the Bay of Fires walk with his parents in Tasmania, where we had lots of wildlife sightings. Then we all met up in Cairns and spent a night on a boat at The Great Barrier Reef, where the boys went SCUBA diving and the ladies went snorkelling. We saw some sea turtles and reef sharks, as well as a zillion colorful fish. The guys even went on a night dive - I watched the underwater lights from the deck where we could also see the outlines of sharks all around the boat. Luckily, and partially why they pick this spot I'm sure, reef sharks are not really aggressive and just kind of ignore people. After the reef we also went to Atherton Tablelands and Daintree National Forest where we saw trees that were hundreds of years old, a few even estimated to be about 1,500 years old! Talk about places that make you feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
My favorite place we stayed other than the boat at the reef was The Mossman Gorge B&B. I really can't say enough good things about the owners and the property. They were so friendly and helpful, and I loved that they had fresh honey from their own beehive for us to have with our Daintree tea.
Another favorite stop was Cooper Creek Wilderness where we walked through a tropical fruit orchard and ate fresh and tart rambutan and mangosteens right off the trees (this is where they also had the 1,500 year old trees). The day trip was made complete with a swim in the nearby river and a cassowary sighting.
I'm sure at some point when we get through our backlogged GoPro footage at some point, we'll post some from the reef. Pictures to come.
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