From West Coast to East Coast! Leaving gorgeous Western Australia was certainly hard to do, but we found the perfect antidote: Queensland! I really did expect to be blown away by the jungles, beaches, and of course the barrier reef... and I was in no way disappointed! We arrived smack in the middle of a rainstorm in Cairns, which is typical for this time of year... The locals wasted no time in telling us that we had arrived during the height of cyclone season, which was actually less of a problem than it might sound, as rainfalls were low for this time of year and the actual monsoon was taking it's sweet time to arrive... We managed to get in and out again before it actually hit!
After renting our little car at the airport, we headed straight for Turtle Cove, our super-swish little resort hotel, located on an isolated private beach about 20km south of Port Douglas... From the room to the fantastic restaurant, the giant pool to the white sand beach, everything was absolutely immaculate... I can see why this place was named the worldwide gay and lesbian resort of the year in 2005! We ended up meeting a great group of Aussies at the resort and instantly found ourselves with a dozen new drinking buddies and lots of fun poolside conversation!
On our first full day in Queensland, we joined a snorkel and scuba cruise out to the far edge of the Great Barrier Reef, to a secluded reef system called Opal Cay... I was in absolute heaven with my mask and flippers, cruising around the huge and beautiful coral reefs... This was by far the best snorkeling experience I've ever had! We anchored twice during the day out along the reef, allowing us several hours at each stop to just chill out and float around in amazement... I was so proud of Paul, that despite his fears and reservations about the ocean, he ended up spending just as much time in the water as I did! We we able to spot several stingrays and even one small (and harmless) reef shark, not to mention the vast array of tropical fish in every size and color. Fantastic! The excitement I get from snorkeling in the ocean is such an adreneline rush, unlike anything else... am I becoming a fanatic?
We also had a chance to visit a great wildlife sanctuary for rescued animals, where we had another chance to feed the kangaroos, chill with the crocodiles, and do some seriously cool bird watching... Did you know that over 80% of Australia's wildlife exists only here and no where else on the planet?
The rest of our time in Queensland was just spent bumming around the gorgeous little town of Port Douglas, which is far less touristy and populated than Cairns, and hanging out poolside at the resort... 6 days was just not enough! More than a few times Paul and I made jokes with each other about how we might arrange a more permanent move to tropical Queensland... We were just having fun at the time, but who knows... many a truth is said in jest! Maybe one day...
More soon from Sydney! X Jason
No comments:
Post a Comment