(...Contd. from "Sydney Stories 2")
Okay, the sudden momentum that had propelled me through the first 4 installments of my "tripologue", had disappeared just as suddenly. That, in itself, is not very surprising as I am quite prone to such bursts of activity followed by a period of total inactivity.
What is surprising, though, is that it's happened at a point, I had been practically rushing to reach - as much during my trip, as while writing about it!
Anyways, now that I am back at it - there's no stopping now. Even breathing can wait. :) :)
So - straight to the chase - we're at Cairns - our gateway to the GREAT BARRIER REEF!!!! It was a short flight from Sydney, and we reached the Cairns airport around 7 in the evening. We were booked at the Travellers' Oasis Backpackers Inn and they would pick us up, we just had to call once we'd arrived. The call was answered by a cheery voice on the other side, and once the initial hurdle of spelling out my name was crossed, we were promised a vehicle in the next 10 min. Soon enough, a van pulled in and a cheerful girl hopped out, looking for "Muleenee" :)
Husband in tow, "Muleenee" couldn't get in fast enough - The Adventure had begun!!! My heart was already beating faster, I couldn't wait for the next day! Dreams of a distant childhood, all those years of gaping open mouthed at NGC shows - OMG, it was too much to even think that I was actually on the verge of really being there! Almost hyperventilating, we reached Travellers' Oasis, to be greeted by John - such an affable person, that you're instantly convinced that you're in good hands. Check-in was quick and efficient, and we set about planning the next day. John sat with us through it all, and kept pulling happy surprises at regular intervals, with his great suggestions and some really cool deals! By the end of the half hour, we were booked with "Passions of Paradise" for a day of snorkelling at the reef (OMG! OMG! OMG!), and had a handful of discount vouchers at a bunch of places to eat and drink in Cairns.
All that was put to good use during our stay at Cairns, but the biggest draw of it all was, of course, the all day snorkelling trip on the outer reefs, on board the Passions of Paradise!
The crew on board was incredibly friendly, and considering the fact that the husband and I were probably the only ones on the boat who had ventured out into the high seas but couldnt swim to save our lives, we did have to count on them...heavily! :) We were the only ones who asked for a "guide", basically someone to tow us along while we just held on to a floatie with all our might - and there he was, our guide for the day, fittingly called Angel!!!
Oh! What an angel he was indeed.....the next half hour was just pure bliss, once the initial moment of hesitation was defeated, the beauty beneath us was almost too much to take in. How was it even possible to have so many colours in one place?! God must have gone crazy with his palette, the day he decided to create the GBR! :P
The only problem was that I kept getting water into my snorkel mask every 2 minutes, and it took me a while to figure out why....you cannot expect the poor masks to handle your constant wide grins underwater, you're supposed to keep your mouth shut for once!! :P
Anyways, having had a glimpse of everything between giant blue clams, radiant neon fish, fierce-looking unicorn fish, colourful starfish, cute little clownfish peeking from their wispy homes of anemones, a huge Maori wrasse and even a reef shark, I was still swooning when we came up on board for lunch! Lunch was great, and so was the rest of the day! Emboldened by the mid sea experience, and sufficiently buoyed by the sturdy life jackets - we ventured out on our own at Michaelmas Cay, where you could just walk into the underwater heaven right from the beach! With Angel keeping watch from the shore...we soaked in the beautiful coral gardens some more.
The time to return seemed to have come too soon....and as we lay on the boat deck basking in the last rays of the day, I was possibly The Happiest Person on the planet right then!
Back on the mainland, it was time to plan for the next day - and after the underwater wonders, the mighty rainforest was on our radar. Off we went on an exhilating journey over the HUGE trees on the Skyrail - our destination was Kuranda, a tiny (totally touristy) settlement right in the heart of the rainforests.
That's where we got our second heavy dose of colours - this time, they were the areal kind! The Kuranda bird park was fascinating, even if a little too tiny compared to our expectations. The husband proved to be a great favourite among the birds, I tend to agree to a friend who very wisely deduced...the birds were most likely all girls! ;)
The rest of our time in Cairns was spent exploring the local town, and as we finally left for Melbourne again, it was with a bunch of incredible memories...to be cherished for life!!
P.S. Exasperated "Gawwwd! Men!!!" moment - We're at the Cairns airport, waiting for our return flight. I go on and on and on...just can't stop talking about what we'd done and seen. The husband responds with polite nods and smiles and mostly mono syllables. I almost give up, but just then...
"NISTELROOY!!!!"
The husband's super excited voice makes me spin around like a top, expecting to see the star footballer somewhere close....and what do I see?? A match, probably 5 years old, on TV. And THAT is what gets a man really excited....even after a trip to arguably the awesomest place on the face of the earth!!
Gawwwwd! Men!!!!! :P
Anyways, now that I am back at it - there's no stopping now. Even breathing can wait. :) :)
So - straight to the chase - we're at Cairns - our gateway to the GREAT BARRIER REEF!!!! It was a short flight from Sydney, and we reached the Cairns airport around 7 in the evening. We were booked at the Travellers' Oasis Backpackers Inn and they would pick us up, we just had to call once we'd arrived. The call was answered by a cheery voice on the other side, and once the initial hurdle of spelling out my name was crossed, we were promised a vehicle in the next 10 min. Soon enough, a van pulled in and a cheerful girl hopped out, looking for "Muleenee" :)
Husband in tow, "Muleenee" couldn't get in fast enough - The Adventure had begun!!! My heart was already beating faster, I couldn't wait for the next day! Dreams of a distant childhood, all those years of gaping open mouthed at NGC shows - OMG, it was too much to even think that I was actually on the verge of really being there! Almost hyperventilating, we reached Travellers' Oasis, to be greeted by John - such an affable person, that you're instantly convinced that you're in good hands. Check-in was quick and efficient, and we set about planning the next day. John sat with us through it all, and kept pulling happy surprises at regular intervals, with his great suggestions and some really cool deals! By the end of the half hour, we were booked with "Passions of Paradise" for a day of snorkelling at the reef (OMG! OMG! OMG!), and had a handful of discount vouchers at a bunch of places to eat and drink in Cairns.
All that was put to good use during our stay at Cairns, but the biggest draw of it all was, of course, the all day snorkelling trip on the outer reefs, on board the Passions of Paradise!
The crew on board was incredibly friendly, and considering the fact that the husband and I were probably the only ones on the boat who had ventured out into the high seas but couldnt swim to save our lives, we did have to count on them...heavily! :) We were the only ones who asked for a "guide", basically someone to tow us along while we just held on to a floatie with all our might - and there he was, our guide for the day, fittingly called Angel!!!
Oh! What an angel he was indeed.....the next half hour was just pure bliss, once the initial moment of hesitation was defeated, the beauty beneath us was almost too much to take in. How was it even possible to have so many colours in one place?! God must have gone crazy with his palette, the day he decided to create the GBR! :P
The only problem was that I kept getting water into my snorkel mask every 2 minutes, and it took me a while to figure out why....you cannot expect the poor masks to handle your constant wide grins underwater, you're supposed to keep your mouth shut for once!! :P
Anyways, having had a glimpse of everything between giant blue clams, radiant neon fish, fierce-looking unicorn fish, colourful starfish, cute little clownfish peeking from their wispy homes of anemones, a huge Maori wrasse and even a reef shark, I was still swooning when we came up on board for lunch! Lunch was great, and so was the rest of the day! Emboldened by the mid sea experience, and sufficiently buoyed by the sturdy life jackets - we ventured out on our own at Michaelmas Cay, where you could just walk into the underwater heaven right from the beach! With Angel keeping watch from the shore...we soaked in the beautiful coral gardens some more.
The time to return seemed to have come too soon....and as we lay on the boat deck basking in the last rays of the day, I was possibly The Happiest Person on the planet right then!
Back on the mainland, it was time to plan for the next day - and after the underwater wonders, the mighty rainforest was on our radar. Off we went on an exhilating journey over the HUGE trees on the Skyrail - our destination was Kuranda, a tiny (totally touristy) settlement right in the heart of the rainforests.
That's where we got our second heavy dose of colours - this time, they were the areal kind! The Kuranda bird park was fascinating, even if a little too tiny compared to our expectations. The husband proved to be a great favourite among the birds, I tend to agree to a friend who very wisely deduced...the birds were most likely all girls! ;)
The rest of our time in Cairns was spent exploring the local town, and as we finally left for Melbourne again, it was with a bunch of incredible memories...to be cherished for life!!
P.S. Exasperated "Gawwwd! Men!!!" moment - We're at the Cairns airport, waiting for our return flight. I go on and on and on...just can't stop talking about what we'd done and seen. The husband responds with polite nods and smiles and mostly mono syllables. I almost give up, but just then...
"NISTELROOY!!!!"
The husband's super excited voice makes me spin around like a top, expecting to see the star footballer somewhere close....and what do I see?? A match, probably 5 years old, on TV. And THAT is what gets a man really excited....even after a trip to arguably the awesomest place on the face of the earth!!
Gawwwwd! Men!!!!! :P
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