During the semester we are given several free weekends in
Cairns, the nearest major city. This means we are dropped off on the Cairns esplanade
and left to ourselves while the staff 'disappear' with the vans. And so we arrived in
Cairns on Saturday afternoon, excited to explore the city. We quickly
discovered that hardly anything is open after 2. We wanted to go
biking but every bike shop was closed. Just as we were about to give up, we
stumbled upon a bike and scooter shop that was open until five. It was 3 when
we got there, but we were happy to at least get in a two-hour bike ride. So we
biked to the Botanical Gardens, which of course were also closed, but the
outskirts of the gardens were worth seeing. And the struggle to balance on the
tandem bike kept us all entertained as we either watched or participated in the
difficult task of keeping the bike upright and mobile over bumps and around
sharp turns (we took turns to reduce the burden). An exciting first adventure, but we would have many more.
That night I walked to Dominos just as I do almost every
night back in Ithaca. Pizza without tomato sauce is actually the staple of my
diet back home, so I was quite pleased to find that Cairns had one of my
favorite pizza joints. I quickly ate my three quarters of pizza and then
delivered the rest of the order back to my roommates at the hostel. From there
I headed to the free dinner I didn't need at the Woolshed Pub and met up with
the rest of the SFS crew. We stayed about an hour and then headed to the Reef
Casino, which like most venues in Australia was extremely expensive. One round
of black jack cost $20. Since I had given myself a $20 gambling limit, I chose
to forego card games. Instead I decided to try my luck at Roulette, but lost
$10. I managed to gain some money back at the slot machines, but did not leave
with a profit. So we went back to the bar and hung there until midnight, then
went back to the hostel to prepare to get up at the crack of dawn for the reef
trip.
7:30 was when we had to be on our boat for the "Passion
Cruise" tour. And so we lugged our stuff down the stairs, checked out of
the hostel and trekked our way back to the esplanade, where we boarded. We
were given the regular safety briefing and then slept/looked out to the sea as
the boat carried us away towards the reef. The arrival was abrupt, I was half
expecting to be able to see the Reef from the boat since it is apparently large
enough to be seen from outer space. Regardless as soon as I got in I was
astounded by what I saw. Immediately I was greeted by several species of fish
that almost seemed to pose for pictures as I swam up next to them with my
underwater camera that I bought specifically for this trip. I dove down to get
a closer look at the coral and could hear the fish pecking at it. I even
encountered a stingray and watched it dig into the ground with swift,
undulating motions.
At our second stop, there was a nearby island, called Michaelmas Cay which
had a small beach marked off with roped fence. The fine for walking outside the
fence was apparently 10,000 dollars (it seems that Australia gets away with
overpricing everything, including fines). Determined not to be fined, I was careful not to surface myself anywhere outside the ropes as
I made my way up the sand. I did not spend long on the Island though, since
there was much more to be seen underwater. There was no need for a swimming
break anyway since the high salinity of the water made it easy to just float
and watch everything underneath you. When the time came to reboard the boat, I
was reluctant to leave. I wanted to capture everything on camera for fear that
the reef would not retain its same beauty even until next year as it succumbs
to coral bleaching. One of the biggest factors in my decision to study abroad
in Australia was so that I could see the Great Barrier Reef before it perishes.
 |
| Giant Clam |
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| Ashley and Keaton |
 |
| Katie |
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| Sea Anemone |
7:30 was when we had to be on our boat for the "Passion
Cruise" tour. And so we lugged our stuff down the stairs, checked out of
the hostel and trekked our way back to the esplanade, where we boarded. We
were given the regular safety briefing and then slept/looked out to the sea as
the boat carried us away towards the reef. The arrival was abrupt, I was half
expecting to be able to see the Reef from the boat since it is apparently large
enough to be seen from outer space. Regardless as soon as I got in I was
astounded by what I saw. Immediately I was greeted by several species of fish
that almost seemed to pose for pictures as I swam up next to them with my
underwater camera that I bought specifically for this trip. I dove down to get
a closer look at the coral and could hear the fish pecking at it. I even
encountered a stingray and watched it dig into the ground with swift,
undulating motions.
At our second stop, there was a nearby island, called Michaelmas Cay which
had a small beach marked off with roped fence. The fine for walking outside the
fence was apparently 10,000 dollars (it seems that Australia gets away with
overpricing everything, including fines). Determined not to be fined, I was careful not to surface myself anywhere outside the ropes as
I made my way up the sand. I did not spend long on the Island though, since
there was much more to be seen underwater. There was no need for a swimming
break anyway since the high salinity of the water made it easy to just float
and watch everything underneath you. When the time came to reboard the boat, I
was reluctant to leave. I wanted to capture everything on camera for fear that
the reef would not retain its same beauty even until next year as it succumbs
to coral bleaching. One of the biggest factors in my decision to study abroad
in Australia was so that I could see the Great Barrier Reef before it perishes.
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