Great Barrier Reef & Kuranda Rainforest

Merry Christmas week everyone!

I have returned safely in one piece back to the Goodways and so very excited to share with you about my most recent adventure! The St. Patrick's holiday staff party was very lovely and I had a blast with the teachers chatting and dancing the night away. Check out the view from our venue!

The Goodways so kindly offered to drop me at the Sydney airport on Sunday where I caught my flight to Cairns early afternoon. I took a shuttle service from the airport to my hostel and was able to check in no problem. Then I thought, well now what do I do? I decided to take the bus into the city of Cairns so explore. While waiting for the bus, I ended up meeting a fellow teacher who was from Great Britain but is teaching in Beijing, China. Her name was Shona and she was 26. We got along great and ended up spending the entire day walking about the city, shopping, and going to pubs. At night we saw the New Years Eve movie, which ended up to be quite good but made me miss the snow, the holidays, family, and friends a bit I won’t lie. The city was full of backpackers from around the world as many different languages, mannerisms, and interesting styles of dress could be observed everywhere we went.

Monday I woke up quite early to catch a shuttle down to the lagoon in order to begin my Great Barrier Reef adventure! The GBR is the largest reef in the world and has come of the world’s highest marine life diversity, with over 450 types of coral, 1500 fish and 4000 mollusks (or shells, clams, octopus, and squid). All of these fish, coral, and shells are protected by law. The Great Island is unique in the fact that is the only sand cay on the GBR with a rainforest growing on it! (AWESOME!) A large cruise liner called, “The Big Cat” transferred us to The Green Island where the excursion began. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes by boat to arrive at the island resort but the view along the way was breathtaking. The water went from dark shades of blue and grey by the lagoon, to vibrant waves of bright blue, teal, and green.

I was required to watch a snorkeling demonstration and safety brief in order to be able to use the equipment provided on the island. It was not mandatory to snorkel in the ocean with an instructor per say, but ones were available for those less confident participants. It is currently the wet season of summer up in Queensland, Australia and thus jellyfish, commonly called marine stingers, can be found in the waters of northern Australia. Most are harmless to humans, but certain types can cause adverse reactions and so snorkelers and divers are advised to wear a full-length lycra suit to reduce the possibility of stings and irritation and to protect our skin from the intense sun. So, I grabbed my lycra suit, fins, mask, and snorkel and set out for the beach! (I did however stop and chat with a few of the very nice male Aussie lifeguards who offered their advice about where to swim to in order to see the most exciting fish, turtles, and marine coral life.) I also had them be my picture takers on shore, but had bought an additional waterproof disposable camera to snap my own shots while snorkeling.

It had been quite a while since I had swam in the salt water, so I had a few accidental refreshers of how awful it tasted and burned your nose! It was absolutely amazing being so close to so many tropical fish with brilliant colors and appearances. At first when I came close to fish that appeared to be the length of my arm, I got nervous but then realized they probably were just as afraid of my scary underwater self as I was of them! We had a delicious seafood buffet lunch back on the boat before I took a semi-submersible tour. This tour allowed individuals to explore the underwater world of the reef in air-conditioned comfort (so nice) without getting wet. We were seated below water level and treated to a diver’s view of the coral reef and marine life with an informative commentary given by the crew educating us on the fish and their underwater habitat. There was an awesome fish feeding where huge fish were chomping at food right against the glass I was sitting next to in the semi-submarine.

After my buffet lunch digested I set back out toward the beach for a few more hours of snorkeling before the cruise liner departed the Green Island and returned back to Cairns. That evening Shona and I met back up at our hostel and went out for dinner and drinks in the city. People watching was absolutely hilarious! It was also very interesting to chat with her about schools in Beijing, as she taught P.E. at a British private secondary school there where most of the students were in fact British. That night after returning to the hostel from our evening out, I discovered a large, hairy, European man had moved into what I thought was our female quad-share room… I had to tell myself to not have a slight freak-out and to just go to sleep and not worry about it. FAIL. This dude snored worse than almost anyone I have ever heard in my life, and that says a lot! Needless to say I did not sleep much, got up at 4 am to start drinking coffee and reading my book until my next excursion picked me up at 7 am.

Day two was my excursion to Kuranda and Rainforestation! The coach picked up the participants and I ended up meeting an awesome family from Toronto, Canada who were over here on holiday. They had two kids who were I believe in 5^th and 8^th grade, a girl and a boy. The bus first allowed us to wonder through Kuranda village, a picturesque village in the Rainforest. I browsed through shops and local markets talking with the vendors and artists who offered a full range of local handicrafts, souvenirs, and gifts. The market vendors were my favorite as they were all fascinated by my experience in Australia and insisted on giving me free samples and trinkets to remember my trip by. The hand-made Aboriginal paintings, jewelry, and didgeridoos all told such interesting tribal stories. If I were made of money I would be bringing back as many paintings as I possibly could to fill my walls and give to others!

Our next stop was at the Rainforestation Nature Park where I passed on the BBQ buffet and enjoyed a nice fish fillet instead, before cuddling with a koala named Kip! Kip was a 10-year-old male and one of the last in his generation to be living due to a certain disease. Kip clung onto me like a little baby just hanging out in my arms! His fur was so soft and I could have sat there for hours just holding him. I then met back up with the Canadians and we went on an Army Duck Rainforest Tour with a tropical fruit orchard. Here we traveled deep into the rainforest on both land and water as a guide explained to us different species of Australian flora and fauna. The rainforest has more species of moths and beetles alone than all the species of life forms on the GBR! We also learned that the rainforest was home to Giant Amethystine Pythons growing more than 25 feet and Giant Tree Frogs up to 6 inches long.

Up next was the highlight of my day! I had the great honor of watching the Pamagirri Aboriginal Dancers perform a powerful, exciting show of eight traditional tribal dances. The Pamagirri tribe has its roots in several areas of far north Queensland, Australia. There were four male dancers, and two musicians who played the didgeridoo and who did vocals.

At the end of their show, the Pamagirri dancers said they had a special surprise and needed the help of three members from the audience. Without even raising my hand, one of the men pointed right at me in the front to get up on stage and dance with them. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and had the Canadian boy come up with me as well, and the dancers also selected an Indian man to join them. They taught us the “Warran-Jarra,” or “Shake-a-Leg” dance. Sounds like it could be an American hip-hop dance already. By no surprise, the Pamagirri had me go first learning the 3 step dance before all participants danced together on stage. The Canadian mom took a photo for me on my camera and the dad promised to send the video to my email he took of our unique tribal experience. I wish I was able to get more photos, but this experience is something I will never forget. How awesome to have been a part of such a special tribal ritual with Australian Aborigines.

Afterwards, we took a Dreamtime walk with one of the dancers who taught us how one would play the didgeridoo, throw a spear, and throw a boomerang. The Pamagirri guide was very friendly, informative, and had no problems posing for pictures!

Look, Flat Stanley found a penguin friend with the Canadian kiddos!

Finally, we had the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour through the Koala and Wildlife Park where I got to feed kangaroos, see crocodiles, wombats, snakes, dingoes, a cassowary, and wallabies.

Our day ended by taking the Kuranda scenic Skyrail Rainforest Cableway 7.5 km down from the mountains back to the village. The Skyrail took us over and through the Barron Gorge National Park established in 1940 and is considered to be one of Queensland’s most picturesque national parks. Here the steep ravines and rich rainforest flora and fauna set a picture perfect view of the Barron Falls.

I am blessed enough to be able to spend Christmas with the Goodways, as they have family fun-filled festivities that I am lucky enough to be a part of while overseas during the holidays. Apparently it involves a barbie, swimming, and outdoor game playing. Guess I need to buy my pool raft and shrimps for the barbie.

My xext adventure begins December 30th, where I will say goodbye to the Goodways and fly from Sydney to Alice Springs . Here I will embark on an Outback Adventure in Alice Springs, Uluru to see Aryes Rock, and Kings Canyon. Then, it will be goodbye Australia, HELLO New Zealand... but more on that later.

I will miss you all this Christmas, but will be seeing you in no time at all. Thank you so much for reading and following me along my adventures. Merry Christmas!!!

Love,
Jules