We had been lucky enough to secure a week in a time share resort in Palm Cove, just north of Cairns, with the dates lining up perfectly for Zoe to be able to join us for a few days whilst there. We were all looking forward to seeing each other after three and a half months away and thus all really disappointed when SA went into lockdown three days before she was due to fly out 😢
Russell and I had to be thankful that we were in sunny Far North Queensland and not in lockdown and so continued planning our expeditions from Palm Cove, albeit for two not three.
With an eye on the weather we decided to commit to a Great Barrier Reef excursion on Sunday when the weather looked favourable for the 90 minute journey out to the pontoon and subsequent snorkeling, which neither of us are super confident about. There was actually quite a swell going out and I was glad I had remembered the Kwells this time, I wasn’t feeling sea sick when we got there but viewed the waves out on the reef with some trepidation given my pre existing anxiety about snorkeling.
We had chosen a the tour with Reef Magic partly because of their great reviews but also because they offered a number of activities for non swimmers including glass bottomed boat, semi-submersible and underwater viewing observatory.
The pontoon itself was spacious especially given that capacity of the catamaran was running at only about 50% occupancy. We found a spot to set up for the five hour stay and then did the glass bottom boat tour to ‘warm up.’ When we got back most people were in the water, wet suits were supplied and some people were also availing themselves of life jackets and/or pool noodles for extra buoyancy.
Russell surprised me by saying he was going to join me and soon we were gingerly stepping off the steps under the watchful eye of the marine biologist and two lifeguards, feeling somewhat reassured.😁
Wow! I would have been so disappointed if we had missed this experience, the underwater vista was absolutely stunning. As I have said before, my pics do not do it justice but I was impressed with myself for being able to manage the GoPro in one hand, not drop it AND not drown so here they are…..
I was in and out a few times, never straying too far from the steps, happy to come back for a breather every now and then and soooo glad I didn’t stay high and dry.
We were served a generous lunch on the pontoon and later went out on the semi-submersible to view some coral gardens a little further afield and also saw a turtle. The wind abated quite a bit as the day wore on and as the tide receded and parts of the reef became visible above the water I almost regretted getting changed so soon.
If any of you get the chance to do this, I highly recommend Reef Magic, a very professional outfit with informative talks on the way out and back, in our case showing us the dreaded Crown of Thorns starfish that has threatened the reef at various times.
The thrills weren’t over yet though, we saw a whale on the way back! The captain very kindly altered course to observe him/her for awhile before we eventually lost sight and headed back to the marina. All in all a wonderful day 😎
It was nice also to have a couple of days down time whilst in the apartment – a bath (!), big screen TV to watch some of the Olympics and a couple of nice dinners watching the moon rise between the palm trees.
The other full day excursion we had planned was the combination Skyrail and train to/from Kuranda up in the mountains west of Cairns.
We opted for the Skyrail up the mountain and splashed out on a Diamond View gondola which gave us a glass floor!
We ascended quite quickly from the base station up the mountain to the first disembarkation point of Red Peak station where we had the chance to do a short walk with a ranger whose commentary was really interesting. His explanation of why this ancient rainforest has survived in this locale was something I hadn’t appreciated before… basically the weather systems advancing from the east hit a very steep mountain range almost immediately forcing them upwards and causing precipitation and the exceptionally high rainfall that supports the ‘Wet Tropics.” (That’s a very simple explanation but suffice to say its mostly about the topography I think.)
We then re boarded and travelled another 5.5 kms over a valley to the next station at Barron Falls where we again disembarked to take in magnificent views up the Barron Gorge and over to the falls, not that heavy at this time.
Back in the gondola it was another ten minutes before we passed over the river and then gently descended into the station at Kuranda. We hadn’t realised until this morning that Tuesday is the one day of the week that the famous Kuranda Markets are closed (during Covid at least) and guess what, its Tuesday! We weren’t too fussed about this as I had heard that the once very authentic handmade markets are not quite the quality they once were so we were here for the journey not so much the destination.
It was a pleasant walk through the village all the same and we found a nice vegetarian café for lunch and then made a snap decision to quickly visit the Butterfly House before our return train left at 2 pm.
As we paid for the tickets we noted a sign on the counter saying that there were none of the iconic blue Ulysses butterflies on show at this time which was a little disappointing but we both agreed it was still worth the admission price.
We strolled back to the pretty train station and found carriage two and our pre-allocated seats, unfortunately facing backwards, and were quite surprised at the lack of spacing in this Covid age.
Fortunately though, as the journey began the hostesses did a great job of re allocating seating – which is currently subject to lots of cancellations in this Covid world – and we happily found ourselves in the Gold Club and facing forward😊 These carriages date back to the early 1900s and are made from Silky Oak timber and they wear their patina of age very well. The history of this railway is remarkable, the construction was an engineering feat of tremendous magnitude and has its origins in the Gold Rush of 1873 and the need to find a link from the sea to the rich mining belt.
The fifteen tunnels were hand dug with shovels and pick axes by 1500 men of mainly Irish and Italian origin. They removed 2.3 million cubic metres of earth, constructed fifty five bridges and ninety eight curves and to travel its length was a real delight.
One of the highlights was passing by the picturesque Stoney Creek Falls.
The train journey provided a very relaxing conclusion to the day and we were then transported by bus from the Freshwater train station back to the Skyrail base where we had left the Jimny, another very worthwhile excursion.
We rounded off the day with a waterfront dinner at popular NuNu restaurant and toasted our unfortunate cold and locked down friends and family in SA 😒
Next, Mossman, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation.
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