Port Douglas, The Great Barrier Reef & Cairns

From Airlie Beach we travelled up to Cairns. We had planned to stay at a place called 'Mission Beach' but on arrival the campsite didn't look all that appealing as we were told most of the camping areas had been flooded due to heavy rain and they had no fridge in the camp kitchen because a local kept coming in and stealing from it. For those reasons we got back in the car and carried on up to a very nice campsite in Cairns. We spent just one night there and then made our way up to Port Douglas. On arrival we pitched the tent and then went for a wander around the lovely little town of Port Douglas. We went up to a spectacular view point and then travelled slightly north to a place called 'Mossman' where there was a large gorge and waterfalls. The waters were safe for swimming so we went in for a dip. It was a really beautiful spot and after our swim we sat and had lunch on the bank of the river.

Back at the campsite we'd heard on the radio about a possible threat of a cyclone in the next couple of days. Not wanting it to affect our trip to the Great Barrier Reef we got ourselves booked in with a company called 'Aristocat' for the following day. That evening we had a great dinner of pie, cheesy mashed potato and brocolli and chatted to fellow campers in the kitchen before an early night to escape the swarms of hungry mosquitos!

After a very hot night we were up early and ready for our trip. At 7.50am we were picked up by 'Aristocat' and taken to the dock where we boarded our boat for the day. In typical fashion it started to rain and most of the journey out to the Great Barrier Reef was obscured by the rain hammering on the windows of the boat. When we arrived at our first dive site the weather had cleared up a bit. We got our stinger suits, flippers, masks and snorkels on and were ready to go. When we entered the water and saw what was below us we were truely amazed by the stunning colours of the coral and fish. It really was like nothing we'd ever seen before. We spent about 30 minutes swimming around trying to see as much as possible and then had to get back on the boat.

We travelled to the next dive site and had some lunch on board before our next snorkel. The second snorkel was just as good but in much deeper water with visbility for 22 metres. The sea was quite rough and we had a job keeping within safe distance of the boat without getting swept out to sea. Our final snorkel point was fairly similar but still spectacular. One of the crew (a marine biologist) also came out with us and taught us a bit more about the coral and species of fish. Quite a few people were lucky enough to see reef sharks and a turtle but we managed to miss them all.

Overall it was an amazing experience and the Great Barrier Reef truely impressed.

Yesterday we travelled back down to Cairns for a couple of nights before we fly to New Zealand tomorrow.

Love to all at home.

Rach & Mark. xxx

Underwater photos will be developed soon and we'll try to scan some for you all to see!