We landed in Cairns last night just as dusk approached.  Thank Mother God that we had a driver because we would never have found our way to our hotel 90 minutes from the airport.  We are literally at the end of the road on a mountain rainforest.  We started our trip at the mega-airport at Ayers Rock.  The choice was between gate one or two.  We actually like this kind of traveling. Even the clouds in Australia are those of an open sky.

 

By the time we landed and our driver drove us the 90 minute trip to our resort it was pitch black.   We saw so many stars along the drive but I don’t have photos that would do them justice.  So we arrive and get into our room and look into a darkened rainforest.  We settled into our rooms and had a cocktail on the balcony of our tree house.

Time for bed!

At the crack of dawn we were met by Andy who took us to our boat for the sail to the Great Barrier Reef.  What can one say about this?  It is an experience of a lifetime.  There was a trusty Jack Russell terrier who monitored everything that happened at the port before our launch.  It was clear this was his territory and he was going to make sure everyone got on the right boat.

Our trusty skipper, Graham, has been with the boat for nineteen years.  And our snorkeling coach, Scott,  actually is doing this as part of the social endeavor of this enterprise to help at-risk adolescents.

Soon it was time to get into the water and experience the reef as a guest to this great ecological treasure.

   

On our way back to shore we chatted with the crew and guests and took in the glorious sky while getting a good share of sea spray.

Once back at our hotel we marveled at the flora and fauna we missed last night.

We made our way to to our tree house, “Bandiccot“, which is a mole type animal.  I guess that means we will have to sleep until spring.

We then enjoyed dinner in one of the most amazing places of our lives, hearing the river, watching the birds, and eating beets and kangaroo.

 Talk to you again soon.