Back on dry land
From Cruising the Great Barrier Reef in Great Barrier Reef, Australia on Jan 08 '07
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After a full week on board a fairly small boat (25 cabins) during which we explored the inner and outer Great Barrier Reef, we arrived back in Cairns yesterday – utterly exhausted, very happy, ready for a really hot bath … and with the biggest load of washing you’ve ever seen!
The first three nights
We boarded the Coral Princess last Tuesday at Townsville, along with around 30 other passengers, for the first leg of the cruise which would take us up the coast on the inner reef over three nights to Cairns. Initial impressions weren’t great, it has to be said. The expectations we had built up from both the brochures and the website (together with the not insignificant price) were not entirely matched by the boat itself – in need of a fairly urgent makeover – and the size and facilities of our cabin. This is no Cunard! A deluxe stateroom here is a small bed and absolutely no room to swing the proverbial cat. Unpacking simply wasn’t an option, so we resigned ourselves to retrieving swimsuits and a couple of pairs of shorts and t-shirts and shoved everything else under the bed.
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From there on, however, things got better. Our route took us straight out to Orpheus Island where we went ashore on the glass-bottom boat for pre-dinner drinks on the beach before boarding again for dinner. This gave us the chance to meet our fellow passengers for the next three days – a great bunch of people from all parts of the UK and further afield – and the evening was spent finding out about each other and swapping travel stories. Although uninhabited, Orpheus Island is owned by aboriginal neighbouring Palm Island and before we could descend on their beach, an advanced crew had to be despatched to request permission in case they were camping or fishing that evening.
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From the next morning onwards, it became clear that this was no relaxing cruise! We were given our safety briefings and bought the highly recommended, if not essential, stinger suits. Not the most flattering things, but a damn sight better than the six minutes you have to get treated if/when you encounter a box jellyfish.
The anchor went down at anything between 5 am or (if we were really lucky) 6.30 am, and sleeping through that process was simply not an option. Breakfast was usually from around 6 am, with the first of the day’s snorkelling, swimming off the boat or scuba diving activities starting shortly after! Our crew of around twelve included Karen, a lovely marine biologist who was so passionate about her subject, it became enjoyable to learn so much about life under the sea and the differences between the various islands and reefs we were to visit.
Highlights during the first half of the trip included a breakfast barbeque (yes, early morning again!) on the beach of Pelorus Island, followed by a beach walk where we saw a turtle nest with eggs due to hatch that very day; meeting and feeding by hand some incredibly large fish – including Wally the Maori Wrasse (bright blue, five feet long and a well known character around that particular part of the Reef) and Trevor the Trevally (slightly larger and very much scarier!).
The latter four nights
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On Friday we arrived in Cairns, where part two of the cruise would begin. Most of our fellow travellers departed, but ourselves and a wonderful American family remained for the next stage. This gave us the afternoon in Cairns to get acclimatised on dry land before rejoining and meeting our next set of companions. This time, there were fewer of us and more crew. The boat had had a quick lick of paint put on the line of rust around the outside, and the instant coffee was replaced with a cafetiere of fresh. The Jacuzzi – previously half empty and a bit yellow in colour – was clean and full. We also had tablecloths at dinner that night – very posh. Then we found out why. The boss of the cruise company, together with his family, was on board! It quickly became a cruise of two halves, and the difference was very evident.
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This time we left Cairns and our route was a circular one over the next four nights, taking in visits to Dunk Island and Lizard Island, then coming back down the outer reef with stops at three different types of reef for our twice-daily snorkelling expeditions. We had another barbeque – this time on the boat itself in the evening – and our fellow travellers were a much more international bunch, including two very experienced Russian divers. The Coral sea became more interesting as we got deeper, and certainly much more scary! The absolute highlight came at Ribbon Reef No. 9 where we enjoyed perfect weather conditions and snorkelled far out from the boat, viewing much larger and rarer species of fish and coral than before. This was all fine until Jackie saw something peering at her far below the water between two corals, when it suddenly blinked and moved – an extremely large, bright orange octopus!! Perfectly friendly but nonetheless a bit daunting!
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It was also explained to us that we would be in depths of water of between 30 and 60 metres at times, and that the line of waves in the distance that we could see was actually the continental shelf. After that, the sea extends of 17 kilometres in depth!
That evening the divers amongst us came back with reports of getting close-up and personal with at least three species of shark. The rest of us were happy to see the pictures.
One thing we did learn very quickly was sadly not to expect great things from our photography. You know how you see those beautiful photos and postcards of the sea – all bright blue, with the reef clearly visible – and the stunning range of colour from the corals? Well, they’re all taken at night, set up by the night divers with highly complicated artificial lighting to replace the tones of colour which disappear as you get deeper. So, we’ll have to rely on our memories and a wonderful book of photography taken by one of the professionals!
Whilst on Lizard Island we had the opportunity to join Karen for what was described as a ‘fairly strenuous’ walk to Cook’s Look, the highest point of the island, and back – the round trip taking about three hours and starting at 5 am! So off Mike went on the launch across to the island, with Karen, Kelly and Carrie. I, on the other hand, had a lie-in until 6.30. At 8 am we all met up again on the beach for breakfast brought across on the glass-bottom boat, together with plasters, water and resuscitation equipment for Mike! (Lizard Island was one of the places where Capt. James Cook put in for repairs after damaging his ship, Endeavour, on the coral reef for the umpteenth time. And Cook’s Look was where he surveyed the horizon from in order to find safe passage out of the reef. All I can say is that he must have been a lot fitter than Mike – it was a very challenging climb!)
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The absolute highlight had to be the final day at Rachel Carson Reef. We’d been briefed that this was a different kind of reef again, and that the waters here varied from deep (very deep) to sometimes actually very shallow across the top of the coral and therefore quite difficult to snorkel. (Touching the reef itself is an absolute no-no here as far as the marine biologists are concerned). Whilst in the relatively shallow water, and having not been out there for very long, Mike and a couple of the girls had a face-to-face encounter with a white-tipped reef shark. There ended the day’s snorkelling! Thankfully, no more than a couple of minutes before, I had headed back to the boat because my mask was leaking water. There is a God! Needless to say, we have no photos – he didn’t wait around to take any!! Apparently they’re quite harmless but you try believing that when you’re out there …
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With the early starts and busy days, dinner was usually followed by a DVD or talk about what the reef would bring the following day, plus a reminder of safety points … at this time most of us would fall asleep – exhaustion not boredom - and head for our cabins by about 9 pm! Whilst the cruise was very different than certainly I had expected, it was absolutely brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable and we made some great friends along the way.
An anecdote on Cairns
One final point, and as an aside, whilst on our halfway break in Cairns, Mike mentioned he’d walked past a pub and noticed through the doorway that the clientele – mostly male – were sitting around the tables drinking beer, usually accompanied by a rather well endowed (but none too attractive) female … minus her clothes! I told him not to be so stupid, and that he should perhaps not take in so much seawater on the next leg of the cruise. On our last night, and after a few beers, we mentioned this to the crew. Oh yes, apparently it’s perfectly normal practice in many pubs in Cairns and other Aussie towns. Friday afternoons and evenings is ‘topless raffle’ time. Exactly as it says. If you’ve got the winning ticket, they come and sit with you and drink your beer.
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Well on to Perth next and to see what the pubs there bring …
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