 |
| The view from the boat looking back at Cape Tribulation. Where the Great Barrier Reef meets the National Rainforest. |
| Glenn's Journal 02-11-03 & 02-12-03 Queensland Tuesday morning and we are all about relaxing today. We have spent the last two days driving and we have landed in the middle (O.K. On the edge) of the Daintree National Park and the Rainforest. After breakfast we did head out to the Daintree boardwalk where we spent an hour or so walking through the rainforest enjoying the noises and checking out the plant life. We also used our bug spray as the mosquitos were very much out and looking for food. It also rained pretty hard last night so the rainforest was plenty damp. After our little walk we stopped into a nearby food store (the only "real" store anywhere near here) and bought some basics like bread and millk. It is still cheaper than eating out all of the time. We returned to the Cape Trib Beach House around noon where we spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool. We read our books and otherwise soaked up the sun that shone through a hole in the rainforest. We finally packed it in around 6:00 pm. Erin prepared a wonderful meal of pasta for dinner before we headed down to the bistro. We had met our neighbors in the 3 bed dorm next door and we caught up with them at the bistro. We sat and chatted with Sharon, Jen, and Daryll. Daryll had purchased a campervan and had advertised for two people to share the ride and that is where he met Sharon and Jen. Sharon and Jen had met while traveling around Australia and had been traveling with Daryll for the past 6 weeks. They had plenty of interesting stories to tell about all of their adventures. We finally returned to our room around 11:00 pm as we needed a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we had booked a boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef for some snorkeling and/or diving. We can't wait!!! 02-12-03 Queensland Ths morning we were up early for breakfast as we were due to be picked up at 8:15 am for the Reef tour today. The only company going out from Cape Tribulation is RumRunner. We joined about 15 other people on the boat that went out from the point at Cape Tribulation. The boat trip lasted one hour and took us out to the reefs by Mackay Island. During the trip out to the island the divers received their safety information and prepared first time divers. We arrived around 10:45 am and wasted no time in getting into the water. It didn't take us long to find our way around the reef as we were allowed a 200 meter perimeter around the boat. We were not allowed to go to the island as it is a nesting place for birds. I can't describe the beauty and wonder of the Reef that only a picture or postcard can portray. The many fish and corral, all of the colors and contrasts, amazing!!! I spent some time following along with a sea turtle watching him eat off of the coral and leisurely swim around. We stopped for lunch around 12:15 pm. Lunch included sandwiches and salads and a twenty minute discussion on types of animals we would find along the reef. It was well timed as we had seen some of the fish and could now go back in to identify them. We jumped back in around 1:00 pm and were allowed to snorkel around the reef until 2:45 pm when we would start our way back towards land. The almost two hours was plenty of time to snorkel around and most found themselves back on the boat well before time. Erin and I found another turtle around 2:00 pm and spent the next half hour watching it move among the reef. What a beautiful creature!!! We were all back on the boat and heading back by 2:45 pm. We told stories of what we had seen and checked out sunburns that were starting to show up. We were dropped back off at the Cape Trib Beach House around 4:30 pm. Once we were back we returned to the room to get showered up from the day and prepare for dinner. Erin then showed me the massive sunburn that she had gotten from snorkeling today. I also had a little sunburn on my shoulders and back but nothing like Erin's bum. Luckily a couple of the ladies offered Erin some lotion that would help the healing. By the end of the night Erin was very uncomfortable and even had trouble sitting or laying down. We had dinner at the bistro and spent the rest of the evening shooting and watching pool with Sharen, Jen, Daryll, and Petra. (We met Petra on the boat today.) We finally hit the hay around 11:00 pm. Erin did not sleep very well tonight. |
 |
| The magnificent Great Barrier Reef!!! The diving and snorkeling is amazing!!! |