Cairns 2

There have been good times and not so good times in Cairns, we had just finished dinner and I was waiting for a kettle of washing up water to boil when, because I was wearing my headlamp which was pointed towards the ground, I was surprised to see a lengthy snake gliding under the floor of our tent, just inches from the open door. I pointed it out to L, just in case my imagination was getting the better of me, and he was pretty surprised too. So it was into the tent, zip up both doors and close the velcro strips at the bottom and we didn’t emerge until day light!! Apparently we need not have been so concerned as it was probably a harmless (or so the locals say) python but I am still quite cautious.
The good time was the trip we took to the reef yesterday. The blurb said we would get 5 full hours at the outer Barrier Reef, platform offering shelter, shade, sun deck, showers and change rooms, underwater observatory, marine biology presentation, unlimited snorkelling with all equipment and instruction, dedicated dive tender for certified scuba divers, semi submersible tours, hot and cold buffet lunch, morning and afternoon and tea - and we did get all they promised and more. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the journey to the reef not too choppy, the young assistants were full of encouragement and enthusiasm and there was plenty of equipment available. After some consideration we decided to give snorkelling a try, there were steps down from the pontoon so it was a bit like getting into a swimming pool and the recommended area was roped off with buoys. Safety was highly promoted.
It was just fantastic, plenty of fish to see ranging from the tiny to quite large and so many wonderful colours, and the coral is just amazing. We left the park at 8am and didn’t get back until 6pm so it was a long day but so satisfying.
Tomorrow we are off to Wonga Beach which is close to the Daintree.