The last chunk of my trip involved more boats, SCUBA diving, and some of the best fruit I’ve ever tasted.
Day 6
Boat day! My two day, one night adventure on the Rum Runner started early enough, with the briefing for myself and the other 7 passengers reviewing safety information and housekeeping procedures. Living a life of luxury, I was allowed two three-minute showers! I put my name down to go scuba diving, because when on the Great Barrier Reef, you just say yes. The ride out to our first dive/snorkel site was a little rough, thank goodness for preventative motion sickness tablets. I found a relatively shady and breezy spot to camp out, which also helped.
Once we arrived at Briggs Reef, it was wetsuits on and in we went! Over our trip, we had six snorkel/dive sites, with one being a night dive. I tried scuba diving at the second site, and I don’t think it is for me. My body was not a fan of the positive air pressure that meant I had to forcefully exhale. I found it difficult to control my breathing, and therefore my depth. It was a really unique feeling, but I’m not sure I’ll seek it out again any time soon. It was nice not being as pushed around by the water, but I found it stressful in a couple of ways:
- The pressure that builds as you descend
- The fear of losing my vision because your face is more vertical than snorkelling, so I was worried about leaks
- Trying to calm myself down without taking deep breaths, which just upset my buoyancy
After the crew declared the “pool open”, I determined that the reef up here seems much nicer than at the Whitsundays, though those were also really pretty. It feels a lot like swimming in a massive aquarium. There was a greater diversity of coral, more formations, and ones that must have inspired the animators of SpongeBob. There were soft corals too, swaying as the water moved. As a whole, the northern Great Barrier Reef just feels more dimensional(?) than further south. I saw a sea turtle!! Four new animals in five days? What a life. The turtle was completely unbothered by the starry-eyed tourists, so I got to watch it for probably 15 minutes as it poked around, munching and doing sea turtle things. I knew they had slippers instead of feet, but didn’t realize how fish-like they were.
I saw some of the biggest clams of my life, which must have been six feet across. They are so mesmerizing, unlike any other form of sea life I have encountered.
The rest of the day was spent between the water and the boat (duh), snorkelling at three different sites and eating whenever I had the chance. One of our crew gave us a little lesson on local wildlife, introducing yet another Australian animal that can kill you: the cone snail. When it stings you, you don’t feel it, but three minutes later you enter respiratory shock. Why does everything in this country want to kill you?!
I might be part mermaid though, because I love the water! I attempted to stay up late enough to catch the stars (I REALLY wanted to see them) but being in the water all day just took it out of me and I was asleep before it even got dark.
Day 7
I woke up on a boat. Now, it wasn’t that surprising because I went to sleep on a boat, but it was still a wild thing, to wake up rocking back and forth. We had breakfast, then were off to our last dive site of the trip. I could have went for a snorkel before breakfast, but was enjoying my coffee and the morning sun on the deck. This dive site had some serious current to it! I would fight it to one end, then let it carry me back to my starting point. After doing this a couple of times, it was back on the boat for me. I was hopeful I would see a manta ray or reef shark, but the ocean had other plans. Lunch was ate and cleaned up by 11 – my kind of schedule!
And then it was back to Cairns, we arrived about 3 pm, which gave me just enough time to head directly to the Cairns Museum and do a speed run before they closed at 4. For all my activities planned, this was the only opportunity I had to visit. I swear I listened to the guide, but it was a language barrier that got in my way! She said for me to start on the second floor, so I went up a flight of stairs and meandered around, before realizing I was actually only on the first floor. I still enjoyed the exhibits, getting to see the Old Cairns and Living in the Tropics displays.
One fascinating thing I learned was that the first live taipan was captured in 1950, there was no anti-venom developed until 1955. The idea of living where a snake bite means certain death just feels so foreign to me.
Day 8
Home time! I started my morning by checking out Rusty’s Markets, and buying some fresh cut papaya. It felt similar to the Queen Victoria Markets, but less busy (thank goodness!). I arrived at the airport at like 8:30, giving me plenty of time to sit around, one of my favourite travel activities.
See you soon!
Kate