Cairns Great Barrier Reef Australia 3/14/24

 Cairns Australia  Great Barrier Reef


When you see the word Cairns you automatically think Great Barrier Reef.  One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the largest living structure on the planet, and currently one big mystery for Ultimate World Cruisers - how is everyone who wants to see the GBR going to get there with our port times. I have found that there is more to Cairns than merely the reef. This area is also home to the world’s oldest rainforest, Daintree National Park where you’ll find majestic trees, interesting wildlife, and yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. You may also catch sight of the world’s most dangerous bird there, the cassowary. Maybe you’ll want to take the Skyrail above and through the rainforest, past Barron Falls to the mountain village of Karunda.  There are colorful fish to see right in town when visiting the Cairns Aquarium. 

The timing of our stop was very short to get to the reef.  Most outside tours to the reef would not get us back to the ship on time, and the ship excursion was pretty pricey.  We did book it because we wanted to make sure we got to the reef for scuba diving and snorkeling.  However, one industrious passenger hired a private boat for the day that would work the excursion into our hours at Cairnes, it offered scuba, snorkeling, helicopter rides, and a submersible to see the reef and we jumped at that opportunity (it was quite a bit less than our Royal tour) so we cancelled our Royal excursion.  Three weeks before our arrival, the tour provider found out that Royal was going to tender rather than dock (due to the Port Authority deciding to dredge that day and no ships or boats were able to use the facility) and this became a huge challenge as it added a 25 minute tender, and a 30 minute bus ride to where our boat was docked, which put our timing at huge risk to get back to ship.  It is a 1.5-to-2-hour boat ride (each way) just to get to the reef.  Every possible solution was tried but it just could not happen, so we scrambled at the last minute to get back on the Royal excursion (they always hold the ship for their own excursions, so we were guaranteed to get back on the ship) and got lucky to snag some of the last seats available.  Mickey got to scuba, and I snorkeled, and it was a wonderful experience.  The Reef deserves to be a Wonder of the World.  A few of the videos we captured and some pics from my camera and the professional ones from our tour operator to see....

 Our next four days will be spent at sea on the way to Indonesia. 










Location: Cairns QLD, Australia

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