Great Barrier Reef and Rainforests

My first view of the Great Barrier Reef came from an airplane as I approached a landing in Cairns (pronounced “cans”). At first I thought the reefs were little islands dotting the coast, but as I got closer, I could see that most of those “islands” were under the water. Megan and I both could hardly wait to go snorkeling the next day and I could hardly wait to go scuba diving later in the week!

Monday, 30 September 2008 – Great Barrier Reef

My first day on the reef. Wow. My first thought, admittedly, was “my mask is too big for my face.” But my second thought was “and I thought God was creative on dry land!” I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the ocean floor is. But snorkeling from a boat so far out that all you can see around you is blue sky and blue water, then viewing the amazing coral and fish and learning how they all interact together to form a complete working system…well, I am simply amazed at God’s handiwork.

My disposable camera didn’t take as nice pictures as I would have liked, so I’ll try again later in the week with a better camera. For now, look at the pretty fish that swam past us!

Tuesday, 1 October 2008 – Rainforests

Our daytrip to the rainforests was packed full of adventure, not least of which was our Aussie guide’s um…enthusiastic driving on the narrow, windy roads. All in one day, we visited the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Mossman Gorge, Coconut Beach (beautiful!), and a Daintree River wildlife cruise to spot crocodiles! And yes, we did spot one or two.

See the pretty pictures of (in order) Coconut Beach, Mossman Gorge, the Daintree River, and our crocodile friend:

Wednesday, 2 October 2008 – Jungle Swinging

As Wednesday was Megan’s last day in Cairns, we decided we had to do something extra special. We thought about doing jungle surfing canopy tours (where you’re connected to a zip line and “surf” through the jungle), but we decided on jungle swinging. Instead of floating softly through the trees, we went what I like to call “bungy jumping light.” Basically, we were strapped into harnesses and dropped from 45 meters (approx 150 feet) high down to 1 meter in 3 seconds. The cables caught us so that we swung back and forth through the trees…just like Tarzan and George!

Here we are, starting to slow down:

Unfortunately, this day marked the end of Megan’s time in Cairns, and here is where we parted ways. Megan left for Sydney to spend Australia’s Labour Day weekend before returning to the States. Meanwhile, my plans involve staying on in Cairns one more week to take a scuba dive certification class and dive trip before continuing on to Darwin.

Farewell, Megan! You’ve been an awesome travel companion these past months. See you in November!