Moreton Island: We navigated our way north from Sydney on Australia’s east coast. Our next stop was Moreton Island, just off the coast of southeastern Queensland. Moreton Island is a sand island, 98% sand, and the rest is volcanic rock. The sand blowing from the mainland started to accumulate around the rocks to form the island. There are five sand islands in the area. Kind of like big sandbars. They have created a great dive site by sinking boats called the Tangalooma Wrecks.
We water-shuttled to the resort – they don’t call them “tenders” anymore. Tangalooma is a big resort with lots of water sports where you could spend a relaxing beach day or sign up for an outdoor adventure.
I signed up for a “Desert Safari”. A creaky, fat-tired bus and our Aussie guide took us about 20 minutes inland to an actual desert (the bus was able to inflate and deflate the tires as needed to drive in the sand). The road going inland was sandy and full of potholes, so we bounced around a bit as we had to maintain speed to get up the hills. At times our driver stopped and backed up to get a running start at the next turn. It was not at all nerve-wracking. Where’s my seatbelt again?
When we got to the desert, we unloaded from the bus and left our shoes behind to grab a thin board to use as a toboggan. We got a quick lesson on how to use the board, then began the (seemingly) endless hike to the top of the dune. It took me about 30 minutes to make the trek, stopping a few times to catch my breath or wait for the folks in front of me to move along. Sweet seven-pound baby Jesus, that was a tough hill to climb! My watch told me I climbed 35 flights – mostly due to the fact that while I kept moving my feet, I was gaining little ground because of the soft sand. I was feeling embarrassed that I was struggling so much until I noticed almost everyone else around me struggling too. We were in it together.
With great grit and determination (and not looking up to see how far I still needed to go), I finally made it to the top. I waited my turn and then laid down to get pushed down the dune by our guide. I did great for most of the run, but when as I got to the bottom and the hill started to flatten out, I didn’t hold the front of the flimsy wood up high enough and ate some serious sand. It was everywhere. I was coated from head to toe, the sunscreen and sweat from my uphill climb made the perfect paste to hold the sand in place. I spit out some sand then gulped down some water and watched the rest of the group slide down. There were a few fit souls that were able to make two or three runs, but most of us only did the one time.
I tried to take pictures, but between the phone’s waterproof case to protect it from the sand and the blinding brightness so I couldn’t see the screen, these are the best I got. Thank goodness they had a photographer there to take my picture as I sledded or there would be no proof!
We piled back into the bus to go back to the resort. We almost got stuck in the sand, but we slowly inched our way out, then back down the super-scary road through the bush. When we got back, I asked where I could shower and change. It was mentioned in the port information onboard, but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. I was so tired and gross that I just went back to the ship, trailing sand like pixie dust wherever I went. It took two showers to completely rid myself of the pounds of sand I was carrying around.
I made the mistake of not putting on my sunscreen until I got off the water shuttle in the morning, so I got a little sunburned for the first time this trip. I won’t forget again!
Airlie Beach: Airlie Beach is in the Whitsunday region of Queensland. It is one of the access points to the Great Barrier Reef’s Outer Reef. The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 1,200 miles up and down the Queensland coastline (half the size of Texas). It can be seen from space and has 2,900 individual reefs, 600 continental islands, and 300 coral keys.
The ride out is two hours long. We started in choppy waters but were mostly protected from the larger swells by the Whitsunday Islands. I was in the upper deck cabin with about 60 fellow passengers when the air conditioning went out. It got very stuffy very quickly, so I headed outside to the open deck to get some relief. But there was none to be found as the air was quite humid. So I went downstairs to the lower cabin, which had some air conditioning but nowhere to sit, so when we hit the open water, we were strongly urged to find a seat and stay in it. I quickly went back upstairs to my original seat. I guess walking/staggering around the ship had an effect and I felt a bit queasy for the first time on a boat. I grabbed my seat and got into a battle of wills with my stomach. We were subjected to about an hour of open water with 20-foot swells and pouring rain. The air conditioner finally got fixed, and the staff came around with sick bags, wet compresses, and ice chips to chew on. It took me 30 minutes to fill out a form to go snorkeling because every time I looked down at the paper I got another wave of nausea. And then the rain started pouring in the overhead air conditioning unit onto our table and the seat next to me. I didn’t care as long as it was still working!
When we finally arrived at the pontoon, I wandered around while the first rush of divers and snorkelers got ready. Australian waters at this time of year have very painful box jellyfish so everyone had to wear what’s called a stinger suit – imagine a wetsuit made of spandex with mittens for your hands and a hood that just shows your face. And everyone was putting them on. My mind can never unsee what I saw. The suits unflinchingly showed every roll, bump, and bulge to horrific effect. Watching people put them on and take them off was a fun pastime.
I got fully geared up and went to take a pre-snorkel safari snorkel. The water temperature was LOVELY – I just walked right in. They had a metal platform where you could step down to the water level, sit on a bench and put on your flippers and mask, then jump off into the water. It was all very easy until I actually got in the water. The swells were about 3 feet high and kept washing me back toward the platform. When I managed to get myself coordinated, I swam towards some buoy/ropes to hang on and try to orient myself. Every time I tried to snorkel, a wave would go over my head and fill the snorkel, so there was lots of spitting and frustration. The water visibility was not good, so I didn’t see any fish or anything else since I didn’t want to wander too far from safety alone. After about 30 minutes I gave up and got myself back on the pontoon. I immediately canceled my snorkel safari because the water was too rough, and I made my way down to the underwater observation deck of the pontoon where I got to see all the fish I couldn’t see from the surface. I took the semi-submarine ride directly over the reef at high tide, so I got a good close-up look at the coral and all the different lifeforms living there. Of course, my pictures weren’t that good, but here’s what I got.
I braved an early lunch (rice, bread, and cheese) since I hadn’t had breakfast and was worried I’d feel sicker from hunger, which helped my situation. Later reports from the other boat and the lower level of my boat were that there was widespread seasickness. Many other excursions were canceled due to the rough weather, so at least we got out for the day and I have a fun story to tell. And I saw the Great Barrier Reef.
I was well prepared for the trip back – I put on my headphones and played some loud music so I didn’t hear my fellow passengers in distress. I sat in my seat the whole time and stared at the horizon and all was well. We made it back to the ship with time to spare before we pulled anchor and set off for our next port – Cairns.
Cairns: (pronounced Kanz), was originally populated by aboriginal tribes, and was founded as a city in 1876 as a frontier town to support the gold rush. It is at the extreme northern area of Queensland, near Brisbane. I visited the Wet Tropics Rainforest for the day. We started by taking the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which took me up over the rainforest canopy and into the forest.
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The first stop is Red Peak station, where you get off the cable car and walk through the rainforest on a boardwalk, taking in all the beautiful foliage and listening to the bugs and birds.
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I hopped back on the skyrail and headed to Barron Falls station, where I was able to get some great pictures of the magnificent falls. I even braved walking out on the overlook.
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Back down the mountain, I had some free time to explore Kuranda Village, with its arts and crafts shops and souvenir stores. I stopped at the Kuranda Hotel for a delicious burger and a locally brewed beer called Tropical Blonde. Yumm-o!
As one would expect in a rainforest, it was quite humid, but we had a partly cloudy day so it wasn’t unbearable too often.
After lunch I made my way to the train station, where I took the train down the mountain. Kuranda Scenic Railway, which was constructed between 1882 and 1891 to link Cairns with the North Queensland gold field. It winds its way through the Kuranda mountains. The locomotives are 1720 class locomotives built 1966-1970, and the carriages date back to the early 1900s. We went through 15 tunnels and across 40 bridges as we made our way to Cairns. The views were spectacular. It was a bit uncomfortable in the un-air-conditioned cars, but they gave out these maps that worked really well as fans, so no one fainted.
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Once everyone got off the train (there were several tours terminating at the same station), we discovered that our group (#23) did not have a bus. Everyone else did, but we didn’t. I ended up waiting at the bus stop for about 25 minutes for another bus to come. All was well though – we made it back in plenty of time for me to grab a beer and pizza at the brewery on the wharf before the all-aboard call.
I’m getting used to these teeny-tiny showers. While I don’t have much room to move, the water pressure and temperature are EXCELLENT and just the thing to revive you after a day of touring.
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