Previously on Sean and Zoe's Blog...
As you might remember we were in Melbourne and about to go for a curry. The curry place was down one of Melbourne's charming side streets which was quite picturesque. The curry was good as well.
From Melbourne we flew to Cairns.
And from Cairns we hopped in a minibus to Port Douglas - a 1 1/2 hour drive up the coast.
The place we were staying at was a five minute walk from the centre of Port Douglas which is a small seaside community.
We had been eating in restaurants a great deal and fancied some home cooking Australian style so we took advantage of one of the free BBQs at the place we were staying at and cooked some snags (sausages in pom-speak), burgers and lamb. I did the grilling and Zoe did the salad in true Ozzie style.
I have been inundated with letters of complaint that there have been no semi-naked pictures of me on this blog. Please find one below on the beach at Port Douglas.
What a guy!
One of the things we had been advised to do in Port Douglas was to go Cane Toad racing. 100 Cane Toads were introduced to Australia in 1935 as a way of controlling pests. They were crap at controlling the insects they were introduced to wipe out but very good at reproducing. Today the descendents of those 100 toads number over 200 million and they are estimated to have wiped out hundreds of indiginous Australian species. Scientists are still trying to find a way to bring the population under control.
A humane way of controlling the population seems to be racing them. Below is a picture of the Cane Toad Master of Ceremonies who breeds and keeps his 'thoroughbred' cane toads himself. He was a good source of information on the little pests and we had a great night.
Cane Toad racing is a very strange sport where a number of toads are placed in the middle of a table. 'Jockeys' then blow at them with party blowers attempting to get them to jump off the table where they can then be picked up and dropped in a bucket to complete the course. I thought the guy might be joking when he explained these rules but it seems not.
Zoe was chosen as a Jockey in the second race of the evening. All jockeys have to kiss their toads which Zoe managed with some aplomb. She came third which wasn't too bad. The video below shows it all.
From Port Douglas we travelled back to Cairns and got on a boat to Green Island. Green Island is situated on the Great Barrier Reef and is a small coral cay. Green Island measures 1.6 km by 300 metres and is entirely made of sand and coral. It is the only coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef with a rainforest and is widely regarded as one of the most environmentally sensitive tourist developments in the world. They have their own desalination plant and all rubbish is shipped off the island. Here is the island itself...
Green Island was truly breathtaking. During the day it is over-run by day trippers but in the morning and at night it felt like we had the whole island to ourselves.
Our room in Green Island.
Zoe sitting on our balcony.
Zoe and the sunset.
The skyline.
Zoe by the sea.
I really wanted to go snorkelling but Zoe was a bit concerned about wearing suntan lotion as she often has a bad alergic reaction to it and her face turns green. I find this quite funny but it makes Zoe very miserable. Going out uncovered in the sun in tropical north Queensland is not a good idea. Fortunately the island provided us with a solution - stinger suits - which not only protect you from the sun but also jellyfish. There is the slight downside that you look like a complete and utter wally.
Here is Zoe is her suit.
And here I am under the mistaken impression that I am a superhero called 'Blue Suit Man' and not a dickhead in lycra. I even did some superhero poses. It seemed like a good idea at the time...
Still the suits were worth it to see the reef up close. We even got some photos with a disposable underwater camera that we bought.
The fish in the next photo is a lazy bugger who has a sucker on top of his head that he uses to attach to sharks, turtles and the bottom of our boat so that he doesn't have to swim much to get to his food.
We also took some video footage from the boat which shows Zoe, the island and then the bottom of the boat. The reflection gets in the way of the camera picture but hopefully you get the idea.
In the centre of Green Island there is a small wildlife enclosure with crocodiles, giant turtles and some coral and fish tanks.
When we first saw the crocodiles we thought that they were either dead or models as they look absolutely lifeless. Apparently this is just a trick however and if you get too near them they eat you. Zoe and I found this very hard to believe looking at them.
We even got to hold a small one (though admittedly he had to have his mouth sellotaped).
As noted we had become very sceptical about the crocs ability to do any harm to anything. Feeding time changed our minds however...
There was only one restaurant on the island. Fortunately it was very good. We stayed three nights and in that time I am pleased to report that I managed to eat two of the mud crabs and one of the cray fish (lobster) in the tank below.
As Zoe and I had really enjoyed our snorkelling so decided to go one step further and try Sea Walker - walking 10 meters under the sea. We would have liked to have gone diving but you have to have a lot of tuition. Also I was a bit scared and thought we should try a milder option first.
Here is Zoe having her helmet lowered onto her head. The helmets weigh 40 kg out of the water but only 4 in it.
Green Island was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Australia so far and we were sad to leave. The pill was sugared somewhat for Zoe by there being a morning tea and cake event at Cairns airport...
As you might remember we were in Melbourne and about to go for a curry. The curry place was down one of Melbourne's charming side streets which was quite picturesque. The curry was good as well.
From Melbourne we flew to Cairns.
And from Cairns we hopped in a minibus to Port Douglas - a 1 1/2 hour drive up the coast.
The place we were staying at was a five minute walk from the centre of Port Douglas which is a small seaside community.
We had been eating in restaurants a great deal and fancied some home cooking Australian style so we took advantage of one of the free BBQs at the place we were staying at and cooked some snags (sausages in pom-speak), burgers and lamb. I did the grilling and Zoe did the salad in true Ozzie style.
I have been inundated with letters of complaint that there have been no semi-naked pictures of me on this blog. Please find one below on the beach at Port Douglas.
What a guy!
One of the things we had been advised to do in Port Douglas was to go Cane Toad racing. 100 Cane Toads were introduced to Australia in 1935 as a way of controlling pests. They were crap at controlling the insects they were introduced to wipe out but very good at reproducing. Today the descendents of those 100 toads number over 200 million and they are estimated to have wiped out hundreds of indiginous Australian species. Scientists are still trying to find a way to bring the population under control.
A humane way of controlling the population seems to be racing them. Below is a picture of the Cane Toad Master of Ceremonies who breeds and keeps his 'thoroughbred' cane toads himself. He was a good source of information on the little pests and we had a great night.
Cane Toad racing is a very strange sport where a number of toads are placed in the middle of a table. 'Jockeys' then blow at them with party blowers attempting to get them to jump off the table where they can then be picked up and dropped in a bucket to complete the course. I thought the guy might be joking when he explained these rules but it seems not.
Zoe was chosen as a Jockey in the second race of the evening. All jockeys have to kiss their toads which Zoe managed with some aplomb. She came third which wasn't too bad. The video below shows it all.
From Port Douglas we travelled back to Cairns and got on a boat to Green Island. Green Island is situated on the Great Barrier Reef and is a small coral cay. Green Island measures 1.6 km by 300 metres and is entirely made of sand and coral. It is the only coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef with a rainforest and is widely regarded as one of the most environmentally sensitive tourist developments in the world. They have their own desalination plant and all rubbish is shipped off the island. Here is the island itself...
Green Island was truly breathtaking. During the day it is over-run by day trippers but in the morning and at night it felt like we had the whole island to ourselves.
Our room in Green Island.
Zoe sitting on our balcony.
Zoe and the sunset.
The skyline.
Zoe by the sea.
I really wanted to go snorkelling but Zoe was a bit concerned about wearing suntan lotion as she often has a bad alergic reaction to it and her face turns green. I find this quite funny but it makes Zoe very miserable. Going out uncovered in the sun in tropical north Queensland is not a good idea. Fortunately the island provided us with a solution - stinger suits - which not only protect you from the sun but also jellyfish. There is the slight downside that you look like a complete and utter wally.
Here is Zoe is her suit.
And here I am under the mistaken impression that I am a superhero called 'Blue Suit Man' and not a dickhead in lycra. I even did some superhero poses. It seemed like a good idea at the time...
Still the suits were worth it to see the reef up close. We even got some photos with a disposable underwater camera that we bought.
We went snorkelling every day that we were on the island and saw hundreds of types of fish and coral. On the last day we went out really deep and Zoe and I got quite a shock to see a small shark underneath us! Fortunately it was only little and didn't seem to mind us as we (quickly) swam away.
Green Island also puts on glass bottomed boats for residents to view the reef surrounding the island without getting wet. Again the coral was absolutely beautiful and incredibly diverse as were the fish.
Green Island also puts on glass bottomed boats for residents to view the reef surrounding the island without getting wet. Again the coral was absolutely beautiful and incredibly diverse as were the fish.
The photos from the boat come out very badly but this gives some idea...
The next photo is evn more appalling but makes it onto the blog as it shows the Giant Turtle we saw. Sea Turtles are critically endangered. They can live for over 100 years and do not reach maturity until they are 50. Unfortunately many do not get to this age to reproduce. Seeing one in the wild was quite something.
Some more coral and fish.
The fish in the next photo is a lazy bugger who has a sucker on top of his head that he uses to attach to sharks, turtles and the bottom of our boat so that he doesn't have to swim much to get to his food.
We also took some video footage from the boat which shows Zoe, the island and then the bottom of the boat. The reflection gets in the way of the camera picture but hopefully you get the idea.
In the centre of Green Island there is a small wildlife enclosure with crocodiles, giant turtles and some coral and fish tanks.
The coral is better lit and easier to photograph here but obviously nowhere near as impressive as seeing it more naturally.
When we first saw the crocodiles we thought that they were either dead or models as they look absolutely lifeless. Apparently this is just a trick however and if you get too near them they eat you. Zoe and I found this very hard to believe looking at them.
We even got to hold a small one (though admittedly he had to have his mouth sellotaped).
As noted we had become very sceptical about the crocs ability to do any harm to anything. Feeding time changed our minds however...
There was only one restaurant on the island. Fortunately it was very good. We stayed three nights and in that time I am pleased to report that I managed to eat two of the mud crabs and one of the cray fish (lobster) in the tank below.
As Zoe and I had really enjoyed our snorkelling so decided to go one step further and try Sea Walker - walking 10 meters under the sea. We would have liked to have gone diving but you have to have a lot of tuition. Also I was a bit scared and thought we should try a milder option first.
Embarking on Sea Walker we were zoomed out on a speed-boat to a jetty off the island where we put our wet-suits on. Next up was a safety breifing where the importance of equalising was emphasised. Equalising is making your ears pop. I would have called it 'ear popping' but I guess equalising sounds more professional.
Here is Zoe having her helmet lowered onto her head. The helmets weigh 40 kg out of the water but only 4 in it.
Here are Zoe and I at the bottom with a few fish swimming round. The water is increadibly clear and we were inundated with hundreds and hundreds of fish. You can reach out and touch them which is quite strange. I wasn't 100% comfortable in the helmet - for some reason Space Oddity kept going round and round my head. Still - it was a great experience and I would definitely do it again.
We had bought another disposable underwater camera and took a few shots...
Green Island was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Australia so far and we were sad to leave. The pill was sugared somewhat for Zoe by there being a morning tea and cake event at Cairns airport...
Our next stop was Airlie Beach the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. On Airlie Beach we were reminded that Australia can be a dangerous place by a sign given over to Hazardous Marine Creatures one could encounter there.
One of the things we had not done at Green Island was visit the Outer Barrier Reef. Zoe and I were very keen to do this but I really did not fancy a 4 hour boat trip in stormy waters. Fortunately we found a solution...
We took it in turns to sit in the front seat.
'You can be my wing man anytime Zoe'.
The flight out to Whitehaven Beach over the Whitsundays had some spectacular views of the islands.
Whitehaven Beach has been voted the best beach in Australia and the third best beach in the world. Its not hard to see why. The sand is the softest I have ever felt and the water lovely and warm. Here's the view from the helicopter approaching the beach.
Landing on the beach was great.
The Pilot kindly took a photograph of Zoe and I before building us a sunshelter to sit in while we ate the picnic they had prepared for us. Zoe said the food was gorgeous. I stuck to the champagne.
We had expected the beach to be busy but there was no-one else around at all. I had a paddle and Zoe kept to the shade of our hut and finished off the chicken tikka wraps and cake.
We spent an hour on the beach before taking off for the Great Barrier Reef. We are so pleased that we have seen it from the air. It was utterly stunning.
This is Heart Reef which we flew over a couple of times.
We landed on the Fantasea ReefWorlds Helicopter pad and discovered that apart from the staff and a marine biologist we were the only visitors there. They took us out on a semi-submersible to see the reef before giving us a couple of stinger suits and some snorkelling equipment so that we could see the reef from below water.
The reef is even better up close than it is from the air. Again we had a waterproof camera and got a few shots.
The Reef Wall and Sean
A Giant Clam
Some fish and hard coral.
The coral bed.
Unbelievable. We are definitely going to go back.
Part 2 to follow....
