We docked yesterday morning right near the city center of Cairns, Australia. It is a large city, but has no high-rise buildings.
At 8:00 we went directly from our ship onto the Reef Magic catamaran for the 90 minute trip to the reef. The boat was really big with air conditioned / enclosed upper and lower decks as well as some outside areas. Jim decided he would do the Resort Dive Course (for first time divers) and took part of the instruction while we were heading to the reef. The Reef Magic platform at the reef is huge - there was plenty of room for everyone without any crowding. They provided snorkel equipment free and also rides in a semi-submersible sub. Diving cost extra. There were also helicopter rides (for a considerable fee) which we passed. A buffet lunch was also provided.
I wasn’t sure how my legs/pelvis/back would hold up to using fins so I stayed pretty close to the platform and did quite well. There were many many bright colored fish of all sizes. I followed one bright blue parrot fish for quite a while as he swam through the reef in search of nibbles. I couldn’t see what he was eating, but he seemed to find plenty of it. There was much coral right near the platform. We were lucky here that we took the ship excursion as we heard from some others that had booked private excursions that the coral was way too deep to see and that there were almost no fish.
Jim made it through his first dive and was exhausted and very pleased with himself. They put him and one other lady in the last class as neither of them were good swimmers and had no experience diving. He said he loved seeing everything but didn’t feel like he could relax at all. We bought a picture of him with Wally; a huge blue Maori fish that is very friendly. I got to pat Roxie, a smaller Maori that was in the snorkeling area. I assumed that the guides fed these fish to bring them in, but they said no - since it is a protected area they don’t feed them at all except in a special “feeding” (right before we left) and the food type (all fish) is strictly controlled - no scraps. The Maori fish just like people and come to socialize. They have to realize that they are pretty much the stars! It was as much fun to watch the people as the fish as the fish would rub up against you and nudge you if you didn’t pay attention to it. I wish I could post the picture of Jim and the fish, but it is hard copy and I don‘t have access to a scanner. It will be in the slideshow video we will post a couple weeks after the trip. There will be a link from the Luxury Cruise & Travel website.
We ate a sandwich supper right after getting back on the ship and had a cocktail on the balcony as we left Cairns. Then I hit the bed completely pooped out.
This evening we will have dinner with John and Mary Maxtone Graham. We realized that they will be off the ship in Hong Kong when we return from our overland tour to the Great Wall in a couple weeks.
We have two sea days before Rabaul.
At 8:00 we went directly from our ship onto the Reef Magic catamaran for the 90 minute trip to the reef. The boat was really big with air conditioned / enclosed upper and lower decks as well as some outside areas. Jim decided he would do the Resort Dive Course (for first time divers) and took part of the instruction while we were heading to the reef. The Reef Magic platform at the reef is huge - there was plenty of room for everyone without any crowding. They provided snorkel equipment free and also rides in a semi-submersible sub. Diving cost extra. There were also helicopter rides (for a considerable fee) which we passed. A buffet lunch was also provided.I wasn’t sure how my legs/pelvis/back would hold up to using fins so I stayed pretty close to the platform and did quite well. There were many many bright colored fish of all sizes. I followed one bright blue parrot fish for quite a while as he swam through the reef in search of nibbles. I couldn’t see what he was eating, but he seemed to find plenty of it. There was much coral right near the platform. We were lucky here that we took the ship excursion as we heard from some others that had booked private excursions that the coral was way too deep to see and that there were almost no fish.
Jim made it through his first dive and was exhausted and very pleased with himself. They put him and one other lady in the last class as neither of them were good swimmers and had no experience diving. He said he loved seeing everything but didn’t feel like he could relax at all. We bought a picture of him with Wally; a huge blue Maori fish that is very friendly. I got to pat Roxie, a smaller Maori that was in the snorkeling area. I assumed that the guides fed these fish to bring them in, but they said no - since it is a protected area they don’t feed them at all except in a special “feeding” (right before we left) and the food type (all fish) is strictly controlled - no scraps. The Maori fish just like people and come to socialize. They have to realize that they are pretty much the stars! It was as much fun to watch the people as the fish as the fish would rub up against you and nudge you if you didn’t pay attention to it. I wish I could post the picture of Jim and the fish, but it is hard copy and I don‘t have access to a scanner. It will be in the slideshow video we will post a couple weeks after the trip. There will be a link from the Luxury Cruise & Travel website.We ate a sandwich supper right after getting back on the ship and had a cocktail on the balcony as we left Cairns. Then I hit the bed completely pooped out.
This evening we will have dinner with John and Mary Maxtone Graham. We realized that they will be off the ship in Hong Kong when we return from our overland tour to the Great Wall in a couple weeks.
We have two sea days before Rabaul.
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