Cadet Reporter: Michael Gavin
The group together this morning is just Tony &Jen, Michael & Dot, Peter C & Jill P.
Peter C planned to organise his car ready for a service and a wash as well as deliver Jill P to meet up with a friend at Trinity Beach….so more farewells today.
Dot & Michael had booked the previous night for a half day cruise and glass bottom boat ride at Green Island. Jen successfully persuaded Tony into going on this trip also. The Hotel’s wonderful manager – Rosemary, delivered us four to the Wharf Terminal for check-in and final payment. It was like an International Airport and us Aussies were in the minority. Tourists and backpackers from China, Japan, Korea, Italy, Germany, Finland, Denmark and many other countries were present. The bulk of the tourists/backpackers were in their 20-30s.
Green Island’s waters were crystal clear, giving us a great view of the fish around the pier and shore. Our glass bottom boat with 30-40 travellers [ 95% Chinese & Japanese] provided excellent viewing of the reef fish and the range of corals. The depth below the glass bottom ranged from 1m – 7m. The colours of the fish were dramatic and eye catching. This trip lasted 30 minutes. The boat had a running commentary in Japanese and then Chinese…..unfortunately no English commentary and the boat driver/guide was very reluctant to answer questions from the Aussies…..we could see clear coral damage from the Crown of Thorns starfish and a snail, however the guide denied any problems with the reef.
Other activities available on Green Island included snorkelling, scuba diving, para sailing, coral reef viewing from semi submersible, underwater observatory , plus other activities.
After the glass bottom boat ride we walked on the beach around the full circumference of the island [ 12 hectares in size].
As we travelled back to Cairns, D&M sat on the upper deck and we travelled through one section of the ocean that was covered in an algae given off by the coral. It looked like a thick light brown paint on the surface of the water. The crew were advising alarmed tourists that it was not an oil slick. It was much more obvious from the upper deck rather than the internal lower deck that we travelled across on.
Lunch at Beethoven's [ bread rolls] with Tony & Jen, then strolling around the CBD for much of the afternoon by ourselves.
Mid afternoon Greg & Wanda booked in. Then carwash time, with Peter C providing a “cook’s tour” to the local car wash. The ground ran red from the red dust on the 4 vehicles.
Tony and Jen caught up with Dean and Karen for evening meal, while the other five went to an Indian restaurant.
No comments:
Post a Comment