Out to the reef

The next morning was quite cloudy with a bit of a breeze. We drove into Cairns and joined the line for the catamaran. Lots of Asian tourists on board - and soon a collection of people were throwing up as the winds became more brisk as we headed to Green Island which is the island of the Great Barrier which is closest. Our promised morning tea was not allowed as the seas were too rough, so it was with relief that we arrived at the long wharf. We were whisked off to do the glass bottom boat trip, and I must say the fish were huge, but what I loved the most was the turtles. This is a picture of a turtle just out of view. They were massive too. The coral was very varied, but quite muted in colour. And massive too.

Next we set off to do the snorkelling off the beach. Unfortunately the fish close in weren't as spectacular and as soon as you ventured out the water became quite hazy with the disturbance of the wind.

Here's Duncan just setting off. He has the confidence to go a bit deeper than me, but there's nothing better when you are relaxed into a steady breathing rhythm with the seafloor and lots of fish - mainly small (but I was massive) swimming around you.

By this stage we had worked up a good apetite and headed to the food court which was inundated with birds. I had to be very brave. We then went for a walk around the resort part. It was lovely in the bush area with a good path, but as soon as you poked your nose out onto the beach area the wind was whistling.

The trip back was much smoother however and once back in the car we decided to investigate Port Douglas. It was a much longer and more testing drive than we thought and we were pleased we had not stayed there as it would have been quite a trip to get to the sights that we had done. We quite liked the look of Palm Cove, so maybe in a few years we might go there.

It was with very high hopes that we set out to the Blue Moon Cafe for dinner (that's what Jill and Simon always called their cafe) as it is regularly booked out. However the lighting was not good, the service was not good, but all the same I was dumbfounded when the waitress asked Duncan how his meal was and he replied "Its dry and its tasteless" It was Kangaroo - although we've had very tasty Kangaroo before. My crocodile puffs were fine. But the whole experience was a disappointment! Maybe I feed him too well.