Cairns

The next stop in our Oz adventure was Cairns. We were keen to get the kids out to the Great Barrier Reef and Cairns is the jumping off point for day trips. Of course, we took in the local zoo. I suspect we've seen most every zoo in New Zealand and we hit as many as possible in Australia as well.

Cairns (pronounced cans) was warm enough to swim in the ocean.

Jack got to hold a crocodile. It was 3 yrs old and quite soft behind the front legs.

The zookeeper hand fed "Big Zac". We were afraid he was going to come out without an arm.

Family roo portrait

Steven got to hold Kynzie, a 3yo koala.

Time for a Scooby snack by the koalas

Frog

Hard to keep these growing boys full. Found the best fish and chips at this gas station.

Cairns has grown quite a bit in the past fourteen years. When we were last there, it had a decidedly small town feel without much going on. These days, there are a number of touristy attractions to take in, including a rain forest gondola ride.

Sky rail over the Cairns rainforest

Climbing a Banyan tree in Kuranda

The reef was our primary destination for our trip to Queensland. We booked a day trip with one of the tour companies and had a reasonably pleasant, but rough, trip out to the reef. We all felt fine as the boat pulled up to the dive platform, but I got a jolt of motion sickness after we stopped as the boat bobbed around in the surf. Undeterred, I grabbed snorkel gear with the family and we went out on a smaller boat to the back side of the reef for an "adventure" snorkel.

Heading for a day on the Great Barrier Reef

Steven waves from the raft while his crazy mother is still in the cold water taking underwater photos after an open water snorkel tour.

Wally is a Maori Wrasse who likes to cuddle.

Twenty years ago in water survival, I was dropped in Biscayne Bay and had to bob around in a raft to get the feel for surviving at sea. I didn't like being a cork and after an hour I was feeling rather ill. The swells out on the reef we much larger than Biscayne Bay and after fifteen or twenty minutes I was well and truly sick. Suffice it to say, I didn't see much of the reef and was happy to be back on the boat after feeding the fish. Laura dosed me with some nausea medicine and my snorkeling was over.

Steven with another snack time waiting on the submersible

On the sub

On the glass bottom boat

Fortunately, Laura and Jack hung in there and they got to see a lot of fish and coral. Steven was worried about my condition, so he mostly stayed on the boat and checked on me while I slept if off. I was aggravated at myself for missing the action.