Having come back from the diving trip, the weather forecast predicted one more day of sunshine, then more than a week of rain… Luckily I was able to round up a couple of people quickly for a trip to the Daintree Rainforest, with a rental car. Final destination: Cape Tribulation, the most northern town on the East Coast which can be reached without needing a 4x4. A really nice drive through dense rainforest. We stayed one night in a hostel in the rainforest, and woke up with the sight of 4 Cassowaries walking over the hostel grounds. Sadly at a time where my camera was in the trunk of the car…
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One can dive at many spots in Australia, but the consensus seems to be that diving the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns or Port Douglas is an experience not to be missed. A long time ago I had taken a dive course in Belgium and obtained my PADI Open Water certification. A couple of years later, I had dived a couple of times in Thailand, but not on the best spots. That was about 8 years ago…After agonising about a full day about which specific dive tour to splurge a great many dollars on, I set of on a boat, destination Outer Great Barrier Reef. Since my memory is not my greatest asset, I decided to do a “refresher course”, combined with a course for getting my “advanced” certification. 5 day dives and one night dive in total - each and every one of them giving plenty opportunity to spot a great many colourful fish, turtles and even reef sharks. So far, my favourite 2 days in Australia!
Upon arrival in Airlie Beach, it finally became apparent that I entered the subtropical zone: even at 8 pm, the short walk from the bus terminal to my hostel was pretty sweaty ;-) After a chilled out day of relaxing by the beach and comparing whitsundays tours, I boarded the catamaran “Wings” for a 2-days 2-nights Whitsundays tour: beautiful views, amazing beaches and dito snorkelling, good and abundant food and great company - 2 fine days!
Various people had told me that Fraser Island, known in aboriginal language as K’Gari, was a stop not to be missed. I could not agree more: 4x4 driving on the beach, spectacular sun- and moonrises and starry nights, crystal clear lakes, camping with dingo’s, boomerang throwing, (attempts to play) didgeridoo and good company… A place to remember!
One of the last stops to go surfing, before the Great Barrier Reef gets too much in the way. The surf lesson here went a bit differently than in Byron Bay though, with a preliminary explanation of the dangers of the Ocean: bull sharks, stingrays, stone fish and water snakes?? “But don’t worry about that guys, let’s go have fun!” ahum… Though surf conditions were not all that great (hardly any waves), it was still fun. For the remainder, nice walks in the Noosa National Park (luckily the brown snake was more awake than me, and swiftly moved out of my way) and along the spectacular coastline and the various superb beaches.
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