I is for in-transit

Today I left Cairns behind for Brisbane, in-transit was the best I could come up with though it feels like cheating to hyphenate! Just as a reminder, I was going to do this journey by train, then by bus, when the train was cancelled, then decided to fly today by plane (as opposed to dragon!) so I could fit in the opportunity to be ill at the great barrier reef 😂(if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?). 

It was a fairly grey day, again, in Cairns, but still insanely hot!

I'm not sure if these flowers fell here naturally of if someone arranged them but they were too pretty to ignore. 

For those who don't know, I love flying. My first transatlantic flight I took over 50 photos of clouds, and that was in the days of film cameras :) I have edited the following considerably!

As we got on the flight it looked like someone had lined the baggage hatches with dry-ice! The person behind me said 'is it safe to get on?' the steward replied that yes this was normal.

Taking off from Cairns Airport

This is Fitzroy island which I visited on Wednesday.

This is the great barrier reef from the plane. My camera kept focusing on the window!

This is the arrival in Brisbane. 

I caught the Airtrain into the center of Brisbane. Still a 30 degree (celsius) day, less humid than Cairns. 

Got a bit turned around at the station and walked the wrong way for a bit but did see these White Ibises which I found fun, but apparently Australians call them "bin chickens". 

This tall building is where I'm staying. On the 15th floor. 

And this is Brisbane, around sunset. 

This is the view from one side of my apartment.

Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow yet, as my glow worm trip has been postponed due to lack of numbers. But on Sunday it is Koala Day at long last! 😀

H is for hurl (sorry!)

Today was my much anticipated trip to snorkel at the great barrier reef. As the title suggests it didn't go quite according to plan...

I booked to go on a smaller tour (25 people max, there were actually 13 of us), that was a great! We were on a fairly small vessel that mainly used the motor but tried to do a bit of sailing as time allowed. 

I sat near the front on the way out and got absolutely drenched which was quite fun!

Unfortunately when we got to the bit of reef we were diving on I didn't get on so well. I felt totally unbalanced with my flippers and wet suit and so got towed back to the boat and took them off. I then got on a bit better and saw some fish and coral, but was still mainly thinking about clearing my snorkel of water. After a little I got really tired and then I started feeling ill S and throwing up. So I got towed back to the boat again. I'm not entirely sure if it was motion sickness from bobbing on the boat, swallowing some sea water, or heat exhaustion - maybe a little of all three. And proceeded to feel ill for about 2.5 hours until I'd spent 2 hours on dry land (Green Island). So yes, hurl is the relevant word of the day, unfortunately. 

They packed me a lovely plate of food and all I could manage was nibbling the bread. This did end up being one of the best bits of the day... 

First, I had a few tiny ants show up to steal the crumbs (the video is better than the pics). 

Second, there are loads of these birds, buff banded rails, on Green Island. This one was particularly cute with little black chicks (again video is better than photos)... Whilst I was distracted, another bird nipped onto the picnic table and nabbed the other half of my bread

This is the vessel from Green Island. It doesn't look like the water is moving much but it really was when you were in it!

We did actually see a sea turtle from the ship, just chilling on the surface! We also saw a small shark, and a barracuda too. So not a total fish fail!  

On the way back we ran into a bit of rain

By the time we got back to Cairns I was feeling okay, which was frustrating but at least I got home safely.

Today very much reminds me of a proverb (16:9 from the book of Proverbs). "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps". Thanks for keeping me humble as I try to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (3:5-6) - still I would have like to see some more fish! 

G is for ...

Given it's a 'G' day, I should have gone to Mossman Gorge today because it's GORGEous (their pun not mine 🤣). I'm still contemplating the G of the day. 

I'm going to try blogging as I go today to create a different tone and avoid ages compressing my camera photos...

So I'm starting my day with pancakes! 

Next stop the Vodafone shop to get an Australian SIM because EE is driving me bananas. 

Had a little look around the Cairns Central Shopping Centre whilst I got my new SIM. Then back to the apartment for a bit of work. 

The current view from my apartment. Rather grey but still warm! 

Bit of a rush to get to the Ferry for Fitzroy Island A MINIMUM of 30 mins before departure. So I legged it to find the Ferry just pulling up 🤣 you can snorkel off the shore but I didn't bring my costume. Mainly in it for the ferry ride which was always a favourite of mine when I lived in Seattle. 

The ferry ride over was a bit choppy but fine. The sun was out at Fitzroy Island so a nice afternoon, if a little hot. 

The beach is covered in old coral and drift would in fantastic shapes.

I walked along the beach and then took a '45 min' return hike around just around the side of the island. It took me about 30 mins each way and was a hike, including numerous bolder steps. On said steps were little lizards. I also saw a pheasant but didn't get a photo.

Before the ferry arrived I had just enough time to dip my toes in the sea before I had to leave. 

As we returned to Cairns the sky grew darker...

Once back on shore I had a few wildlife encounters on the way home. 

Bats having their evening snack.

These guys, who are always out at night. [Bush Stone Curlews, apparently]. They stand very still, silently judging you, then they suddenly move. 

I watched the sun set.

Then had dinner on the water front. Scallops, tempura crab, fish, calamari, and prawns.

 This is my ride for tomorrow. My reef tour has not been cancelled, yet!