The Great Barrier Reef, Cairns

Sydney

We had about 12 hours in Sydney before we flew to Cairns, so we rented a car, picked up Bill & Nicole, and visited some places we missed last time.

Olympic Center from the 2000 Olympics. This is a view from a balcony in one of the hotels. We visited the visitors center, the ring walk, Olympic Boulevard, and the tennis center.

This is the thing where they put the Olympic Flame after it's been lit.

We drove over the Harbor Bridge!

The little neighborhood we ate lunch in on the other side of the Harbor Bridge. The trees all have beautiful purple flowers on them. This photo was taken through a polarized filter.

A view of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.

We drove under the Harbor through the Sydney Harbor Tunnel on the way back.

Cairns

This is a beautiful little town on the far northwest coast of Australia. Most people venturing off to see the many reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef start here.

We took a boat out to see the Great Barrier Reef. The company we chose took us to two different reefs. This company let us snorkel and try diving.

First reef: Hastings Reef, The fish bowl area.

All geared up and ready to go.

There goes John.

After about 30 minutes of snorkeling we both got to try scuba diving. Angela didn't feel very comfortable so she continued snorkeling. John loved scuba diving and got some great photos about 10 meters under the water.

John's great photo of a clown fish. Just like Nemo!

Second Reef: Saxon Reef, Canyons area

This fish looks really colorful, but don't get too cozy. It has huge teeth!

Just outside of Cairns: We took a historic train through the rainforest to a little town called Kuranda. There are markets and little restaurants here.

This is a local coffee shop. Each time we drank down the foam the barista put more foam on top! So tasty!

We thought we would import some local Kuranda honey back to the US, but New Zealand won't let it in. Guess we'll have to settle for a photo this time.

We rode in a gondola over the top of the rainforest on the way back. The gondola is 7km long!

Australia Part Tres

Darwin

There is one good word to describe Darwin...HOT!!! This city is the capital of the Northern Territory. The other major city in the Northern Territory is Alice Springs 1500km away. Darwin has been destroyed by war and cyclones and rebuilt several times.

This is a memorial dedicated to soldiers who fought in WWII.

This is a view from a bridge of the lagoon area. The people in Darwin can swim here instead of the ocean. It's protected from the jellies.

So hot, we had to stop for a refreshment!

Broome

Broome is a little city in the Kimberely region of Australia. It's one of the most isolated cities in Australia. Perth is 2200km to the South and Darwin is 1105km to the North. Broome is known for it's pearl industry.

This is the shore from the ship.

This is an old outdoor theater with cloth patio furniture. They had lots of old projectors like the ones used when silent movies and the first "talkies" were shown.

We checked out the local brewery, Matso's. They had some interesting beer and very tasty food. This is the view from the patio.

We finished out our day at Cable Beach.

The crabs on Cable Beach dig holes and make little sand balls. Really neat!

My artistic photo of the sunset on Cable Beach.

When we got back on the ship they had a party planned for us! So many drinks, tasty food, and delicious desserts.

Our Aussie friends enjoying their creative drinks.

Whoa!!!! Look at all these desserts!

Halloween on the Ship

Dinner with our new friends.

Nicole, Ang, Leigha,

Murray, John, Bill

Exmouth

This is one of the smallest cities we visited. We spent the day with our new friends (Bill and Nicole). We walked to town, visited the markets, had a picnic, then swam in the Indian Ocean and relaxed on the beach.

Random emu walking down the street.

Random Americans standing on the street.

Our friend Rich from England.

Stay tuned for The Great Barrier Reef....