Brisbane and Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef)
During our stay in Brisbane, it rained cats and dogs- all day. We were met at the ship by a friend of the Kredels (Rob) who was the ex-husband of Jackie Christian from Pitcairn Island. Jackie was a descendant of Fletcher Christian who was the rebel leader of the mutineers on the HMS Bounty and took the Bounty to Pitcarin Is. as a hopeful safe haven. Rob was an excellent host, not only filling in our knowledge of Pitcarin Island, but taking us South to surfers paradise, a famous site in Brisbane. Rain prevented much exploration but we did get to a winery (Thumm) and had an excellent lunch. After a ride around the circumference of Brisbane, we returned to the ship.
Two days later, Port Douglas and the barrier reef…WOW! Our overall experience in Port Douglas was flawed a bit by the news the day before arriving that our contracted Catamaran was cancelled. Apparently there was a communications error since our contractor was prevented from taking Queen Victoria passengers out to the reef. With some astute scrambling by our traveling partner, Don Kredel, we were able to find an alternative and what a trip it was. The trip was especially good since the day before arrival, they had 25 inches of rainfall. We arrived to a sunny, clear and calm day-Feb 29.
We traveled out to the reef for 1 and 1/2 hours and made three snorkeling stops. We swam with sharks, turtles, and all kinds of tropical fish and giant clams the size of club chairs. But maybe most fascinating was the various shapes, sizes and colors of the coral itself. It truly was like swimming in natures own abundant aquarium. Clown fish, unicorn, angel and surgeon, big spotted trigger, harlequin fish-the list is endless. The coral (a living animal) were all colors of the rainbow and fluorescent, truly natures own Las Vegas strip.
The whole event was probably one of the top two experiences of our cruise to date. Ruthanne was, at first apprehensive (due to the reef sharks and stinging jelly fish) so we snorkeled together holding hands. But after about 20 minutes she became quite comfortable and wandered out on her own. Next stop, after 5 days of cruising, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
5 comments:
Hi you two! Well, I can honestly say I'd rather be on (in) the Las Vegas "stip" of the GB reef than the real thing 30 minutes away. But I did have one advantage of living here this week - HP had a huge event I was invited to and watched Sheryl Crow perform from 5 feet away. Very cool!!! All is well on our end - great talking with you last weekend RA. Nothing new to report - Bud's the same, still trying to regulate medicene. Off to Dallas this week... Love, d
WOW! I'm glad that you made it through the swimming with the sharks safely and actually enjoyed the act. The coral reefs sound beautiful. Thank you for giving us a vivid picture of what it looks like down there. It sounds like you are having the times of your life. Everything is going well here. C and C are back and we are planning Mom's and Desi's birthday. Brad's and Tina's are right around the corner too. Love to you and keep on having a ball.
Love, Gail
You really are living my dream vacation. Mom, I cannot believe you swam in the Great Barrier Reef BY YOURSELF!!! I am so proud of you. Thanks Pops for giving her the confidence because I know she would've felt like she missed out on something if she hadn't done it. I don't know if you have a camera that can take pictures underwater, but what a sight it must've been. I sit here at my desk daydreaming of tropical waters and exotic sights and smells and accents. Soak it up!!! xoxo
After all those busy days in New Zealand and Australia, you likely have welcomed several days at sea to rest up for all the new experiences waiting for you in the Oriental countries. Hope they've been calm, beautiful days and you've enjoyed them.
We've had just the right mix of sun and rain here at home to encourage signs of spring, fun each day to go out and see new growth showing.
Everything else here is pretty much the same... Your blogs are so delightful, we read them over each day until a new one arrives.
Much love to both of you. Mom June.
Hello World-cruisers... I agree with Jenn, I belong there, too. I'm about ready to submit your blogs to Alaska Airlines Magazine for one of our Out of Country stories. Your writing is fabulous! Keep it up and you can start a new career as a travel writer when you get home. Although I wouldn't expect any first class accommodations on your assignment trips. ~ Just in case you aren't missing home anymore, the weather here has been perfect, the golfers are out everyday, the evenings are cool and the stars shining brightly. That's back here at your home in La Quinta - remember? (smile) Love, your sister and only son, Tucker.
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