Friday 22nd April

Today we flew up on the morning flight. We had a shuttle bus to the hotel, the Coral Tree Inn on Gladstone Road. The hotel was basic but clean beds and towels made up for it. The people at reception were lovely and very helpful with any questions we had about our stay in Cairns. Jan and I sorted our things and went out for a walk along the Esplanade. It was another beautiful day and the town was quite busy with lots of bars, restaurants and shops along the Esplanade. There was a huge public swimming pool near the sea and a lovely Marina. We went for an evening meal before heading home for a sleep.

Saturday 23rd April

I was really looking forward to our trip out on to the Barrier Reef and we had a fantastic day. It was one of the highlights of my time in Australia. We travelled with Quicksilver from Port Douglas. The sea was a little choppy and some people on the boat felt a bit sick during the almost 2 hour journey to the Outer Barrier Reef. When we arrived on the Platform we got out of the boat and went down to collect our snorkels and mask. We had to wear Lycra wet suits to protect our skin from the tiny jelly fish swimming in the Pacific. We both looked like 'creatures from the deep'.
We had a fantastic time snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. I used a swimming noodle first to get used to breathing with the snorkel but soon got the hang of it and gave the noodle back in. It was amazing to swim underwater and see the beautiful colours of the coral and the fish swimming all around us.
After lunch we booked a snorkelling session with one of the Marine Biologists on board the platform. She took six of us further away from the platform where we were able to snorkel up close to the coral. It was like swimming in a tropical fish tank!!! A fantastic experience and I did not want it to end. She swam down to the bottom of the sea bed and tickled a giant clam - it closed up as soon as she touched it. She also gave us some coral to touch and picked up one of the pieces of coral for us to hold.
When we got back to the platform we changed back into our clothes before sailing back to Port Douglas in the sunshine. This really was a very special day.