February 28 - Flying over the Great Barrier Reef

We’re docked in Cairns, Queensland today and tomorrow and this was my day to see the Great Barrier Reef. Before I write about that I want to back up and tell about two of the luckiest people on the ship with whom I had dinner last night.  They were a couple from the south of Wales who yesterday took a ferry over to Magnetic Island, an island 5 miles off the coast of Townsville.  They went for a hike there and saw two koalas in the wild as they walked!  That is a very rare occurrence – seeing them in the wild.  Stephen got this photo of one of them and I’m so jealous.  Dinner was a lot of fun with our hostess Carla, the Future Cruise Consultant.

Isn't this a great photo he got? 

Our delightful dinner table last night

Back to Cairns.  This is a city with a population of around 170,000 on the far northeast coast of Australia. Like every other place I’ve stopped  the area was inhabited by indigenous people prior to the settlement by the British.  Cairns was founded in 1876 after gold was found in the river west of the town and it continued to prosper as Chinese immigrants came and established agriculture here. There was also a darker side to its prosperity as Cairns was a port used by blackbirding ships transporting slaves and indentured servants to work in the sugar plantations in Innisfall, a community a little further down the coast.  During WWII this place was a staging area for the Battle of the Coral Sea.  Today it’s primary business is tourism because of its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.

My knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef was limited to knowing that it’s the world’s largest coral reef, that people have to watch out for great white sharks if they swim there and that because of climate change and other factors, much of the coral comprising the reef system has been bleached making it more susceptible to disease.  I had no idea that the reef is about 1400 miles long with about 2900 reefs and 900 islands. It’s protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and it’s listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world.

When I woke up this morning and looked out it was raining and I thought our flight wouldn’t materialize.  The rain had stopped by the time I was to meet for our tour and a van picked us up to drive us to Cairns International.  When we got to the general aviation building for GSL Aviation we were advised that our plane had a flat tire which a mechanic was due to replace in a half hour.  The plane we were supposed to fly in was a Cessna 208 which could carry 9 passengers.  It’s not difficult to guess what happened.  The half hour dragged on and finally a decision was made that those of us who wanted to go ahead could go in a smaller Cessna 206 which held five of us.  The other folks didn’t want to go in that plane because they said it was too cramped.  I forgot to mention that apparently Cairns was hit by a cyclone in December and the power was knocked out at the airport.  The building we sat in had yet to have power restored (two months!).  It was hot and steamy despite the windows and doors being open. We were ready to be out of there and in the air.

This was our plane. It was pretty little for six people.

The sea was flat calm as you can see

And I thought flying in Economy was tight

Finally the little plane was ready and we boarded.  I have a pretty good idea what a sardine feels like now.  I was  put in charge of the emergency door and we took off.  We flew at approximately 1400 feet and at that altitude there was no relief from the heat so the plane quickly felt like a steam room.  I think it would have been more spectacular if the sun had been shining.  As it was, we dodged little rain clouds and the colors of the reef were more muted.  It was still pretty and interesting to see the formations in the water below us.  Taking pictures from the back seat of a little plane isn’t the best experience and my efforts really can’t do the place justice.  We flew over one little island, Green Island, which has a resort on it and is a lush green dot in the water.  Our flight lasted about 40 minutes and when we got back on the ground we found the next two groups waiting to go.  It was also raining so I don’t know that they had any better views.

Green Island.  All the lighter green color is reef

This gives you a little idea of what the colors are like. Imagine if it had been a sunny day.

Well, I did it and I’m glad I did.  I can say I’ve seen that wonder of the world with my own eyes.  I was also very glad to get back to air-conditioned comfort on the ship.  Tonight I’m meeting Val and Deon, the two Australian sisters I met on the last segment, at an Italian restaurant here in Cairns.  It should be fun to eat a meal off the ship after several weeks.