Port Douglas and Willis Island, Australia - October 29 and 30, 2023

Our next port of call was Port Douglas on October 29th. We got off the ship and walked around this small town. 

The three ports of Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas all have excursions to the Great Barrier Reef. All of these ports are tender ports, and I had read that often one or more ports are cancelled due to bad weather. In case of a cancellation, you have three chances to go to the reef. We booked the reef at the first port in case of cancellation, so we might still have a chance. That worked well for us. By the time we got to Port Douglas, there were no excursions we were interested in doing.

There is a small church right on the water called St. Mary's by the Sea. It was originally built in 1880, destroyed by a cyclone in 1911 and rebuilt. Then restored in 1989. We were there on a Sunday, so services were being held. No chance to see the inside.

On Sundays, they also have a very large outdoor market. We wandered around and saw lots of local handicrafts and food for sale. A few venders had opals in their raw form. That was interesting to see.

While we were walking around, we saw quite a few of these SUV vehicles. The exhaust pipes coming out of the top is something we had not seen before. Kevin speculated it is to keep water out of the pipes when going through marshy or wet areas.

We visited the Hemingway's Brewery so Kevin could sample a local beer. He said it was good. 

Back on board the ship, we were treated to a beautiful view of the full moon in the evening.

When I booked this trip, the itinerary listed Willis Island as a port of call. On October 30th, we sailed by the island at about 9 am. There is a weather observation station on the island, and four people work there. The ship blew it's horns as we went by. That's it. Not what I would call a port of call.

Many birds were flying close to the ship near the island. Not sure what was attracting them. Most of them were albatrosses which was cool to see.

The weather was still nice and tropical, so I decided to take a dip in the pool. The pools on the ship are actually fresh water. All other cruises we've been on had salt water in the pools. This was our ninth cruise, and I'd never been in the pool on any of our other cruises, so I thought it was about time. I also spent some time in the hot tub. Kevin was not interested.

Our next two days were at sea on our way back to Sydney. We arrived early on the morning of November 2nd, and left again around 5 pm for our next cruise to New Zealand on the same ship. We had to change cabins due to an earlier scheduling change by Princess of the cruises. By the time we had that straightened out, our cabin on the first cruise was no longer available. Not that big of a deal. We had to pack up all our stuff, and the crew moved it all to our new cabin. It was located on deck 16 almost at the very front of the ship. We definitely could feel the movement of the ship more up there. Our previous cabin had been on deck 10.

I went ashore for a little while to find some nail polish. I walked past a store with some very beautiful Australian opal jewelry in the window. I did buy an opal necklace while in Sydney, but these rings were more than I wanted to spend, even with a very favorable exchange rate. In the vicinity of $5,000 USD and up. 

Here's another view of the ship from the Sydney Circular Quay.

That wraps up our 10 days Queensland Australian cruise. We saw lots of amazing scenery and animals. Next up the adventure continues with a 13 day cruise to New Zealand.  

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Cairns, Australia - October 28, 2023

 Our next stop was Cairns (pronounced Cans). This was another tender port. The seas were a bit rough in the morning, but the tender boats did take passengers ashore. The return trip was much rougher, and quite a few people were sick. Luckily, I had taken my seasick pills that morning, so I was fine. It was definitely the roughest tender trip we have ever been on. The captain made an announcement once everyone was back on board apologizing for the rough conditions, stating the forecast had not called for such strong winds and high waves.

Tender boats waiting to take us ashore

I'm so glad we were able to visit Cairns. We saw so many more amazing Australian sites.

We started out the day with a gondola ride on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to the village of Kuranda. The skyrail is located in a tropical rainforest in the Barron Gorge National Park. It was opened in 1995, and it was the longest gondola cableway at the time of completion. This rainforest is the world's oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest.

Along the way, there were two platforms to get off at and view the scenery of the tropical rainforest. 

This Queensland Kauri tree is over 400 years old. These trees grow tall and fast, punching through the rainforest canopy where it spreads out like an umbrella and blocks the sunlight from reaching the plants below. Also, the bark is very smooth which prevents vines from growing up it and competing for light.

We saw the Barron Falls and the Barron River from the gondola. These falls have much more water during the rainy season.

At our next stop we were very lucky to see a Cassowary with her babies. These birds are on the endangered list with an estimated 4,000 remaining in the wild. We saw some commotion ahead of us on the path, so went to investigate. Some people were looking at the birds in the bushes. As we watched, she came out of the bushes and crossed a path. We saw them for maybe 15 seconds before they were back in the undergrowth. How amazing is that!!!

There were many interesting plants to see in the rainforest. I recognized the Bird of Paradise, but don't know what the other plant is. The eastern coast of Australia has a tropical climate, and many of the trees and flowers reminded me of Hawaii.

At the top of the gondola is the village of Kuranda. It's a quaint village with an outdoor market and lots of bars and restaurants. For many years, the village was a farming area.

In the late 1800s a railway was built to deliver supplies to mines in the area. The railway was cut through the mountains and rainforest by hand, including 15 tunnels. Now, the railroad is used to transport tourists to Kuranda. The scenery along the way was breathtaking.

Here's a view of the vintage railcars from the gondola.

As we were waiting to get underway, I saw these birds sitting on the track next to our train. If you look closely, (click on the picture to enlarge it) you can see two eggs beneath the first one. I think the second one is the male. I did some research, and I think they are Little Bronze-Cuckoo birds.

Here's a view of the train from inside the carriage.

This is Stoney Creek Falls. The bridge here is the most outstanding feature of the railway line. When it was completed, a table was set up with a special luncheon for the governor. No speeches were made because the roar of the waterfall was too loud.

Our visit to Cairns was interesting and educational with lots of beautiful scenery. Even though the tender ride back was rough, I'm very glad we got to stop there.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Great Barrier Reef, Australia - October 27, 2023

After our stop at Brisbane, we had another day at sea. One of the things I liked about the Royal Princess was the water show they had every night on the pool deck. There was an elevated platform between the two pools that had deck chairs on it during the day. At night, there was a water fountain show set to music and video on the big screen. They had several different shows.

Our next stop was Airlie Beach. This was a tender port. We had booked an all day Great Barrier Reef excursion through the ship. A large catamaran came right to the ship and picked us up for the two hour ride to Hardy Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the world. It's the largest living structure on the planet, and is visible from space. It consists of 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 800 miles. It's home to thousands of species of marine life, including fish, whales, dolphins, and six of the world's seven species of marine turtle.

The catamaran took us out to a permanent platform at Hardy Reef. 

On the platform they handed out snorkel gear and wetsuits to keep you safe from jellyfish stings. The suits made us look like Oompa Loompas. For an additional fee, you could do some beginner scuba. There was also a viewing room on the lower level under the water. We did not see much down there.

Kevin is not a fan of snorkeling, but I gave it a try. I've snorkeled a few times before, and am not very good at it. Somehow, I always manage to swallow the salt water which makes me cough a lot. The same thing happened this time. I did manage to stay out for about 30 minutes and saw lots of beautiful colored fish and coral. 

There were buoys above the water to help guide you along the outer ledge of the reef. This was the best place to see the fish and coral.

We had met a couple from Tucson on the boat ride to the reef. The wife was not snorkeling, so the husband offered to be my buddy. He had an underwater camera, and has shared the following pictures with me. Seeing the underwater beauty was something I'll never forget!!

That's me

An eel

I was surprised how much of the coral you could see from the top. When the tide is low, some of the coral is exposed to the sun. This kills that coral, which is the part you can see from the top.

It was such an amazing experience to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. One of those once in a lifetime experiences! 

The evening ended with a beautiful sunset!

Our next stop will be Cairns where we will be visiting a tropical rainforest.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!