Rainy 80 degrees
Woke very early 3:00 AM! Not adjusted to time change yet. Breakfast at the hotel also included in tour price. Large selection, but the food was just OK... Unfortunately it was very cloudy and raining today. We had to meet the group at 9:30 AM to take the ferry to Green Island (Also included in the tour) for our Great Barrier Reef excursion.. Collette vacations did offer an optional tour to the Outer Reef, but because it was suck a horrible day we decide to go the the closer island and hope for the best. It was still 45 min ferry ride to Green Island and the waters were very rough and still raining...so sad! The ferry however was lovely, very large enclose downstairs with a/c and complimentary coffee and tea and sea sickness ginger pills which did help. What was included in our Day tour with Collette, was the ferry ride, glass bottom boat tour, snorkeling equipment and lunch.
We arrived to Green Island around 11:30 AM and the first stop was the glass bottom boat tour and happily the sun looked like it was trying to break through. The tour was nicer than I thought and we did get to see a lot of nice fish and coral, but toward the end the waters were getting rough so I was glad it was not too long.
After the Glass bottom boat ride we headed for lunch on Green Island. I have to say this was the worst meal I have ever eaten in my life! Seriously...it was a buffet lunch and thank goodness it was included in our tour because not only was it horrible but the cost was insane! SAY AWAY FROM HERE! Pack your own lunch if you come to the reef...
After lunch we decide to try snorkeling since the rain did stop and there was little bits of sun here and there, so we picked up our snorkel gear and headed into the waters. Because of all the movement from the bad weather in the waters, it wasn't as clear as we had hoped, plus it was very low tide, so it made snorkeling very difficult because the coral was so close to the surface and me me a little uncomfortable since I kept scratching myself on the coral. I gave up after 20 mins and went to lay in the sun while mu husband continued on. Laid out for 5 mins and then the rain started again! UGH! We gave up and decided to catch the earlier ferry back to Cairns. We had a short wait and took a short walk around the rain forest on the island which was nice, but by now it was raining hard. The below photos are from the glass bottom boat and the island. The photos that are clear and colorful were from a guest who took the Outer Reef tour so it looks like they had better view than we did. Oh well, disappointing, but you can predict the weather! Will just have to plan to go back when we have more time....
PHOTOS OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF AUSTRALIA
We arrived back to Cairns around 3:30 PM and had some time to relax before dinner. We decided to take the optional tour provided to us by Collette to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Experience. We boarded our bus at 6:00 PM and were greet with wine or champagne on arrival and were able to walk around the shop while we were serenade by the didgeridoo. We then were escorted into another room where they performed a show and explained the Aboriginal Culture. Dinner and the show was next with a buffet style meal and pretty good ....again, wonderful Aussie desserts! After Dinner more time to shop so we all bought our hand painted boomerangs and headed back to the hotel. It was a nice evening...
Photos below of the Aboriginal Culture Experience
