No Troubles at Cape Tribulation <2009.07.24>

Today we are going to our most northern stop in our Australia Trip – we go up to Cape Tribulation.



This cape was named by Captain James Cook in 1770 as from this point all his troubles start.

On the way there we stopped by the Mossman Gorge, a wonderful place to explore rainforest habitat or have rest and swim in the heavenly lagoon of the river.







Refreshed we are heading to Daintree to river with the hope to spot some crocs which are living in this area.





It`s said that this is the secret of the success of Australia’s National Swimming Team. They all are doing here there trainings and you can imagine … only the fastest survive ;-)









We escaped the crocs by a quick car ferry ride to the other side of the daintree river and we finally arrived at Daintree National Park & Cape Tribulation.



The name really doesn`t fit this place – Troubles? NOT AT ALL!

Here you can find the most beautiful and picturesque beaches in Queensland. And on top – you have them all for yourself!





If you call this TROUBLES – than we want to have a lot of them!



If you have enough from the beach you can spread out and look for the local wildlife like cassowaries along the self guided bush board walks.







But look out – wild creatures are everywhere!!!



At the end of the paved road we finally reached Cape Tribulation where the rainforest meets the riff.







It’s really a pity that you can`t swim here as there should be crocs around.
So to escape we went high above the water to look out for them…







To Good To Be True

Bubble Maker @ the Great Barrier Reef <2009.07.22>

Spending three days in Port Douglas – the upper class holiday town of Cairns – we took the chance to visit the world’s biggest reef, the Great Barrier Reef.



There are plenty of daytrips or live aboard operations around this area so check carefully before you make your choice.
I looked for a small group of people & a new reef location rather than the big ones operating for 30 years at the same spot!

We were lucky and found the Calypso – which offers a very personal service, max 70pax, 5pax each dive group & they operate at the newer Opal Reef, which is big enough to provide 3-5different dive sites.
http://www.calypsoreefcruises.com/



Everyone was quiet excite for this trip as we all 4 are going to dive the first time at the GBR!!!



For Carmen it is her first dive after she made her licenses and Nong & Thanthep never even dove before. So here we are sitting, can`t wait what we are going to see…





After the first exhausting minutes and the struggle with the new environment, the weight of your heavy equipment disappear, you start floating & the only thing you can hear is the slow breath of yours as Darth Vader in Star Wars.






And it pays off – there is so much to see and experience, I don`t know where to start:

Huge corals all around you





Small friends like the funny clown fishes (Nemo)



A shy gobi


Or the really huge one (Napoleon)



Of course nudi branches and flat-worms








The dive buddies – Nong & Thanthep (with very special nose mask technique :-)



And even a Mermaid ;-)



Yeah – we did it!!!


Sailing back with a lot of impressions of the deep blue…


Found Nemo

Meet my Mates in Cairns <2009.07.18>

After 2 weeks continual driving up north – 4.800km since we left Melbourne – we finally reached Cairns, the hub to the Great Barrier Reef.



On the way there we stopped at Townsville with its nice oceanfront side & the funny buildings around – e.g. sugar dispenser or the scary stick-villas.









Today we pick up our friends Nong & Thanthep from the airport with whom we will spend one week together here in the up-country.

Our first highlight is KURANDA – an historical tourist village in the mountains of Cairns, famous for its countless markets or the impressive Barron Waterfalls close by.









Next morning we had to the close Crystal Cascades Waterfalls, a world heritage site with beautiful falls and inviting swim holes for a quick dip on a hot day!





Finally Summer, Sun & Beach!
So what we are waiting for, let`s go for a swim!!!
But my friends didn`t looked convinced from the water temperatures, so they need a bit of motivation before we jumped in ;-)









You can even swim in harbor of Cairns as they made an artificial pool close to the pier which is – surprisingly – free to everyone!





But let`s be honest, it can`t compete with those beaches close by so we quickly returned to the ocean front and found ourselves relaxing on the beach…





Sweet Life