Day Ten – Drive: Airlie Beach to Cairns
Not a whole lot of purpose for us in this town, Airlie Beach, other than a stopover from the Hamilton Islands on our way north. But we did enjoy getting settled last night at the Airlie Beach Hotel, grab some dinner and a nice stroll along the main street.
Breakfast :),
pick up a rental car at Avis and a stroll along the beach and marina in Airlie Beach kicked off our day. We took a little time before our drive to get our niece, Arely, some merch from Airlie Beach. Spelling not the same, but pronounced the same, so close enough :).
Maybe not the most eventful day of a holiday in Australia, as this was one long, boring 7.5 hour drive up to Cairns. We have enough flights on this journey and opted to drive this leg. We were a bit more optimistic of a scenic coast highway, but that didn’t happen. Just a long, boring, sleepy drive.
However, we did make one pretty epic stop about an hour south of Cairns at Etty Beach to see the elusive cassowary birds. The southern cassowary is one of only three species of cassowaries still found in nature. These massive, prehistoric looking, flightess birds are the third largest bird species on Earth, only behind the ostrich and emu.
Reality is, a good portion of our drive was focused on trying to find a computer wizard to recover files on our new drone. Literally, about 20 phone calls later and as we arrived in Cairns, we met Javier, a nice guy from Spain in the parking lot of the esplanade just north of our hotel. It may sound shady, and probably wasn’t the best practice when in a foreign country, but Scott was desperate. And it is with great sadness and a few more dollars spent, the epic files of Dronie’s maiden voyage are gone 😢.
We settle into our hotel, the Novetel Cairns Oasis Resort. Great location, but not as glamorous of a hotel as it sounds. Being a bit outdated isn’t the biggest downfall, it’s the location of our room. We are right next to the pool, a kid friendly paradise for them, that has a slamming swinging door that seems to slam all through the night.
Thankfully, we don’t intend to spend too much time at the hotel on this leg. Afterall, we are here to experience the Great Barrier Reef!
So, we take a stroll down to the esplanade and enjoy a Thai dinner at Three Sisters.
To be honest, we are spent at this point in the trip. Ten days in, battling through a 14 hour time difference, and every day we are on the go. And tomorrow will be no different…
Day Eleven – Cairns & THE Great Barrier Reef
Waking up early again, tired, but we know today will be special. A 15 minute walk to the marina and we are heading out on the SeaStar to Michaelamo Cay. Michaelamo Cay is a small, vegetated sand cay located on the western tip of Michaelamo Reef, about 40 km northeast of Cairns. It’s a significant seabird nesting site and a popular destination for snorkeling and diving due to its surrounding reef and clear waters. The cay itself is a national park and a protected sanctuary for migratory birds.
In a fun twist of events, Scott decides to do an intro scuba dive at our two reef spots. We have always spent a lot of time in and around water (Florida life tends to do that), but this is Scott’s 1st official time scuba diving. Plenty of times freediving in the springs of Florida and surrounding water, including a level 1 certification with Kye in Jupiter, FL a few years ago.
A unique opportunity for sure! Katie jumps on the glass bottom boat,
and Scott snorkels his way to shore before heading deeper underwater for a 30 minute dive.
A few shots from the shore of Michaelamo Cay.
Lunch on the boat as we let the sun dry us out, then another fun experience with another 30 minutes underwater, then some time for the two of us to enjoy snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef together.
Some more relaxing and sun on the bow of the boat, and we are heading in for what we hope is a peaceful afternoon after a memorable day in Queensland.
There is so much to learn and experience along the Great Barrier Reef, and we know we just dabbled in the tip of it. The only reef that can be seen from space consists of over 2,900 reefs and over 900 islands. It’s bigger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Holland combined! The list of facts is long and mesmerizing, but hopefully, with rising sea temperatures, increasing coral bleaching, and other threats, the reef can continue to be heathy and thrive.
On our walk back from a great day at the reef, we chose to celebrate with a couple of drinks and nachos overlooking the esplanade. Perfect stop!
Day Twelve – Driving North on the Great Barrier Reef Scenic Road
Perfect day to sleep in a little and simply explore on our own time. Maybe now is a time to highlight the awkwardness of driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. Steering wheel, turning right, blinkers, even the passenger seat on the left make this experience challenging at times. But it’s worth is, especially on a day like today where we want to see a bit more of Queensland.
Our first cruise is up to the quaint town of Palm Cove. A yummy breakfast at Vivo (although the wait was too long),
and a walk along the coast to enjoy the palm tree lined coastline.
From there, Katie surprises Scott with a trip inland and up the mountain to Rainforestation to learn how to properly throw a boomerang.
You all can decide who throws it better!?
Katie actually learned years ago on her monthlong trip to Australia in college with a volunteer organization called International Student Volunteers. A few throwback picture to enjoy from Katie’s trip Down Under exactly 20 years ago.
A stop at Thala Beach Nature Preserve. Great place to capture some legit Dronie shots!
Our journey continues north along the Great Barrier Reef Scenic Highway, a 140 km stretch from Cairns up to Cape Tribulation. Honestly, the type of drive we wish we had two days ago on the long journey from Airlie Beach.
A stop at the Mowbray River to see a couple of crocs on the river banks.
Our portion of this scenic drive ends in Port Douglas. A coastal town in northern Queensland with an inviting main street and not so inviting beach.
It’s basically accurate when you hear about the natural dangers of Australia. The beach warnings consist of dangerous stingers & crocs, ocean swimming areas protected by nets to prevent shark attacks, while other areas have warnings of dangerous spiders, venomous snakes, & more. Thankfully, each region is equipped with stations and medical help just in case any of these dangers happen.
A cruise back down the coast leads us back into Palm Cove, where we opt for a nice dinner at Nunu. It’s the perfect place for us to enjoy our last evening Down Under.
Loved our time in Australia! Continent number six is officially checked off the list, but we hope to be back down here some day to explore more of what Australia has to offer. Cheers, mate!
Tomorrow morning, we are off to Bali and the island of Nusa Penida!
Two Wayfaring Wanderers 