I traveled from Chicago, Illinois to Hong Kong to Cairns, Australia. The flight was very long and had a few delays along the way, fortunately I arrived a day ahead of the actual trip just in case I missed any flights. I think I was in the air for 21 hours, which was not bad! When I did arrive in Cairns, Australia, I was greeted with warm, tropical …

Happy Australia Day!!!! Today was an Australian Holiday and the kitchen staff was preparing a special BBQ meal for us later on tonight. This morning, we went to Cooktown and walked around to see the sites. Since it was Australia Day, most of the people and businesses were not active. I made sure to bring my binoculars, because I had a feeling I …

A few of us woke up very early in the morning for the Lizard Island hike! Since the weather remained dry overnight, we did not have to worry about slipping on the granite rock. Captain Cook used Lizard Island as a gazing point to see where to direct the ship, so they could leave the barrier islands. The hill top of the island was very tall and the …

Early in the morning after breakfast we were greeted by a pod of spinner dolphins! They were swimming in front of the boat and jumping out of the air! They looked like they were playing a game and they were fun to watch! They stayed about fifteen minutes before moving on with their next activity.

Ribbon Reef #3

I swam around Ribbon Reef #3! The …

We arrived in Cairns, Australia this morning! This was the end of the North Tour and half of the people left to do other activities in Australia! I had a great time so far and I experienced many beautiful islands and reefs so far! The five of us that were left went on a small land tour before the Southern Tour Trip. They had to clean the boat and …

Noggin Reef

Our first stop for today was at a unique reef known as Noggin Reef! I decided to snorkel as soon as possible, because the above water view of the reef looked amazing!!! When I swam out a bit into the reef, I noticed something I did not expect to see. A large amount of algae! There was algae all over the reef and on some of the hard …

Hinchinbrook Channel

Visiting each reef structure had been a great experience! Overnight, we set a course for the Hinchinbrook Channel. This area was known for saltwater crocodiles, dugongs, and mangrove systems. This area was part of a marine reserve due to the importance of the mangrove system. The mangroves hide a variety of fish and marine …

Today was the final stop for our tour before we head back to Cairns, Australia! It had been quite an adventure and every stop we took literally took my breath away because of the beauty of the reef systems I have encountered. Fitzroy Island was located near Cairns, Australia. The island did have a reef system surrounding the outskirts of the …