Oz Trip Report (w/ a splash of Abu Dhabi)

[moish]

After that, my family lounged at the beach while I rented snorkel gear and a stinger suit. I visited Australia during a time known as “stinger season” where the waters around Australia are filled with 2 types of jellyfish, the box jellyfish and the Irukandji. The sting of either can be lethal. The Irukandji is only as big as a thumbnail, so you won’t see it coming. In order to go into the water, you must wear a stinger suit, which covers 95% of your body. When I asked about the exposed 5%, I was told that if I was concerned about that, I couldn’t go into the water. So I guess you can say I risked it.
The waters around Green Island are teeming with underwater life, and I got to see some beautiful fish and coral but I didn’t get to swim with any sharks or turtles which I was hoping for.

[moish]

Although after I finished and was walking on the jetty back to the island, I did see a shark in the water swimming under my feet.





Back on the island, customers of the ferry company we took were allowed to use the resort’s swimming pool, and as it was empty, we swam until it was time to board the ferry back to Cairns.

[Dan]

Great stuff.
Which guidebook did you use for inspiration?

[moish]

Great stuff.
Which guidebook did you use for inspiration?

thanks. i usually look at wikitravel.org, tripadvisor, and i had the frommers and lonely planet for this trip

[moish]

Part 10: Queesland – Port Douglas, Outer Reef & Low Isles


Back in Cairns, I went to Avis and picked up a car to get us to Port Douglas, an hour drive away. There is a bus service that we could have used, but the car rental wasn’t too much more and much more convenient. In Port Douglas we booked the Sheraton Mirage Resort with cash & points. While the grounds are pretty nice, they apparently don’t have enough staff to keep it up properly.




come on…



The rooms, although large, are beyond tired. It brought me back memories of pesach hotels in the 80’s. This hotel was certainly luxurious back then, but is in dire need of a renovation.

[moish]

Be it as it may, it served its purpose. There are also a bunch of outside pools, including some saltwater ones with sand leading in, and you can usually find an empty one to use. The hotel also has something interesting which I haven’t seen in any other hotel. You can opt to not have housekeeping, and for every day you don’t have your room serviced, they’ll give you either $15 f&b credit or 500 starpoints. I took advantage of that especially on Shabbos when I don’t like housekeeping coming in anyways.

On Friday, we picked up some fruits and drinks for Shabbos. We were actually able to find the Heimeshe brand ‘Yummis’ (with the heimishe hashgacha of Melbourne) which makes various salads and dips for sale at the Coles supermarket.

After that we took a stroll along the picturesque 4 mile beach. Originally we had wanted to go into the ocean as there is a place with a stinger net, but we were convinced otherwise by the concierge who told us the net was worthless. When we actually saw it, we realized he was right, as the Irukandji can easily get through. Basically, a false sense of security.


doesn’t seem so welcoming…




"take me to your leader"

[moish]

On Sunday I arranged with a company called Daintree Wonder Tours to pick us up in a “luxury” leather Land Cruiser and guide us through the Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation beach and Mossman Gorge. The tour was given by a ‘zeese’ older couple who guided us through the various walkways in the rainforest.

[moish]

“snorkel” roots


Cape Tribulation


Mossman Gorge

[moish]

Although we didn’t spot a cassowary which we were hoping for, we did find a pretty cool lizard which I forgot the name of.







One thing to keep in mind in case you do it yourself is to not use any of the handrails on the various walkways, as they are infested with green ants, whose bite packs a pretty powerful punch.

[moish]

Included in the tour was a river cruise to spot wild ‘salties’ – the biggest and baddest of the crocodiles. Suffice it to say that this river, full of box jellyfish, Irukandji, crocs, and the occasional tiger and bull shark, is not safe for swimming…





The boat driver was able to point out to us some 1 year old crocs, as well as some babies, and the adults.


1 year old croc


baby croc


papa croc


they open their mouth when they get upset...



He also spotted some tree snakes slithering beside us

[moish]

On Monday, it was finally time to hit up the Great Barrier Reef. There are basically two options to day trip to the outer reef. The first one is to take a huge ferry which docks at a pontoon, and you, along with hundreds of other people either snorkel or scuba. The second way is to take a smaller operator which has far fewer people, and visits 3 different dive sites. I chose the latter and went with a company called Poseidon Cruises. Tip: be sure to take some Dramamine as the water could get quite choppy on the way out. You’re on the open ocean after all.

Since I’m not a certified scuba diver, I had to go on the intro dive. It’s pretty boring having to listen to the instructor explaining from the beginning as it wasn’t my first time diving. It only got worse in the water when a beginner was flailing his arms the whole time, constantly hitting me. After complaining, they put me in the certified group for the remaining dives.
 
There are no words to describe the GBR. To appreciate the underwater world, one has to see it for himself. The pictures don’t come close to doing it justice, as the colors get lost in the pictures. I originally signed up for 2 dives and one snorkel, but after the second dive, I was convinced to go for a third.


Giant Clam




Ray

[moish]

giant cod




Nemo came to visit

[sky121]

Loving the TR so far!! Thanks for sharing

[moish]

After failing in my attempts to swim with sharks and turtles, I decided to give it one last chance, and on Tuesday, I signed up to go to an area called the Low Isles, where there’s a good chance to see turtles. I went with a company called Sailaway which had the first departure and therefore we had the place to ourselves for a good amount of time. From the deck of the boat the captain was pointing out all the turtles, but at first I had no luck on spotting any to swim with. As I was about to give up, in the distance came swimming in my first turtle! Finally. It was definitely worth the effort. It felt so exhilarating and serene to be swimming right above a turtle. It sounds odd, but it’s true…






another giant clam


If you still didn't have enough…

[moish]

there she is!

[moish]

We then swam back to the boat for lunch. The captain started throwing food into the water which attracted some black tip reef sharks. After learning that they were pretty much harmless, I dove in to swim with them.

[moish]

After some time, I swam back towards the beach when I encountered my second turtle. All in all, an accomplished day. I was finally ready to leave.

[moish]

Back in PD, I picked up a car to drive us back to Cairns. On the way to Cairns, in an area near Trinity Beach, there is an open field in which kangaroos congregate in dusk and dawn. We got there around dusk time, and I was lucky enough to catch a round of kangaroo boxing. If driving from PD to Cairns, it’s on your left side as you approach Trinity Beach.







Back in Cairns, we checked into the Hilton again, and then walked 10 minutes to an area with many souvenir shops. We picked up all our souvenirs there such as stuffed kangaroos, koalas etc, as well as kangaroo leather products, and what I love most of all, a kangaroo back scratcher. If you see a kangaroo, you’ll notice he’s constantly scratching himself with his sharp nails. Well, you can buy a real kangaroo paw attached to a stick for some good back scratching…
The next day we flew CNS-SYD-DFW-LAX.

There you have it, my trip to Australia…..THE END!!

[jj1000]

AMAZING!!! Thank you!!!

[Moishebatchy]

Wow!