"Cairns not once, but twice! 2002 and... " a Cairns Travel Page by Tourtech

So while working in Australia in 2002, we flew up to Cairns to do a show in the local Entertainment Center. Lucky for us, we had a complete day off before the show day. So the artist and the crew all got together and we chartered a 60' crewed Sailboat to bring us out to a private Cay on the Great Barrier Reef for a day of Scuba, snorkel and sun.

We flew in the night before our day off, so we were able to set out at 8AM from the harbour on our sailboat. There were 22 of us on the boat, and we were the only passengers. We could have gone on one of those big ships that packs in a lot of people, but this was way more private and peaceful.

We sailed out of the harbour with the motors helping so that we could get to the anchorage as quickly as possible. Once we arrived, the motors were shut off, from this moment on, all we heard was the lapping of the ocean against the hull and our conversations. It was so peaceful. We spent the day alternating between scuba diving, swiming and snorkeling around the boat, eating and drinking great food prepared by the fantastic crew and living life to the fullest.

Around 5PM we left the mooring and sailed back to the harbour. No motor this time, as we were not in a rush, just the sound of the wind through the sails and and the waves against the hull. It was a peaceful way to cap off an amazing trip!

NOTE: WE WERE BACK IN 2006!!!

So we had such a great time in 2002, that we returned for a vacation in 2006! Jennifer and I invited another couple from Canada on a long trip to Australia in January, and we made our way to Cairns for 4 days during the trip. Needless to say, we also had a great time. It is always nice to travel with another couple that you get along with. We had so much in common and went on great adventures together.

Thanks again Monika and John for joining us on yet another travel adventure! look for the new tips on restaurants and things to do from this trip....

Here is a shot of the bow with a few of our friends enjoying the sunlight. The day was fantastic! Tons of sun, a few clouds in the distance and great visibility underwater. Up ahead you can see the reef underwater. It is the dark spot in the ocean!

We were there all day, but we only did a couple of scuba dives each. We were limited by the amount of tanks we could carry on the ship. The shallow reef meant longer dives, but we were only underwater for 40 mintues at a shot.

But this did not mean we were going to get out and rest! When we weren't underwater, we were in the water, snorkelling around the Cay and the ship. You could still see everything down below, just not up close. Giant Clams are still giant when you are 10 meters above them!!!