Great Barrier Reef - snorkling day 2

Katherine, my middle niece really wanted to ‘swim with the turtles’. The more we talked about it the more we got into the idea of going out and snorkeling again. I mean, how often are you on the Great Barrier Reef?
This time we took a sailboat to the Lower Isles. The water the much calmer and the sun was shining bright. It was a beautiful day. The sailboat trip only took about an hour. We had to take small motor boats to the island but then we could get in and out as much as we wanted. This worked much better for the children.

While snorkeling on the island we did in fact see several turtles. They were almost tame. They just kind of ignored you and grazed while you watched. I think we saw 3 different turtles. I also saw two black tipped reef sharks. They do not want you to watch them. I followed one for a little while but as soon as he noticed me he was gone.

After all day snorkeling we made it back to the apartment. The kids were not done yet and we swam for another hour or two. It was a good time.

The next day we would be returning but I wanted to get in another run. I got up early and headed out. The resort that we were staying at is gated. I could not get out of the complex. I did not want wake everyone up so I headed to the pool to do some calisthenics. I did a couple sets of pushups and then some crunches and stuff. I was ready to call it a day – I mean I made a solid effort. And just then I someone coming into the complex and I had them hold the gate. I was going to get my run after all.



I had gotten up and brushed my teeth and headed straight out of the door. I was thirsty. I headed to the beach where I knew there was a water fountain. I took a big drink and headed out on the beach for an easy run. I wore shoes this time to protect the feet. I did not want the run to be cut short. The sound of the surf was relaxing as I ran. The sun was just rising. There were a couple of people out on the beach. There was one guy with his dog breaking open a couple of coconuts. Then I ran into this guy fishing. He was struggling to remove the hook from this shark.

When I got back to the apartment complex the gate was still locked. Fortunately Joe was out at the pool again with the kids. I was let in and grabbed some breakfast before we headed down to Cairns for our flight.

We spent the afternoon in Cairns and did not get back to Sydney until late – about 9PM. That is late for me and really late for the kids.

This week I am going to explore Sydney. There is a group run on Tuesday night at Lane Cove National Park where I hope to meet a few people. I also want to see all of the museums and sites of the city.

Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation

These campers are everywhere.

Stinging Trees

Mossman Gourge

Mossman Gourge - you can swimming in these freezing waters

Self Portrait

Overlook.

Rooster at overlook

Little balls of sand.

Cape Tribulation

Cape Tribulation

Great Barrier Reef -

After the run along the beach we changed into our swimsuits and boarded the boat. It was about 2 hours of very rough water until we arrived at the first reef. There was quite a bit of sea sickness going around – Joe, Francie and Daniel had some trouble. They were very green. The boat was really tossing around.


They had wetsuits and stinger suits that you could wear. Since this is the early part of the season the suits were optional. I decided to wear the stinger suit anyway. The wind was pretty strong and it was a little bit chilly. We jumped in and explored the reef. We would hit three locations. The reef was spectacular. This is something that I have always wanted to do. I used to always have saltwater aquariums and I actually worked at a saltwater fish hatchery raising clown fish, and Banghi Cardinals, and neon gobies. It reef was awesome!

parrot fish

lots of coral

self portrait

Joe

Self portrait

Lots 'o fish

Self portrait

bald spot!

another one

Other sites on the reef were these people. I wanted to point out in particular this guy’s shorts. Wow – that screams 1988!

Wow - check out the wayfareres

I also had a chat with this guy – Professional Beach Volley Ball player and gold medal winner Phil Dalhausser.

In other news – Qantas has grounded its entire fleet of Airbus A380’s! The engine on one of them kind of exploded. I am pretty happy that my return flight is on a 747 – there should be no delays for me.



Port Dougals -

After the much needed sleep it was back to the airport. We flew from Sydney to Cairns. It was about a 3 hour flight but compared to the previous day it felt like nothing – it literally flew by.


After we landed we made a quick stop at the grocery store for provisions and then we soon arrived at the crocodile farm. We spent a couple of hours watching the snake show, the touring the crocodile farm, and taking a short lagoon tour to see the crocodiles in ‘the wild’. We also watched a ‘Crocodile Attack’ show. It was a good time.

Another short drive and we arrived at our apartment in Port Douglas. Another quick trip to the grocery store and we were home for the night. I took the kids to the swimming pool while Joe and Francie prepared dinner. On a side note, Joe is my best friend from high school. And he just happened to marry my sister Francie. It is a unique dynamic. Joe is still my best friend and my sister is still my sister. My relationship with Joe has changed very little over the years – we just don’t talk about sex.

sync'ing up the garmin

self-portrait while running

Joe, Isabelle and I headed to the beach in the morning for a short run. November first is the start of the stinger (jellyfish) season. They put up these big nets to keep them out of areas of the beach. We spoke with the receptionist at the apartment and she said that people have been swimming and no stingers have been reported. We took our shoes off and ran barefoot down the beach. Joe and Isabelle dropped off after a short while and I continued. The sand was and slope of the beach were perfect. The sand felt good on the feet. I am a mid foot striker and running barefoot is easy for me. My calves are already used to running. I ran an easy pace and I had planned on running the entire stretch for 4 miles beach. However, at mile 2.5 out I felt a sharp stinging pain in my right big toe. I never saw the stinker but I did feel it. I decided to turn around. The pain was not overbearing while running. It really wasn’t a big deal – there was discomfort but nothing too bad. I caught back up to Joe and Isabelle and we headed back to the beach head.

In case of stingers

I poured some vinegar on my foot just in case. I can still feel the sting but once again it is no big deal. I am sure it would be different if they were all over me or on my face.

I just finished breakfast and now it is time to head to the reef.