Northern Queensland, Australia

The Reef from air and from underwater

Most travellers to Australia dream of diving at the Great Barrier Reef, and those who do end up leaving spellbound by its colourful corals, diverse fish, and, if lucky, spotting of a manta ray, a shark or a sea turtle. Because of the sheer size of the Reef, there are several locations from where boats take visitors to marvel at this UNESCO World Heritage site. The city of Cairns has perhaps the most wide-spread reef tourism, but you can also admire the reef departing on a boat from Port Douglas, Townsville, Airlie Beach, McKay, and other coastal cities. I left from Cairns and was surprised to learn upon boarding that it would take us as much as three hours to reach the Reef as it is over 70 kilometres from the shore! These boat rides can be quite rough and a few people from my hostel got seasick the previous day, which was convincing enough for me to take a seasickness pill as a precaution. On the way to the reef, we got stopped by a number of majestic whales, which would repeatedly jump out of the water, showing off their white bellies and back fins and putting up a whole show for us. The captain followed them for nearly an hour until we gradually lost them. We next did snorkelling (or diving, depending on the preference) at two different locations at the Reef. The first location was particularly beautiful for snorkelers because the water was very shallow and the yellow, pink, red, blue and orange colours of corals and other wildlife appeared very bright. The second location was deeper, but supposedly more famous for manta rays and sea turtles. I was out of luck that day, though.

On the contrary, it was quite my lucky day when we boarded a small plane in Airlie Beach and I got a co-pilot seat! Our plan was to fly over the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, which turned out to be as spectacular from the top as it was from underwater. The sea was turquoise and the reef formed interesting shapes, one resembled a heart, the other a long stretch of a beach, the third a group of giant pebbles in the sea. Apart of the Reef, Whitsunday Islands, a group of about 70 in the archipelago, are mostly uninhabited and covered with lush tropical greens. A particularly beautiful Whitehaven beach over seven kilometres in length has some of the finest and whitest sand I have ever seen with seawater temperatures suitable for swimming year-round.

Queensland rainforest

The far north of Queensland is known as the Daintree rainforest, which is estimated to be growing since the time of the dinosaurs. The Daintree River, which marks the edge of the area, is full of crocodiles and you can get pretty darn close to the ancient beasts if you take a boat ride along the river. Knowledgeable boat captains who also work as guides can recognize individual crocs just by seeing half of the animal peeking out of the water! Beyond the river, the forest is home to cassowaries, the third largest birds in the world, smaller only to ostriches and emus. You can recognize them by black feathers and blue skin on the head. These birds are known to be quite aggressive, so do not get too close up to them should you see one in nature. Much to my surprise, the forest does not have particularly good hiking routes, as the vegetation is rather thick and unsurpassable. Instead, there are a couple of boardwalks, such as the one in Mossman Gorge, which do a relatively good job introducing you to the rainforest and its wildlife. If you are lucky, you may see a turtle in a river or some exotic bird species. It is also possible to stay overnight in Daintree, but accommodation tends to be more of a resort-style with pools and private beach access.

The cities of Northern Queensland

Cairns is a major transportation hub in the region, but the city itself does not offer much to a visitor. There is a nice esplanade with a wonderful seawater swimming pool where you can swim jellyfish fear-free, but you will immediately realize that the city is mainly geared towards tourism and tour operators who take visitors outside the city boundaries. There is little interesting architecture, but there is a newly opened aquarium, which charges a hefty entrance fee of almost 50 AUD per head. The situation is quite similar in Townsville, an unofficial capital of the region about 5 hours south of Cairns. People come here to visit the Magnetic Island, which is home to a large population of wild koalas, but the city itself does not have much to offer other than some pretty views of the Island from Castle Hill. The beaches are beautiful but rife with deadly jellyfish species of Irukandji and box jellyfish.

Northern Queensland offers several world-famous attractions, including the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree, the oldest rainforest on Earth, and Whitsunday Islands, which are on the bucket lists of many travellers. For me, these were magnificent locales that I hope to return to, as a passage from my diary written on the last day of the trip suggests:

In search of an affordable lunch I head to the good old Night Markets in Cairns. The Korean place, where I had previously had a plate of rice with three choices of meat, seafood or veggies for 10 AUD, is closed. I decide to try a Japanese place and order teriyaki salmon with rice. I sit at the far end of the food court, close to the esplanade and as I munch on my food, my eyes find a sign in the nearby café, “Where will I meet you?” It’s a good question that Australia in asking me at the end, shortly before I have to leave for the airport. I don’t know when it is going to happen, but surely my path will lead Down Under again!