Tara did an amazing job in planning for this trip (and it’s true that I don’t tell her enough how amazing she is). She scheduled a full day trip that was going to be a first for both of us in many ways. Alas, even the best laid plans rarely withstand first contact with the enemy. For this excursion, our enemy was unyielding. The weather, she is a harsh mistress.

Tara had us scheduled to meet a catamaran at the waterfront, so that is what we did. The morning started out ok, hot, but not much rain. After checking in and boarding the boat, we checked in at a second desk. This was the optional line for helicopter tours. You read that correctly, we were going to take a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef, do reef-y things all day and then catch a helicopter back with all of the views and excitement that come with such a ride. After our check in at the helicopter desk, we were adorned with fashionable bright orange wrist bands.

The boat was crammed with banks of couch seats, many of which had people or placeholders on them. Tara and I found some room on the second level in the back near an older couple we met during check in. So, we sat down, started up a conversation and waited until it was time to depart for the reef. You know those obligatory safety announcements on airplanes where the flight staff does the mime routine with prop seatbelts, and life jackets? Well, the crew on this boat did a similar demonstration and announcement routine on our boat. It was all a bit comical and unexpected, but what can you do?

This tour company had a pontoon anchored out at the reef, and we were going to dock up to it and do all of our activities from there. The options available to everyone included scuba, snorkeling, a semi-submersible, and a glass bottom boat tour. There was also lunch provided on our boat . So, we set off with everyone else excited for the sights and experiences to come, and then we hit the open sea.

Part of the crew briefing included what to do if you got motion sick. Little did I know at the time, but they had a good reason for this part of the briefing. Shortly after we got under way, there were a few waves and the boat rocked a little bit. It wasn’t too bad (from my perspective), but a few people started to look a little green around the gills. Once we got out a little farther, things really got rockin’ and rollin’. Each member of the crew was holding a stack of sick bags and scanning the passengers to see who might urgently need one. On our trip out to the pontoon, they used quite a number as more and more people succumbed to the pitching and rolling of the deck. Tara and I (as well as our new friends) faired well and didn’t get sick. None of us really enjoyed the ride, but we were able to keep our breakfast down.

When we finally docked with the anchored pontoon, things settled down quickly. Even the passengers most troubled by the motion on the ride seemed to perk up. Everyone scrambled off of our catamaran and onto the pontoon to split up for various activities.

Tara and I started with a ride on the semi-submersible. If you don’t know what that is, don’t feel ashamed. I didn’t either. Apparently, it is little more than a boat with a deep hull. You climb down into this deep hull section and the sides of the hull are Plexiglas windows. The thing about reefs in general, which also applies to the Great Barrier Reef, is that the best time to view them is not during or immediately after a storm. The wind and rain churn everything up and make the water cloudy, which therefore limits visibility. It just so happens that Cairn’s has been experiencing one of the wettest years on record. While the weather was pretty good on shore, the ocean had chopped things up for the prior few days. So, basically, we had a front row seat to blue colored pea soup. Ok, it wasn’t quite that bad, but it certainly wasn’t the clearest water.

Coral from the semi-submersible

After we got back to the pontoon, we opted for the glass bottom boat ride. Very similar overall to the semi-submersible, but you don’t climb down below the water line. Not surprisingly, this had just about the same result with the viewing problems through cloudy water with the added fun of glare from the sky also impeding visibility. All of us on that boat felt some wind come up and the pilot casually mentioned that wind like that often precedes a squall. Before any of us could even look around, the rain started to come down in sheets. We had a cover on the boat, but that doesn’t do you any good when the wind us also up and is pushing the rain sideways.

Glass Bottom Boat

He cut our little trip short and brought us right back to the pontoon. Many folks were already soaked and amazed at how quickly it came upon us. This was about the time that one of the red shirts (indicating that they were part of the helicopter company, not like Star Trek where they are expendable and likely to die on the new planet) came up to inform us that they were very sorry, but the helicopter flight was cancelled due to weather. How did they find us you might ask? Well, remember those fashionable custom bracelets we got? Those also function as short distance visual homing beacons.

This meant we had the pleasure of riding back on the ship that made so many people sick. We would get a second chance to be sick ourselves. It also meant that we would not get back at the time we were originally scheduled. This would not usually be a big deal while on holiday (that’s what they call vacation down under and in many other parts of the world), but we had an evening activity also planned. Read more about our aboriginal fire making ritual here.

There was a good ending. We had a great time, neither one of us got sick, and we made it back in time for our next activity. It made for a heck of a long day, but fun was had by all.

To see a gallery of Cairns photos, Click here.

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