LA 2 London 2023: Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef and Thursday Island - exploring northern Australia and the Torres Straits

Day 116

We spent the last couple of days in Australia snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef (off Cairns in Northeastern Australia) and visiting Thursday Island in the Torres Straits.

Stormy weather in Cairns with the choppiest seas thus far made for a rough snorkeling experience - from all accounts the worst time to visit the Great Barrier Reef!

We'd come this far, and decided to go for it. Off we went from Cairns on a catamaran to a spot in the Coral Sea to snorkel. This was only my second time snorkeling, and the first time in the calm waters of the Carribean was a disaster. This time, with a little help from the expert guides, I managed!

The water was murkier than we would've liked, but we were able to see very nice coral and fish. The Great Barrier Reef stretches for about 1400 miles along the Queensland coast, and get this - it is the only structure comprising living creatures that is visible from space! It encompasses 2900 separate reefs, 600 islands and 300 cays. It's huge, and harbors a wide variety of marine life. We caught but a glimpse of this vast wonder, but it will have to do for now!

Unfortunately, we didn't get snorkeling pictures.

The Torres Straits are a group of islands that stretch from northern Australia to Papua New Guinea. We visited Thursday Island - a quaint and very small island with gorgeous views and an intriguing cultural center showing the history, art and culture of the Straits.

Thursday Island was once known for a thriving pearl fishing industry. Divers came from as far away as India and Malaysia to harvest pearls.

We "tendered' in to this port, and had to be called back by the captain because of increasingly bad weather. The ride back was rough, but not as bad as the last tender in which had 15 foot swells bopping the tender up and down over the waves!

Disembarking in Cairns after the snorkeling trip.

We didn't get any pics snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, but above is a photo of the catamaran that took us out into the ocean from Cairns. Very rough seas made for a rough journey in both directions - lots of people very sick on the boat (I was a little sick myself). Rough seas also meant the water wasn't as clear as one would like. But enough to see some great fish!

Above photos taken while walking around in Cairns after the very rough trip to the Great Barrier Reef

Very noisy lorikeets at twilight. Not a great pic, but if you look closely you can see them in the tree (orange plumage)

Above 2 photos in the port area. That's our ship right by a brewery where we had a bite to eat and of course, sampled the beer.

Ghost Net art at the Gab Tatui Cultural Center on Thursday Island featuring fish, turtles and boats. These sculptures are made from recycled abandoned fishing nets! Pretty creative.