Travel: CAIRNS & THE GREAT BARRIER REEF - East Coast Australia Adventures Part 4

Heading up the coast from my time in Magnetic Island (read about that here), I arrived later than expected in Cairns thanks to bus delays, so was pleased to head straight to bed at the delightful Freedom Hostel. This was the first of my hostels to offer free breakfasts, so I took advantage of that before heading down to the Port to check in for that days adventures – a cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef aboard Ocean Freedom.

Once checked in, I made the impulse and expensive decision to rent an underwater camera – you only Great Barrier Reef once, right? We climbed aboard and settled in for the choppy hour and a half ride out to Upolu Reef. I’d paid extra to scuba dive rather than just snorkel (check out the process of gettingmy diving qualification here) so suited up into a wetsuit, hiked on my BCD and flippers, and hopped into the water.

I couldn’t tell you how long we dived for, but it was nice to get up close and personal with the coral and the fish, although I’ll be honest, I’d expected there to be a hell of a lot more fish than there actually were. In my mind, there would be at least as many fish as I’d seen in the Tahitian reefs (check that out here) if not more – this was the famous GBR, for crying out loud! Regardless, beggars can’t be choosers and it was still cool to say I’ve scuba dived in the GBR.

We ate lunch on board and were then offered the opportunity to board a glass bottom boat to again get a different perspective on the sea life beneath us. There was then the chance to snorkel at another destination, including a ‘snorkel tour’ where we followed behind one of the instructors, who showed us the best of the reef, including huge shells which snap shut like Venus flytraps when touched. 

We headed back to shore over the choppy waves and I returned my underwater camera to avoid paying the $650 charge if you lost it. It was then back to the hostel to take advantage of the free GHD straighteners they had behind reception to doll myself up for a pleasant night in.

Thanks for reading! One more stop on my East Coast adventures, so stay tuned on Twitter @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when that's posted. Have you travelled around Australia? I'd love to hear about your travels - drop me a message in the comments below!