Tour Operator: G Adventures
Tour: Brisbane to Cairns Experience (on a shoestring)
Group Size: 14 (of a possible 20)
Leaving SE Asia I headed to Australia to join a G Adventures group trip for the festive period. The
first highlight was the Fraser Island day trip! We drove along part of the 75 mile beach before
ducking in to the inner roads to swim in a beautiful lake and take in a too short rainforest walk
before back on to the beach highway where we saw two dingos before heading home. It would have
been nice to spend longer on the island (unfortunately the trip I booked had been changed slightly
and as such we were only now on the island for 8 or so hours).
The Whitsundays was certainly a highlight of the whole trip! For two nights and two days our home
was an 84-foot yacht, that when built was two-time world champion in it’s class (it is now 30 years
old but still in very good condition). We set off on the yacht in the sunshine passing beautiful islands
and deserted beaches to our first stopping point, a swim anchored between two islands, we spent
time jumping in from the deck and bobbing about in inflatables. Dinner was on deck and when the
night drew in we were surrounded by white tip reef sharks, the lights from the boat attract the
algae, this attracts small fish, which in turn brings bigger fish that brings the sharks in. I slept on deck
under the magnificent night sky (until snoring sent me below deck to my bunk around 1am).
Christmas eve was spent sailing to Whitehaven Beach – the most famous beach in the area and the
8th best in the world! We were fortunate to time it just right with the tides so we had the postcard
shot! The swirling white sandy beaches and turquoise water! Furthermore, given it was Christmas
eve it was so quiet! We pretty much had it to ourselves!! Here we saw stingray (a little close for comfort), baby sharks, 2 dolphins and a huge spider! I steered the yacht solo for 20 minutes, it’s
amazing how responsive the boat is to the slightest touch. Snorkelling was ok but the May cyclone
damaged a lot of the reef around the area.
For the evening we headed to a private beach for sunset beers in our Santa hats before the Christmas eve party back on board which got quite lively and we were joined for 10 minutes by dolphins circling our yacht! Christmas morning, with rough heads we had mimosas before a final snorkel en-route back to the mainland.
It was an unusual Christmas Day experience at Airlie Beach – I had an Australian roast, not bad but
nowhere near as good as home cooking in north England. It was amazing how busy the town was.. a
lot of Australians were out BBQ’ing, sunbathing and swimming along with a lot of tourists from the
nearby campsites and hostels. A very different Christmas compared to December back home in England.
Another long travel day from Airlie took us up to Cairns, a beautiful city on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Our hostel was a 30-minute walk along the beautiful boardwalk from the city centre.
We did a day trip to the reef for snorkelling and diving. At the first site I was a long way from the
boat and caught sight of a turtle – I followed it best I could but it was far faster than me! By now I
was a long way from the boat so set off back… that morning we had had the shark chat from our
guide… “all the sharks you see will be smaller than you and scared of you so no need to worry…” I
was heading back fortunately filming on my underwater camera when I came round some coral and
bumped into a 6-foot shark!! It was bigger than me and not scared of me!! I filmed it as I widened
my path around it and once I was in its sight I swam as fast as I could back to the boat!! Occasionally
looking over my shoulder expecting it to be coming for me!! Back on board I showed our guide who
was amazed by its size – it was a Nurse Shark. He normally sees them once a month, I was very lucky
to see it!
After a boozey last night in Cairns I headed to Fiji for New Year’s hopping between two resorts in the
Yasawa Islands, firstly Blue Lagoon and then Octopus Resort. The former was in a bright blue bay
with hikes inland where you could get amazing views of the rolling green hills and the turquoise and
strong blue water below.
The second resort Octopus was probably the nicer of the two (and with less flies), the reef there was
so close to the shore – just a few metres out with some great snorkelling opportunities! Whilst on
the island I also joined the resort on the bi-weekly climb to one of the highest points on the island
for some amazing views! The hike came with a warning, which was fully justified, it was tough going,
climbing up rock faces, scrambling up and down steep and wet jungle paths, nevertheless it was very
much worth is for the fantastic views.
For my final day I headed to Mana island just off the mainland which also had stunning views and a
lot to offer. I spent my time tubing behind a speed boat, snorkelling, hiking to the islands look out
points, sunbathing and relaxing in my own infinity pool overlooking the uninhabited southern
islands. This island is perhaps less relaxing and tranquil but has a lot more to offer in terms of
motorised watersports. Personally, I would recommend the further away Yasawa Islands, I found these more remote and more tranquil, far away from the reality of London Life!
Highlights
Best Drink: Kava, whilst in Fiji I took part in a Kava ceremony where I was able to try some
of the mildly narcotic drink. For me it resulted in a numb feeling around my mouth, lips and tongue
as well as a sense of relaxation.
Best Experience: bumping in to a large nurse shark on the Great Barrier Reef and celebrating
Christmas in paradise.
If anyone finds themselves in Cairns wanting to visit the GBR, I can recommend Passions of Paradise,
they are carbon neutral, anti-plastic, use wind power where possible, are affiliated with numerous
eco associations and have knowledgeable staff on board who give educational presentations /
lectures on the way back to the mainland. I am sure many other tours follow the same principles but
I used Passions and had a great time.
