Finishing Australia

Our time in Australia had already been an incredible gift, but we had two ports left!  As we had just switched ships, our install director (responsible for making our shows working on the new ship) was embarking in our next port of call, Brisbane.  We didn't have much time, but we had a mission: to hold a koala.  We had heard that the Australian state of Queensland, where Brisbane is located, is the only place where you can hold a koala and there was pretty much one good spot to do it near the city, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  I tried to get my research right and take advantage of our little time to make the trek.  As soon as we were able Dustin, Tonyia, and I took the shuttle into town, went to the tourist information hub, and bought tickets for the park and found the local bus to take us there.  We were off!

Koalas and emus and kangaroos, oh my!

The bus ride was about 40 minutes long and we were so excited when we reached the park.  It was just so nice and well put-together.  The park had everything from Tasmanian devils to wombats to kookaburras and every other Aussie creature you can imagine.  But from the entrance, the main attraction was clearly the koala.  There were so many koalas all over the place it was amazing!  They were all happily perched in eucalyptus trees and sleeping like the little angels they are.  There were certain areas for "senior" koalas and koala kindergarten for the babies.  It was fantastic to see these soft, cuddly creatures just napping all over the place.  We were able to get our pictures taken holding a koala, as well.  There were workers who had us very carefully place our hands so the bears could gently sit and cling onto us.  They were so soft and gentle I just didn't want to let my bear go!  Ha!  It was a really cool experience. 

But... can I adopt?

Also at the Lone Pine park was a whole area where there were dozens of kangaroos roaming around.  We were able to walk right up and amongst the animals.  There were, again, some old, some young, males, female, babies… all kinds!  They are certainly more intimidating animals than the sweet koalas, but they were still pretty docile around humans, which was nice.  With that we had to pretty much head straight back to the ship and start getting our shows ready.  

A couple days later we made it to our last stop in Australia, Cairns, known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.  I've been fascinated with the Great Barrier Reef for a while since it is one of the natural wonders of the world.  I remember growing up with a trivia game that included the reef and seeing its sheer size along the coast of Australia is just overwhelming.  Since I sort of fell in love with snorkeling on this contract, I really wanted to get out there and snorkel in this spot, since it's second to none in so many ways.  I got off the ship early in the morning and headed to the Reef Terminal, where tons of companies have set up shop to take tourists out to different points to see the reef.  There are glass bottom boats, scuba diving classes, tours around islands, etc.  Most of the tours lasted all day and I just couldn't do that because of time, but I did find one company doing a tour to Green Island leaving right away.  

I got on a sort of speed pontoon boat that was, obviously, well equipped with low emissions and delicate systems to not harm the reef.  It took us about 40 minutes to go out to Green Island.  Green Island is a small spot in the middle of the reef that has all sorts of trainings to scuba or snorkel, a resort hotel, and some little shops and cafes.  Because it was jellyfish season and the winds were right, I donned a stinger suit to protect me from the hundreds of stingers that had drifted to the island.  I quickly found the beach and asked guides where the best spots were to get snorkeling.  It was really interesting to get out in the water and swim out to the reef.  First I swam through parts that were actually dead.  It was sad to see, but the coral in some areas was just brown or white and clearly void of life.  There were no fish around and no nutrients to be had in the dead rocks there.  As I kept swimming I noticed more and more fish, more and more coral, and more and more jellyfish.  It was somewhat nerve wracking to be in the water with the jellyfish, but I didn't have a problem really.

Goodbye to Green Island and Australia!

Snorkeling around the globe in such a short time has been interesting because you can really see different species of plants and animals.  Here in the Great Barrier Reef I probably saw more animals than anywhere else and there were so many different kinds!  The thing that first struck me was the variation in size; I saw the smallest and largest fish I have seen yet.  Also I saw a huge school of fish that reminded me of something out of Finding Nemo.  They were all sitting perfectly still in one big formation, all facing the same way and not moving a muscle.  The sheer number and syntonization of them was really intimidating, like someone had frozen them in time or they were just about ready to launch into action at any moment.  So strange!!!  The best part of my time in the water, though, was when I happened upon a GORGEOUS sea turtle.  I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw this turtle just gliding through the water with such grace and ease.  I just had to follow it for a while.  I swam above its beautiful shell back for about 20 minutes as it took me on a mini tour of the reef and I got to watch it feed on some of the vegetation around the coral.  It was a moment that was really special to me and made the whole trip out to the reef worthwhile.  

My time in Australia was just amazing.  I got to see such varied wildlife, beautiful cities, and amazing people.  Aussie Aussie Aussie!  

Live rejoicing, 

Tripp