The Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree National Park

The Great Barrier Reef is the world larges't reef system and it is one of the 7 wonders of the natural world. If you are a certified diver and you are in Australia, diving in the GBR is a MUST. Even if you are not certified, you can at least snorkel. Since all the three of us carried such a license we went looking for a cruise that will include as much dives as possible. Eventually, we found a special deal that included 6 dives in less than 36 hours. We even got a good price for that.

This time the boat was much smaller and the atmosphere wasn't as fun as on Wings2 and the food wasn't as good, but the thing we came for, the diving, was magnificent.

Once again most of the people on the boat did only snorkeling, and in most of the dives there were only the three of us and a guide.

We left Cairns early in the morning and had 4 dives on the first day, including a night dive. The diving schedule was so intense that all we did the whole time was diving and eating. And what amazing dives they were! Most of the time the water was perfectly clear allowing the sun to color all the beautiful coral reef and the various fish in it. It all looked like a giant bouquet set with dozens of colorful fish.

After seeing Leo's beautiful underwater pictures on the Whitsundays, both Oren and Itay were ready to buy all the possible underwater equipment for their cameras. But before buying it we rented a small camera with an underwater case. It wasn't too long until they found out that underwater photography is not as simple as they thought. You can judge by the outcome... On their behalf one can say, that the camera was much less professional than what they are used to work with.

Even though we had amazing dives we weren't very lucky. It was said that seeing sharks and sea turtles is almost guaranteed in those places, unfortunately, we didn't meet any of them. Something bad happened to our luck there... But the more we dove the better we felt in the water. Even the night dive was fun. Diving is an incredible experience! We enjoyed the reef so much that we went snorkeling even after our 6th dive.

We returned to Cairns in the afternoon, but all the water we've been in wasn't enough, so we dipped in the huge, free, public pool next to the pier.

Cairns, the largest city in the area of the GBR, doesn't give you a feeling of a city, more like a vacation town. The main touristic area is full with restaurants, pubs, tourist agencies and Aboriginal people wondering the streets.
This was our first real encounter with Aboriginals. Even after leaving Australia, lots of questions remained unanswered about those people. It seems that they are having a very hard time to fit in the modern Australian society. Most of the Aboriginal we saw are just wondering in the streets. It is very uncommon to find an indigenous person with a job.Someone told us that they don't know how to deal with money or property. Maybe they are the real socialists. Anyway, it looks like they are facing some real problems because of their failure to fit in. Other than that, Cairns center is very touristic, which means that you can find bars open till late and even serve real Irish Guinness. We spent a night in one of those pubs, not before they checked we fit their dress code.
Itay had to leave us in few days, but before doing that we went on our last drive together. we wanted to go north to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation which is supposed to be a very beautiful tropical area.

Port Douglas is a very nice tropical town which is famous for being a resort for the rich and the famous of the world. We wondered around the main street but neither Bruce Willis nor Bill Clinton could be seen anywhere.
After we left the town gray clouds started to cover the skies, ruining all the nice pictures we wanted to take from the viewpoints on our way.
We continued on the only road there is going north, crossing the Daintree river on a ferry/raft, but the clouds wouldn't disappear. We did a short hike not far from the Daintree NP visitor center, hoping to see a cassowary.

But no luck there... maybe they were hiding together with Bruce and Bill. we stopped in one of the only camping grounds in the area, next to the only gas station and the only convenient store on the road. While sitting i the car (it was rainy) with the air conditioner on (it was hot), charging Itay's computer, the car battery went flat, for some reason. Luckily for us the Australians are very nice (did you know that?), so it wasn't a problem to find a guy that let us use his battery charger and to make a new friend.
Later that evening, we made friends with a super-nice french couple (Celine and Thibaut), who just like us took a year off, but decided to spend it traveling around Australia. Since they were at the end of their journey, they had lots of very useful tips for us.
Next morning we made two times more pancakes and shared with our three new friends. We wanted to sail on the Daintree river and to see its famous crocodiles but the weather was so rainy that even the most adventurous crocs stayed home. Instead we visited one of the local ice cream "factories" and tasted few strange flavors, like Guinness. "It's a beer, you know.." said the lady behind the counter, as if it was our idea to make an ice cream from Guinness...

We thought to go to an insect museum, but paying 10 dollars each for something you meet right next to your tent or on yourself was a bit too much.

Because of the rain, the road to Cape Tribulation was flooded, we got the hint and decided to return to Cairns.
During the whole trip with us, Itay had to adopt the backpackers way of living, and especially the low budget, which means no restaurants. On the last night together Itay had enough of it and he invited us to a fancy dinner in a seafood restaurant (Thanks Itay!). We, on our hand, invited him for an ice cream afterwords...
On the next day, we were left alone (in the dark) after Itay traded our backpacker's lifestyle for the comfort of a big city, Melbourne.

Picasa gallery link

Tip 1: Even though it's Australia, and it is a part of the modern world, you still can bargain! It can save you some money. We did it with no intention. We just said to an agent that another agent promised us a better price, and that we don't know what it will be. She immediately

dropped the price by 20%. Too easy...

Tip 2: You don't have to wait to Australia. The diving spots in Eilat and Sinay are also amazing.
Tip 3: If you are in the area, there are few nice homemade ice creams in the Daintree area.
Tip 4: Celine and Thibaut have also a blog. It is in French, but the pictures are universally amazing: http://celtibenaustralie.over-blog.com/