Cairns/Australia

March 14, 2024 Cairns

This time we were traveling as a group of four. We met at 10 a.m., had the tender take us ashore and ordered an Uber.

The Uber took us to the airport from where our next adventure would begin: a helicopter flight over the Great Barrier Reef.

The two pilots from Zoomhelicopters.com were friendly and professional. You could clearly see their enthusiasm for flying and the reef. We were provided with drinks while our data was recorded.

Then it started for the ladies in our group: Equipped with life jackets, they were allowed to get into the helicopter and fly towards the reef in the best flying weather.

After forty minutes the helicopter returned with two enthusiastic passengers and the musician Anthony Antoine and I were allowed to board. I sat next to the pilot and could see that after takeoff we were at altitudes between 500 and 2,500 feet.

The view was phenomenal. We could see Cairns behind us, but at first we could only see the reef in front of us. But then we reached our destination. The reef, which was approximately 2,500 km long, lay between sand banks. The section we visited was called "Arlington Reef". Just below the sparkling surface of the water you could see the coral structures that ended a little further out to sea, where the seabed slopes away sharply.

We kept a careful lookout for sea creatures, but apart from the corals we didn't see any others. We could have stayed in the air for hours, but after forty minutes it was over for us too.

After we landed safely, an Uber took us back to the dock. With one of the ladies I got on the shuttle bus that was waiting and took us into the city. We had the whole bus to ourselves.

In Cairns I first looked around at the beach restaurants. There was one thing on the menu that would have impressed me, but unfortunately these dishes were only available in the evenings.

I wanted to console myself with a beer at Hemingway's Brewery, but I wasn't able to because of a private event. So I skipped lunch and stuck to the drinking water I had brought with me.

I walked through the high streets, found a large Australian goods store and purchased a bag of Kangaroo Jerky as a "consolation prize". Let's see how that tastes. Unfortunately I didn't find any attractions.

I was back on the ship with the bus and tender shortly after 6 p.m., just in time for dinner.

I ended the evening with live music by Dan Sugimoto and a cocktail.