Snorkeling on Green Island

Today was Day 1 of two planned days with masks on our faces and snorkels in our mouths. This first day was a to an island in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park called Green Island. Technically we weren't snorkeling on the reef itself but it was a good opportunity to gauge how the kids were going to do when we hit the outer reef tomorrow.

We had a relatively late departure time of 10:30am so we were able to sleep in (and the kids needed it!). It took a now famous rap song from daddy about "Uncle Toby is my homie" to get the kids moving. The Uncle Toby reference is to my cereal of choice, which, thanks to the high fiber content has brought me much grief. I think I'll start every morning for the rest of the trip with that little ditty!

The winds have been unseasonably high this last week so we were warned ahead of time that it could be a bouncy trip out to the island. We downed some Dramamine ahead of time and picked a strategic location on the boat (so we could see the horizon and not be splashed). Everyone weathered the 50 minutes on the high seas gloriously.

Green Island had many amenities to make it an easy destination once we got there. There were reasonably good restrooms (Aussies prefer the word toilets), showers, beach to hang out on when we weren't in the mood to snorkel, and a pool to swim around in if desired.

We hit the island just before low tide so the water level seemed woefully more shallow than expected. And there were enough people in the area that I'm sure we must have scared the gills off of any living creature that happened by. At one point as Christa and I were snorkeling she gave out one of the quotes of the day after not seeing any aquatic life for about 5 minutes: "Daddy, it's empty!" Thankfully the place wasn't empty and we were able to come across some beautiful fish, including some big parrot fishes.

Christa snorkeled like a champ. B and Z had some leaking mask issues that nagged at their enjoyment of the day. When we boarded our 2:30pm boat back to Cairns, we were hungry for more snorkeling, which is a perfect set-up for tomorrow.

Once back in Cairns the boys in particular were ravenous. Sara got a restaurant recommendation from a local retail salesperson: P.J. Thai. Our short walk got us there long before their dinner service officially began but they graciously served us. Everyone loved the meal of Stir Fried Prawns with Ginger, Pad Thai, and a panang curry with chicken dish. Each of the offerings were "I want to lick my plate" sort of good, and enjoyed by all.

We hung out at the Cairns Esplanade afterwards. Think nicely sized city park with a giant free swimming pool with trucked in sand beaches. They're really working on their downtown area and I can only say we all had a blast. The boys even made a friend in a local boy named Michael.

A trip to the chemist for some more Dramamine for tomorrow's trip and then we headed for home. We are extraordinarily excited about tomorrow's venture to the reef--our last planned full day in Australia!