days 23&24

We have had our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It really didn't look too promising when we arrived at the quay- it was raining lightly- and the water was grey and choppy. The rain increased as we sailed out, but on cue as we approached Michelmas Cay the skies cleared and the sun came out. The sea really is as in the brochures bright turquoise with dark patches for the reef. We went out on a semi sbumersible and saw the corals and masses of different coloured fish, a turtle, and clam shells- it was wonderful! We didn't try snokelling but those who did said it was great. The whole trip took over 8 hours and it was glorious. Today we took a trip on the Kurunda scenic railway through hand hewn tunnels with amazing views of the rain forest and the Barron Gorge, where the waterfall was amazing - very full because of the rains. We stayed in the small town of Kurunda for a while and visited a bird garden full of colourful birds and then returned via the Skyrail- a cable car high over the rainforest with a couple of stops for photos- including the Barron Falls from the other side. The trees are amazingly tall and we could see and hear birds -all very colourful. Now to start packing the suitcases for final time. The next blog will be our last for this trip. Now we can show the pictures!