What a wonderful day we had today at Green Island.  The weather was great after our previous 2 days of rain. I had actually been hoping for a ‘catch up’ day, but when we checked the weather forecast for our 3 days in Cairns, today was the only one which indicated no rain. So last night, we decided we should make the effort to have an early start and full day out. It was worth it, because it was a lovely day.

We went over on a fast catamaran with a company called ‘Great Adventures’. It was a 45min trip. Once on the island, we went to check out the day visitor facilities – there was a pool, a dive shop, several eatery options, lockers for hire etc. We made use of the locker facilities. Part of our tour package was a half hour glass bottom boat trip, which we did at 10.00. I was surprised at how much we all enjoyed this. We saw quite a lot of different things. It was close to low tide when we went out and so the coral was less than a metre below the bottom of the boat. We saw lots of different types of coral, quite a few different types of fish, sea cucumbers, and a couple of sea turtles. There were usually 2-3 boats out at the same time, and towards the end of the half hour, the boats congregate around a ‘fish feeding” area – someone provides the food and many of the larger trevally which feed near the surface of the water come flocking in for a feed. You can see them splashing around on top of the water, but you also see a lot through the glass at the bottom of the boat.

After this we decided to find a table near the pool to have some morning tea. On the way to do this we passed the dive shop and went in to make enquiries about an introductory dive. When discussing Green Island the previous night, Sam had expressed a very strong desire to try scuba diving. He said it was something he had always wanted to do since he was about 3 yrs old and found out about it. He qualified for the minimum age which was 12. Sam’s ideal holiday would be quite expensive as he is interested in all the adventurous sports and activities. He has quite a few on his wish list. He knows he won’t be doing all of them this holiday, but we would pick a couple he could try. Scuba diving seemed to be high up on the list. It didn’t really overly interest any of the rest of us, but he didn’t want to go on his own. Out of Michael, Lauren and myself, I seemed to be the one with the next highest level of interest. So, despite a slight nervousness about it, I found myself booking in to do an introductory dive along with Sam. It was scheduled for 12.00 and would take 2 hrs (including the briefing and training in the pool). Having booked in and so on, we had our morning tea and headed to the patrolled beach area, as the 2 younger girls were keen for a swim. Michael, Lauren, Hannah and Bethany were going to go for a snorkel off the beach while Sam and I were diving. 

Sam and I had an early lunch at about 11.45 and then bid goodbye to the others and headed for the dive area. We had our briefing for about 20-30 mins – discussing how to equalise and you descend, how to breathe normally in the regulator, what to do if the regulator gets knocked out of your mouth, the different hand signals that the instructor might use and that we, the participants, might want to use. We then suited up in our full length lycra suits (to protect against possible stingers) and then in our wetsuits. We got our masks and fins ( I was able to get prescription ones which was great) and then our weight belts. Then our instructors helped us on with our flotation vest with the air tank and other equipment attached. It was heavier than I expected. We headed to the pool for our ‘drills’ with our instructor. We had to practice putting our head under to start with and breathing normally with the regulator, then going down and equalising, then practicing taking the regulators out of our mouth (as if knocked out) and how to recover them and return to normal breathing. Sam and I both passed the test and so we  headed out to the dive boat anchored just off the beach. As it turned out the ratio of instructors to participants was 1:2, so Sam and I had an instructor for just the 2 of us. She was very nice. We were told that she would be linking arms with us the whole time we were down there, which gave me some comfort. We motored to a spot about 5 mins away from the beach. We were told it was going to be about 2m down to the seabed here. Sam and I were the first ones in the water – we walked down some steps that had been lowered into the water at the back of the boat, then had to hang on to a length of rope each once we were in the water.  I think Sam was feeling really excited this whole time, while I was still feeling a bit apprehensive. But I kept telling myself all would be OK. We had to move our hands down the rope – equalising after each 2 hand movements down – this was about 5-6 equalisations before the instructor indicated to link arms with her and move away from the rope. I had quite a bit of pressure in my left ear and, during our briefing, the instructor had said to make sure we indicate a problem rather than thinking it will get better and go away. So I indicated to the instructor. She was very good at keeping me calm and indicating through sign language that I needed to pinch my nose and blow gently to build pressure while holding my breath (I had been breathing out through my mouth at the same time as exerting pressure through the nose). I felt the equalisation then. So we were able to continue on. I didn’t have any more problems with equalisation after this. The only other minor problem was that I felt like water was coming into the mask around the nose area. I signaled the instructor again and she showed me how to purse my lips more and this helped. Once these were sorted out started to relax more and enjoy it. It really was amazing the sights we saw. We swam around coral bommies and saw large schools of fish darting in and out. A lot of the time they didn’t even seem to notice us. We would have seen about 50 different species of fish. We saw a green turtle – twice. The first time, it was hiding behind some coral. This instructor took us right up close to the coral. We could have touched it if we were allowed to. It then swam away gracefully. We saw a stingray, and we saw a couple of giant clams. Once again the instructor took us close to the giant clam and we were allowed to touch the side of it – this made it close up quickly. We also picked up a sea cucumber and felt it. I kept looking over at Sam every now and then to see how he was going. I’d do the ‘are you OK?’ sign to him, and he would signal back that he was OK. Apparently we were down for about 30mins although it didn’t seem that long. We came up slowly – Sam first and then me and walked back onto the boat. Sam had a grin from ear to ear for the rest of the day – he had absolutely loved it.

We went back to the patrolled beach where the others had been swimming. They were still there, although they’d had a break for lunch. All 4 of them had done some snorkelling off the beach – even Bethany and apparently she had done very well. Lauren had gone out a bit deeper on her own (although there were quite a few people around and the lifeguard on the beach) and she said she had seen lots of coral and quite a few colorful fish. She was happy with this experience. We all stayed on the beach for a bit longer – it was such a beautiful day and the water was a nice temperature. We had some of the afternoon tea we’d brought with us. A bit after 3.00 I took Hannah and Beth up to the pool area as they wanted another swim in the pool. We then went and had showers and changed. 

We started heading back to the jetty, but first went and checked the photos that were taken of Sam and I diving – both underwater and on the boat. We chose a photo of the 2 of us on the boat and bought that.

Then it was along the jetty and a bit of a wait to get on the catamaran back to the mainland. Quiet trip back again and Bethany nearly fell asleep. Back to the caravan then, very thankful for a great day.

We took 2 days to travel from Townsville to Cairns. Unfortunately it rained for a lot of this time. So we didn’t get to have walks or plays on some of the beaches along the way.

Some of what we did was:
– stopped at Lucinda to see the 6km long jetty. It’s the world’s longest bulk sugar-loading jetty, allowing enormous carrier ships to dock. Built in 1979, it dips 2m to follow the curvature of the earth and is cyclone-proof. Sugar takes 22mins to travel along the conveyor. We had lunch here and it had stopped raining enough for the kids to run around and have a play.
– very brief stop at Tully, which has the reputation of being the wettest place in Australia – it certainly had lots of puddles the day we drove through. We stopped at the big gumboot monument just off the main highway for a photo.
– stayed at Mission beach overnight. Saw a cassowary as we drove through the rainforest area on our way to the caravan park – proved to be the only cassowary we would see while there.
– went for a bit of a drive along the esplanade of Mission Beach, but the cloud was so low that we couldn’t even see Dunk Island off the mainland.
– went for a half hour walk in part of the rainforest the next morning – called the Licuana Palms walk – lots of these bright green palms with very broad leaves. It was a very pretty walk and it was only spitting very lightly, so with rain jackets on, it was fine.
– stopped at Innisfail for lunch – parked beside the Johnstone River and reheated sausages on the gas cooker. Innisfail seems quite an attractive town in the city centre.
– then kept driving towards Cairns. We actually started to see the sun about half an hour from Cairns – how nice. We took a little. It of a drive through the city centre before ending up at our caravan park – Cool Waters Van Park in the western suburb of Brinsmead. Set up for the night and gathered a few brochures from the office regarding Outer Reef and Green Island day tours. We booked to stay 4 nights and have 3 full days in Cairns, one of them planning to be a day trip to the reef. We were hoping the weather would make it worth the money.

We had a slower start this morning which was nice. We wanted to visit Reef HQ and learn lots about the Great Barrier Reef, the coral and the sea creatures etc. This aquarium is new since I lived here, and boasts as being a living coral reef on dry ground. The tanks are open to the weather and they have wave making technology to mimic the affect the waves have on the coral formation and so on. We got there about 10am and spent about 3 hrs there. I really enjoyed it – I always learn interesting new things at those places. We participated in 4 different talks or tours during our time there: 1) Predator Dive show – a scuba diver in the tank with some of the types of reef sharks and large fish joined in a live conversation with the guide in the theatre. We learnt there are about 130 different species of sharks, but only 3 of them are considered dangerous to humans – tiger, great white and ?(I forgot). We saw specimens of shark’s jaws, of which the kids had photos of their heads inside. 2) Creatures of the shallow reef – this was a talk at the tank where there were stingray, starfish, young leopard sharks and a few others. We learnt to do the stingray shuffle when walking in shallow areas of the reef – in case any stingrays are resting and hidden under the sand – shuffling feet disturbs them in a way they will swim away, but stepping feet might stomp on them and they might react with a sting of their tail. The children got to touch a starfish and a leopard shark. 3) Coral talk – we learnt that coral is an animal, not a plant, and learnt how each coral animal had both male and female parts, and they release the egg and sperm at a certain time of the lunar calendar, which float to the surface and ‘spawn’ – and polyps are formed. Once they are attached to something, they grow by cloning themselves – interesting. 4) A Visit to the turtle hospital – 3 yrs located here in Townsville and they retrieve sick/injured turtles which have been reported and nurse them back to health. We saw some of the current ‘patients’ and learnt about their treatment. The kids seemed to find all these talks quite interesting, but eventually Hannah and Beth (who were very tired today) had had enough. We came across a play areas for kids at the last section we were looking at – and they loved it – finally they could release some energy and not just have to look and listen.

We’d taken our own morning tea which we’d had during the morning, but had decided to have lunch out today. I wanted to have a look at Flinders Street Mall, so we decided to walk down there from Reef HQ and find a cafe to eat at. We walked a few blocks and I was saying “we should be there soon – there is a pedestrian only section”. Finally we looked up the map and found we had walked the length of the mall – it was now drive through, not just pedestrian. We were now on the corner of Stanley Street and Flinders Street, and there was a cafe on the corner called Stanley Cafe with a nice tables and chairs indoors out of the wind. We had a very nice and very filling lunch. We then walked back to the car and looked up the route to drive up Castle Hill.

We drove through ‘the cutting’ on Stanley Street and the road up the hill started on Stanley Street West. The view from the top was great. You could see 360 degrees if you walked up different summits. We could see the jetty at Picnic Bay on Magnetic Island to the east, and the Townsville Port and then the Strand. Off to the north we could see Rowes Bay and Pallerenda, Belgian Gardens Cemetery and industrial areas. Out to the west and south-west were most of the suburbs. I could make out the 3 ways and then Ross River Road continuing down south, all the way to the Harvey Ranges. Hannah remarked that “Townsville is very big” – I guess in comparison to other towns/cities we’ve been to lately it is. Out to the south-east was the city centre, Railway Estate and then mangroves.

We drove back down the hill and headed towards Ross River Road to go exploring my childhood suburbs and school. Even just driving south along Ross River Road brought back certain memories – I used to ride my bike along here many days when I was in high school. We went past St Anne’s school where I went to preschool. When we came to the intersection at Stocklands Shopping Centre was where I noticed the most difference – it was very developed. We continued along Ross River Road past this intersection and went past Ignatius Park school and then Holy Spirit Church where my family attended church as I was growing up – not too much change there. We then turned left into Hatchett Street to go past Holy Spirit Primary School which I attended for my primary years. It looked completely different. Instead of a large dirt u-shaped carpark out the front and large undeveloped fields, there was building almost to the road side, with a main administrative building and then a small concrete carpark. The ‘paddocks’ off to the right which I used to walk along to go home were all developed fields and playground areas and there was a tall see-through fence all around these areas. We drove further along Hatchett Street and came to North West Cres which is the street where I used to live (since I was about 4 anyway). We drove along to number 6. It didn’t look very different at all, which was kind of nice. I took a photo of course. We drove around the crescent and most of the houses still had the same feel about them as I remembered. We drove past my friend Lisa’s house just one street away. I then decided I’d put the kids through enough driving around (although they hadn’t complained to date – but I didn’t want to push it). It was late afternoon by then anyway, so we drove back to the caravan park. It was fish wrapped in alfoil and cooked on the BarB tonight.

Even though it was overcast, it hadn’t rained for our 2 days in Townsville. But it started to rain tonight, just after dinner which was good timing. It rained continuously most of the night and quite hard at times, making for puddles on the road when we woke up in the morning.

I had spoken about Magnetic Island and the kids saw the brochures about it and wanted to go there, so we decided to make a day of it today. We had checked out the ferry timetable last night and decided we wanted to try to get the 8.45am ferry, which was going to mean leaving the caravan park by around 8.15am. It was going to be like getting everyone ready on a school morning. So I’d set my alarm for 6.30am and last night had written a list of what we needed to take. We wanted to take most of our food for the day, swimmers and towels, snorkelling gear (we were being hopeful that the weather  might improve) and a change of warm clothes for after a swim. Michael asked how we were going to carry it all on and off the ferry to the mini more hire place. I said that was one of the advantages of having 4 children! Anyway, we managed to get away on time. The ferry terminal was only 10 mins away at the other end of the Strand.  We even got on the ferry with a few minutes to spare – impressive for us:).

The ferry ride was only about 25mins, but was quite rolly – something we were quite familiar with from the last 3 days of our yacht sailing. At least this time we were in a big stable boat. But I knew then our chances of snorkelling were pretty thin – and swimming was going to be cold.

The first change I noticed from my childhood times on Maggie Island was that the ferry now docks at Nellie Bay, not Picnic Bay as it used to. We motored past Picnic Bay and the old jetty is still there, but obviously not in use anymore. Nellie Bay now has a protected harbour ( like a marina) where the ferry docks. We walked off the ferry and then the 100m to the mini moke hire place. I remembered these mini mokes as a kid – they are a great mode of transport for that sort of island. We knew we going to have to hire 2 mokes for our family as they only seat 5 people max. We had checked out prices etc and it was going to be pretty reasonable. However, as it turned out, they must have a lot less mokes these days than they used to – there were none available – the only vehicles available were the ‘topless cars’ – old Diahatsu Charades with their bodies altered. They were painted all sorts of bright colours. They were a bit more expensive than the mokes unfortunately, but if we wanted to get around the island we didn’t have much option. Then when the lady drove the first one out from behind the building for us, we all nearly died with surprise – it was bright pink and looked like Barbie’s car! “This one is for the girls” she said (she was a lady with a sense of humour). Then she went and got the other car – it was bright green like a Kermit the Frog car! Sam let out a huge sigh of relief that he didn’t have to sit in a bright pink car:).  Well then there was not much negotiating over who was going in which car. Hannah and Beth wanted to be in the pink car – and Dad couldn’t be in that one, so I was driving it. Michael, Lauren and Sam were happy to be in the Kermie car. I think it was almost the highlight of our trip to Maggie Island to be buzzing around in those cars.

Michael said he would follow me. “You know the island” he said, “so lead on”. And we were off – with the wind in our hair – lots of wind. We drove first to Picnic Bay, only 5 mins south of Nellie Bay. It was very quiet – so different from my memories of it. This was probably partly to do with the unfortunate weather (and being a southern bay, it was copping the brunt of the wind) and partly to do with the fact it was no longer the entry point for visitors. There was a bit of a mall along the front and the tavern on the corner near the jetty was still there (and spruced up a bit). Now being closer to the jetty, we could see the signs which indicated that it was being restored as a heritage jetty. The kids had a bit of a play on the beach and the climbing trees on the edge of the beach and we had some morning tea. As we wandered on the foreshores of Picnic Bay, someone took a photo of our pink car – it was obviously a sight to be remembered!

Michael and I discussed where to go next – we’d seen a brochure outlining some of the walks on the island. Since it was not going to be a nice day for swimming we decided to do one of the walks next. There was one that was not too long going from Horeshoe Bay to Balding Bay next door, both on the north side of the island. We hoped thatnit would be less windy on the north side. So we got back in the cars and headed north, back through Nellie Bay, past Arcadia, over the mountainous area and down into Horseshoe Bay. This had changed quite a bit since my childhood also, but for the better. I had remembered this bay as a bit unattractive and boring and not as popular as the other bays. But it now had quite a lovely atmosphere about it. The foreshore had nice picnic areas and playgrounds (and markets on today, being Sunday) and the street had attractive landscaping and outdoor eating areas. And it was buzzing with people, although not overcrowded. There was a fair-like atmosphere with reggae type music coming from the markets. We parked our cars and got ourselves ready with lunch and drink bottles in backpacks, then started along the eastern end of the bay to where the walk commenced. We met quite a few other people doing the walk as well. It took about 20mins one way to get to Balding Bay. It was a lovely spot. There are no roads to it so fairly secluded. We stayed there for about half an hour, eating our lunch and watching the kids play on the water’s edge or explore the rocks at the side. There was not much wind on this side of the island thankfully. We then walked back to Horseshoe Bay where we’d said the kids could put on swimmers and go further in the water if they wanted – Hannah and Beth wanted to – Lauren and Sam were not quite as keen to get cold. I ended up getting in with H &B as the bottom dropped off quite suddenly and it got deepish quickly. The water was warmer than I thought, and we weren’t the only people swimming. There were some water sports happening a bit further west along the bay – some tube rides (floatation tubes people sat in and got pulled along behind a boat). Sam had read where there was jetski hire at Horseshoe Bay and had hoped to do that. However we found out they weren’t operating this week for some reason. But we said Lauren and Sam could do a tube ride. Michael was able to go in the boat to take some photos and video. They both really enjoyed it and walked up the beach at the end with huge smiles on their faces. Everyone dried off and changed into warm clothes and then we had some hot chips whilst sitting on the foreshore. We had ended up spending about 4 hrs on this side of the island and really enjoyed it. It was now 3pm and we were planning to get the 4.45pm ferry back to the mainland. So we decided to drive back to Arcadia for a bit of a look (but no more swimming).

Arcadia was the name of the suburb/locality but it incorporates 2 bays – Alma Bay and Geoffrey Bay. Alma Bay was one of the main swimming bays when I was a child, and had the stinger net. But today it was blustery and no one was swimming. The kids played at the playground (or trees or the older ones) for a while and then we walked over to the Arcadia Tavern, which I remember was always buzzing on my previous visits as a child. Once again, not so much today, but probably due to the weather. The old ‘bikini tree’ was still there but not so prominent and some parts had fallen off. They still advertised Cane Toad races there, which I remember viewing as a child. I also remembered staying at an A-frame house a couple of years running over Easter, and was pretty sure this was at Arcadia. I had images of it in my mind and asked the others if we could explore the streets to see if I could find it. I think I did. The place looked familiar, but I couldn’t go too close as there were people either living or staying there. I took a photo.

Then we decided to pickup a snack for afternoon tea and eat it at the other end of Picnic Bay. There were no bakeries open (being Sunday afternoon I guess) so we stopped at an IGA and bought biscuits and chips. The children ( and us) seem to always be hungry – I guess because we are doing so much. We found a sheltered area at Picnic Bay to have our afternoon tea, and then headed back to Nellie Bay to return the cars and get on the ferry.

The ride back was quiet as everyone was tired. I managed to do some typing my blog on the iPad. We loaded into the car and back to the caravan park, picking up a few supplies on the way. We had one of the frozen meals out of the camping freezer that night, did all our swimmer rinsing and hanging up, I showered the girls and washed hair and then everyone was ready for an earlyish night.