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March - July 2001
Australia
Brett Voegele2005-11-14 17:31:04
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of wandering aimlessly around Australia had come to an end. The final odometer reading was 298,642 kms (we were looking forward to the car turning 300,000 kms), which meant we had driven 16,378 kms (10,177 miles). Rest of trip would be covered via long bus journeys, with one flight to the center of the country.
Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
Our first taste of bus travel was up the coast to Cairns. As with most people in town, we were there for the Great Barrier Reef, and there was no shortage of tours on offer. We finally decided on a snorkeling trip, so boarded a boat with 16 others for a day of fun. The first stop was a small, sandy island which was a bird refuge. We did some snorkeling of the reef just off the island, and it was amazing. The colors of both the coral and marine life were incredible - highly recommended. From there we progressed farther offshore - about 55 kms (33 miles) to the true outer reef for some more snorkeling. Again, it was unbelievable. We unfortunately had some rough seas with which to contend, so we were tossed around a bit while snorkeling, but the sun poked through enough times to truly illuminate the coral. The water was incredibly clear, so it was easy to distinguish features of the reef and it's inhabitants - even at considerable depth. As I mentioned, the seas were a bit rough, so heading back to Cairns we were tossed around quite a bit on the boat - getting a ride that would have cost a fair bit of money at an amusement park. In all, it was an amazing day - one not to be missed if you're in the area.
Atherton Tablelands & Uluru (Ayers Rock)
After spending a couple of days west of Cairns on the Atherton tablelands sightseeing, canoeing, biking, and hiking (and removing numerous tiny leeches from our bodies), we caught our only flights of the trip. It turned out to be cheaper to fly to the center than
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