Cairns

23 - 25 October 2014
We arrived in Cairns and checked in to the Mantra Esplanade - we've stayed here a couple of times before - and discovered we had been upgraded to an "ocean view" apartment rather than "city view". We had a one bedroom apartment near the corner of the building on the sixth floor (only one above us) with a  great view over the lagoon swimming pool and out over the ocean.

View of the lagoon and the entertainment space where twirling and juggling fire were the flavour of the week.

We had been considering a trip out to Green Island and decided to book for Friday. We booked through the hotel reception and they were able to give us a generous discount. Bonus! Dinner at "Cafe Thai" just off the Esplanade was very nice. We've never been to Thailand so don't know if it's authentic - but it was very tasty, good value for money and the service was great.

Cruise morning looked a little grey.

To avoid the crowds, we had checked in to the "Big Cat" the afternoon before - good decision, as there were heaps of people arriving as we were.

Our transport awaits.

We boarded the boat and waited to set off. Tea and coffee were available as were ginger sea sick tablets. These tablets work very well - I used them when we went on the "Bruny Island Adventure" cruise in Tasmania a few years ago. That trip takes visitors into the mountainous seas of he Great Southern Ocean, so anything to help settle the stomach has to be good. I decided to take one as a precaution even though the waters of the Great Barrier Reef are comparatively benign. The sea was a little lumpy and a number of passengers succumbed to seasickness. Yuk!

Leaving Cairns and the clouds behind.

Bridled Terns all in a row.

We saw turtles from the jetty but they were too quick for me to photograph.

Arriving on the, far from deserted, Island.

Our full day package tour promised 5 hours on Green Island, and we were on the go the whole time. We started with a stop in the resort village area and then headed out on the walk through the middle of this coral cay island, into the National Park. This pleasant walk highlights how small the island really is. If you weren't stopping to photograph birds and read all the interpretive signage, you could do this easily in about 15 minutes. The well made path is perfectly flat, and mostly boardwalk.

Out of all the bird species found on and around the island, I was particularly interested in photographing the Rose-crowned Fruit-dove. This bird appears on many Eremaea Birdlines lists for Green Island so I thought it would be fairly easy to shoot. Unfortunately, I only encountered two individuals. One zoomed overhead in a flash and the other was in an inaccessible area and had to be photographed from a long way away. Such a beautiful bird, I wish I could have got closer. Mick.

Pacific Golden Plover

Eastern Reef Egret, grey morph

 

Eastern Reef Egret, white morph

Rose-crowned Fruit-dove

Black-naped tern with lunch.

Buff-banded Rails are common and fearless on the Island. This contrasts with the skulking nature of their mainland cousins.

We arrived at the beach on the other side of the island, and made our way back around to the jetty via the beach. The total distance around the island is only about 1.5km - an easy 45 minute walk. You can swim and snorkel anywhere along the beach but are warned about the dangers of marine stingers.

We returned to the boat for the lunch included in our package, and then the (also included) glass bottom boat tour.

The glass bottom boat, a very touristy thing to do.

The fish are paid an appearance fee in the form of food. I suppose this makes the Silver Gulls the tax department.

Bat fish

Tea-leaf trevally

Back to the beach for a swim - you can't go to a tropical island and not swim. The water was very shallow - about knee deep, and surprisingly cool, but still a nice swim. Back into the rainforest to try again for some birds and then it was time to go home.

Green Island is a beautiful coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef - and worth visiting if it weren't for the hordes of ugly tourists. I know I was a tourist too but I didn't push past anyone to get to the head of a line, smoke in no smoking areas, tell people that seats were taken when they clearly weren't, invade others' personal space and stop in the middle of walk ways and entrances. (End of rant). I noticed a fair amount of litter around and am astounded that someone could consciously trash such a beautiful place. Mick.

On our return we walked along the Esplanade to observe the waterbirds - the tide was too far out for photos. From our balcony we were able to watch the entertainment near the lagoon pool - acrobatics and fire twirling.

Fire twirling performer taken from the balcony.

The weather has been beautiful and we have enjoyed our stay in this part of our beautiful country.

Next stop - Atherton Tablelands.

•  Cairns Esplanade is an all time favourite place of ours. Great for birds, people watching, eating and drinking.
• In the city (44 Spence St) you can find a huge variety of fresh local produce at Rusty's Markets.
• There are always birds feeding on the mudflats along the Esplanade.