After my visit to Port Douglas I'm back in Cairns - it's time to see the reef as it's best appreciated - by air. I go for whatever the best bargain is i can get, and end up with a seaplane. That suits me fine - more chance of surviving a crash. My group is made of 6: 5 English and 1 German, who decides to use me as a translator (i speak virtually no German). We fuel-up, start-up and then discover we don't have enough fuel. So it's do a circle of the pontoon, miss the fueling bit, do a another circle of the pontoon, not close the doors properly, and then have one of the passengers decide he can have a go at flying. Well, he's been "watching the pilot for awhile"...i have to translate this to the German...it's with nervous laughter, but with good fun that we start our 40 minute flight. Sharks and mantas rays, reefs and islands, amazing colours and contrasts. It is a truly awesome experience and really is the best way to appreciate the reef. I need to come back here and do a parasail or something...or maybe a skydive, anything to see the reef from the air again.
Cairns has grown on me. If you've got the dosh for a tour then they've got a tour for you. Liking the idea of a cable car through the rainforest with a train ride, I book a day trip to Kuranda. I might not like organised tours, but when they are cheaper than DIY it's a no brainer. I get to practice my Chinese on the way there - I don't mind, but why is it always me!?
The cable car is great and the experience is only slightly dampened by now having 3 Chinese in the cabin with me:
"wat is cabin?"
"wat is cableway"...
The journey is broken into sections with boardwalks, lookouts and guides at the stops. The whole things is very touristy and not a 'real' rainforest experience - it's still enjoyable though. Karunda is a hungry, shopaholics dream, and the train past waterfalls, through tunnels and past Barron's Gorge is a delight
It's a hot and humid Cairns that i return to, but one that I've warmed to.
