The waters near Green Island present a beautiful gem green.
Sightseeing train in Kuranda.
"Sun Lover".
Amazing views of the Outer Barrier Reef.
The Aerial Tramway in Kuranda.
A view of Palm Cove.
"Back to Nature Here" No. 8
If I remember correctly, it's been exactly 10 years since I first heard my classmates mention the name Great Barrier Reef. At that time, I was still sitting in a sun-drenched classroom in the junior high school building, and I could not have imagined that 10 years later, I would have the privilege of visiting this wonderful place that we could only see in magazines and on the Internet.
In fact, December in Australia is in the middle of the summer, which is not the most ideal season for tourism. At this time, in tourist cities such as Cairns, tourists mostly come in groups of friends or family members. In order to see the magnificence of the famous Great Barrier Reef before the end of the year, I chose this time to embark on the journey alone and lightly.
Through the window, I finally overlooked the vast sea and the tall mountains; the clouds swirled over the islands like silk; the houses on the land were lined up one after another, and the roads were long and wide... However, as soon as the plane landed, I suddenly realized that Cairns's airport was integrated with nature — its head was covered with clouds, surrounded by mountains and forests, and even the air was filled with a hot tropical vegetation.
"Life is a journey, but also a journey." Only by being in it can you feel more intimately that the amazing glimpse left by nature to the travelers in the world is far more desirable and nostalgic than the lights and greenery of the city.
1. Pleasant scenery of Palm Cove
Coming out of the airport, I took the bus to the first attraction, Palm Cove. There are few vehicles along the way, wildflowers are blooming everywhere, and you can see a large patch of green grass and tall and tall trees everywhere. From time to time, children and youth on bicycles can be seen on the road, and the hot sun shines the beads of sweat on their foreheads as bright and bright as rain and dew. Cars drive past residential houses, spacious houses arranged in a very compact and orderly manner, and facilities such as swimming pools, which are usually reminiscent of high-end villas, are very common here.
Palm Cove is located in a beach community about 17 miles north of the city of Cairns. In the early days, its name was not Palm Bay, but was generically known as "Twin Islands" or "Palm Beach". After 1918, the area was gradually developed and remodeled until the mid-1950s, when it was officially named Palm Bay. Speaking of the history of Palm Bay, local drivers introduced us to the original inhabitants of the area, whose time dates back 60,000 years, and that Palm Bay was once used as a training base for the Australian Air Force during the war.
The fundamental reason why Palm Bay has become a major tourist attraction in Cairns is that it is inseparable from the pleasant landscape of landscape painting, which has attracted a large number of real estate investors to build resorts, apartments, beach clubs and spas here, and the number of tourists who come to stay is innumerable. The life of a local resident is enviable – imagine how relaxing it would be to come to the beach after a day's work, sit on the beach, blow the wind, watch a beautiful sunset, or spend a sunny weekend with family, friends and lovers!
I strolled on the liquid sands and watched the seagulls gather here, lazily sunbathing, and under the shade lay young men and women with healthy wheat-colored skin wrapped in towels on their backs. The sea is turquoise and salty. To prevent crocodiles or sharks from appearing, people can only swim in protected areas. At the other end of the beach, there is a platform for people to fish, and the information introduced on the platform shows that there are more than 100 kinds of fish living here, and if you are lucky, you can also catch blue crabs and barracuda crabs from the far seas.
From Palm Cove, a short drive north, you'll find Port Douglas. It is reported that at the end of May, Port Douglas will hold more than 10 days of carnival, including the lively McLosan Street Mass Parade; at the end of October, there is the "Sunset Park" music festival and the North Queensland Beer Festival, so these two months are often the most visited times in Port Douglas. My favorites are port Douglas's tropical restaurant (an experiential restaurant similar to a wildlife botanical garden) and the sea restaurant, where you can experience the pleasure of eating while dealing with rare birds, while the latter can sit by the sea and enjoy authentic seafood meals in the comfortable sea breeze.
In addition, drinking is one of Australia's cultures, and although I am not personally keen on drinking, in the various taverns of Port Douglas, people are mixed and talk about wine and have become an iconic local landscape. I even felt as if with a cold beer and a few friends who could speak freely, one could spend the whole of Queensland's blazing summer.
2. Dive in the coral reef
The trip to sea was scheduled for the next day. Since the boat was scheduled to depart at 9 a.m. and was limited to one flight per day, I set my alarm early. Cairns' downtown area is small and can be explored in about an hour. In addition, most of the hotels and hotels are concentrated on the coast, not far from the marina. It is worth mentioning that if you walk through the lively coastal streets of Cairns at night and see a surprising number of bats patrolling over the touristy boulevards, you will be amazed, but the early morning in Cairns is so silent that you can only hear the clear waves of the sea in the distance. Yachts of all sizes are docked on the marina, heading to different areas of the Great Barrier Reef.
Before boarding the Sun Lovers, which is the destination of the outer barrier reef, the crew warmly greeted us and took photos to commemorate the visitors in turn. More than half of the tourists who went to sea this time seem to be from China, and Australian tourists have become a minority. Perhaps given the sheer number of Chinese passengers, each yacht is equipped with a chinese crew that speaks Chinese. After the boat started, to avoid seasickness, I sat on the outer deck of the yacht, and in addition to feeling the strong blowing of the sea breeze, the sun was still scorching hot.
The Great Barrier Reef, made up of more than 2,900 individual reefs and more than 900 islands, is also the largest coral reef organization in the world. Coral reefs here are extremely widespread, with most of them spread around the island. According to statistics, there are more than 30 species of whales and dolphins, 400 species of corals, 1,500 species of fish, 5,000 species of molluscs, 10,000 species of sponges and other organisms that thrive in the Great Barrier Reef. The outer barrier reef, the destination of my trip, is one of the coral reefs. On its way to the Outer Barrier Reef, the Sun Lovers passed by a popular resort island, the Emerald Isle (similar islands include Green Island, Long Island, Dunker Island, Lindeman Island, Hamilton Island, etc.). Perhaps because of the convergence of coral reefs, the water near the island is a beautiful gem green when viewed from the yacht.
As the yacht moved closer to the docking station of the Outer Barrier Reef, the outline of the reef loomed in front of my eyes. Listening to the crew, corals will change different forms with climate, tide and wind, and coral reefs will form coral reefs, and then coral reefs will form coral islands. Corals also have a wide variety of colors, including deep red, dark blue, dark green, lilac and so on. In order to get closer to these diverse coral reefs, I plucked up the courage to sign up for diving and decided to experience something I had never experienced before in my life. Regarding diving, there are two types of diving here: one is a snorkel that includes all visitors to participate in the ticket, while the other is a deep dive that requires additional registration, basic instruction and a series of underwater tests, also known as scuba diving. Snorkelling requires only snorkels, diving goggles and fins, and much more equipment is involved in deep diving. The instructor first explained the basic knowledge of diving to us in detail, and then put on a series of diving equipment such as diving suits, gas cylinders, waist lead, etc., and led us to the formal launch.
For people who have never dived in water, the most important thing to overcome is undoubtedly psychological fear, but this fear turned into a surging energy after my body was completely immersed in the water. Under the guidance of the coach, we wandered among the coral reefs formed by soft corals, boulder corals, plate corals, etc., and at the same time saw many fish represented by the Great Barrier Reef, such as blue-billed dragons, six-banded caps, and clownfish that appeared in "Finding Nemo". Unfortunately, these lovely creatures are facing the most severe crisis in history under the threat of a series of environmental factors such as the greenhouse effect and water pollution. Because of this, the coach specifically told us not to touch these corals with our hands, because external stimuli may cause them to accelerate their extinction.
The Great Barrier Reef has existed in this world for tens of millions of years, and it is not only the pride of Australia, but also the wonder of the earth's natural world. Even if I only saw the tip of the iceberg of the Great Barrier Reef on this trip, in my opinion, it is like a treasure map that has been repeatedly baptized by the years, gently shake off the dust on it and you will find that every corner of the map is scattered with precious "treasures", and every corner is worth exploring carefully.
3. Aerial tramway in Kuranda
There are always many "firsts" in the process of traveling, such as the first time to take the world's longest aerial cable car (7.5 kilometers) to Kuranda and the Rainforest Park. Perhaps because of a light rain in the night, the hot weather was finally alleviated. Before reaching Kuranda's terminus, the cable car passes through two rainforest stations: Red Peak Station and Baron Falls Station. Barron Falls station is the most famous, and it is said that there are footprints of Australian Aboriginal tribes (Jakarta) who lived here.
Nestled in the rainforest of more than 1,000 feet north of Cairns, Kuranda is a small tourist town with "hidden in the wilderness". Walking on the streets of the town, you can feel the peaceful and peaceful atmosphere here. If you're lucky, you'll also be able to spot rare wildlife like blue butterflies, tree frogs, kingfishers, jungle turkeys, and more around the town. In addition, Kuranda Market, built in 1978, is a must-see place to buy handicrafts made by local hippie artists and craftsmen; sweets, desserts and honey are a major feature of Kuranda (people can witness the process of making candy in some candy shops and taste freshly baked handmade fudge and licorice, and the handmade ice cream here is another specialty).
Of course, there is also a valuable opportunity to engage with indigenous cultures that must not be missed in Kuranda. If you come across an Athertonian on the street blowing a Digeridoo, an Indigenous Australian, it shouldn't be a surprise, because it has long been their village. In Kuranda's pastures, they play instruments, sing and dance, or teach visitors to throw boomerangs.
In Kuranda, in addition to walking, there are also modified amphibious vehicles left over from World War II to take you over the mountains and experience the magnificence of the rainforest. According to the driver, this tropical rainforest covers an area of up to 900,000 hectares and stretches to the north Queensland coastline 500 kilometers away, making it one of the oldest and still surviving pristine rainforests on earth. When you climb to the top, in addition to having an open-minded feeling of "seeing the mountains and small mountains", all that remains is to feel in awe of these colorful lives created by nature. Just as the relationship between human beings and all things in the universe should be" that "first of all, we should regard them as equal life with us, as the creations of the wisdom of the universe, as the demonstrators of the beauty of the universe, and to fear them is to fear the universe, to fear nature, to fear ourselves." ”
On the way back, hop on Kuranda's unique scenic train and ride through 15 tunnels and 37 bridges built by hand. On both sides of these tunnels and bridges, monuments to the pioneers of north Queensland can be seen. The train has a total of 11 carriages (which look like the country's green-skinned train), and on the way, in addition to passing through the tropical rainforest, it will also pass through steep canyons and picturesque waterfalls. I think that if you can appreciate the beauty of the world in different ways, travel is more important than this.
Wind Object Archives
Keynes
Located on the east coast of Queensland, Australia, Cairns is a small coastal town with a population of only 150,000. It was first discovered in 1770 on captain James Cook's first voyage, and was subsequently formally established in 1876 against the backdrop of the "Gold Rush". With the development of Queensland after World War II, its own strategic location, and the establishment of Dante Airport in 1984, Cairns, a small city, has become one of the top five tourist destinations in Australia after Melbourne and Sydney.
Tourism is an important part of Cairns's economy, every quarter there will be groups of tourist groups or self-guided tourists to visit here for a holiday, and the most attractive of them is undoubtedly the Great Barrier Reef and Rainforest listed as a World Natural Heritage Site, and it is precisely because of the existence of the Great Barrier Reef and Tropical Rainforest that Cairns has been able to prosper today.
Cairns is a city with a tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of 2015.9 mm and an average high temperature from 25.7 °C in July (winter) to 31.4 °C in January (summer) of the following year. Mountains, bays, sandy beaches, mud marshes, wetlands, rivers, freshwater lakes, coastal plains and mangrove swamps are symbols of this diverse tropical landscape. In addition, Cairns also preserves a long history of indigenous culture, and in the small town of Kuranda, 25 kilometers away from Cairns, visitors can see the life of indigenous peoples and visit the remains of local indigenous civilizations.
Travel tips
1. Queensland's daylight saving time is 2 hours different from China's, and winter time is 1 hour's time difference.
2. Sunscreen and sunglasses are essential items when traveling in Australia, if you want to go to sea, you need to bring seasickness medicine and a towel.
3. Sailing will vary depending on the destination, but there will usually be Chinese interpreters on board.
4. Cairns hotels are mostly concentrated by the sea, and the price usually ranges from 100 to 300 Australian dollars per night.
5. There are fewer Chinese in Cairns city, and if it is a self-guided tour, tourists are required to have basic English communication skills.