Author: Carol Laird

What an amazing day!  The day started with an early morning pickup at 6:45 am to head to the catamaran destined for the outer reef.  After several days of cool weather, we were excited to have such a warm day – definitely a sunscreen day! The Great Barrier Reef comprises of 2900 individual reefs and 71 coral cays and its ecosystem supports the greatest concentration of life on the planet. (another World Heritage Unesco site) We boarded the boat and sailed out about 40 km to Hastings reef where we slipped on wet suits and spent the morning snorkeling around the coral reef – taking in the sights of a variety of shells and fish; including some giant clams and many large neon colored parrot fish to name a few.  

After lunch we moved to Breaking Patches reef for more snorkeling adventure.  The sights were too spectacular to describe.  At times we just lay on the water looking deep below us feeling like we were watching a movie going on right before us. Our only regret, forgetting Mykee’s GoPro! Ok, so we already determined we were going to go back one day and the next time it would be with an underwater camera 🙂

Queensland, Australia

Today Jamie and I went up in the smallest plane we’ve ever been in for the first time in our
lives! We got the privilege of getting a ride in the 8 seater single engine plane that our friend flies.  Jason is a pilot with Missions Aviation Fellowship and lives in a remote community on Elcho Island in northern Australia. He took us to their MAF base in Mareeba (60 km from Cairns) so we could go up and experience something he does every day.

Australia

“MAF is a not-for-profit team of aviation professionals providing air transport in places of deepest human need – remote places where flying is not a luxury, but a lifeline. For over 60 years, MAF has flown over jungles, mountains, swamps and deserts to bring thousands of men, women and children medical care, emergency relief, long-term development and Christian hope.” (MAF Australia)

It was amazing to get the bird’s view of the banana plantations, mountains and forests in the rich tablelands of northern Queensland.  It’s hard to beat the sights from above, but our next stop was a walk through the spectacular tropical rainforest to a viewpoint to see the cascading Barron Falls in the Barron Gorge National Park. The rainforest is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland  that stretches along the north-east coast of Australia for some 450 km – a World Heritage Unesco Site! The waterfalls were at a lower level at this time of year but the plant life seemed to take us back to a jungle setting where you were sure Tarzan would come swinging past on one of the many hanging vines. And the only animal life we saw was the wild turkeys that just had to be chased!

Barron Gorge National Park, Kuranda QLD 4881, Australia