Bailer Shell
Blue Spotted Ray
Giant Clam
Green Turtle
Hawaiian Triggerfish
Octopus
Parrotfish
Rabbitfish and Sweetlips
Rabbitfish
Six Bar Angel
Snorkling couple
Sunset...
Yellow Goby
A young model...
Cairns Marine Aquarium fish holding
tanks
This is a rare Deepwater
Anthius that they had caught while diving with
specialized re-breathing diving equipment. It was the first
one they had ever caught.
Julian and Douglas... He spent quite some time with the
boys
showing them all sorts of marine animals and explaining all about
them.
They also had Kimba
which is a Leopard Shark that is missing it's spots!
In the USA, these sharks are called Zebra Sharks
because they have stripes when they are small. The stripes
break up into spots as they grow up. They get to about 9
feet long.
Coming to Green Island
Ferry approaching the island...
First Coral Reef
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There are photos from Green Island. It was Douglas and D'Arcy's first attempt at snorkeling and they took to it like fish. |
First snorkel
snorkeling...
and snorkeling...
Goodbye to Green Island
Grammy and Doug
Cape Tribulation
Coming back to the mainland...
Green Island Ferry
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On the second last day before we left Cairns, we went on a trip to the Daintree Rainforest. It is the oldest rainforest on earth and is estimated to be over 120 million years old. There are a large number of very ancient species of trees and plants and also a large number of endemic animals. On the way to the rainforest we passed through a large area of sugar cane farms. When the cane is cut down, it is taken to the mills by the cane trains. These are narrow gauge rail trains that haul the cars full of freshly cut sugar cane to the mills. Thomas the Tank Engine fans will like these.
We stopped at Mossman River Gorge and saw Jungle Perch in the water while we paddled.  Mossman River Gorge
Cassowaries are quite rare these days hence the road sign warning of the danger by vehicles on the road. It is believed that there are only about 1000 of them left in the rainforest. It is a big problem because there are several species of trees that rely on the Cassowary eating their fruits to germinate the seeds.
We cruised on the Daintree River and got to see a couple of Crocodiles and an Amethystine Python... |
Daintree River danger
King Fern in the rainforest.
We saw a large variety of interesting plants and trees.
The king Fern is the largest species of fern.
Each frond can grow to over 30 feet long.
Fruit Bat
Red Torch Ginger
Corkscrew vine
Fan dancer
Fan Palm Forest
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We went as far as Cape Tribulation. Although it looks wonderful for a swim, the warning signs about marine stingers are there for a reason. The box jellyfish occurs around here and the sting from these is excruciatingly painful and often lethal. |
Warning sign
Welcome sign
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Douglas and D'Arcy in front of 'Puffing Billy' (east of Melbourne) |
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The family on board Puffing Billy |
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Hitching a ride... |
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A Kookaburra |
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Melbourne city |
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Melbourne Aquarium |
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Melbourne Aquarium |
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Melbourne Aquarium |
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Cairns Market |
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Mango tasting... |
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Where we stayed in Cairns (Uncle Anthony's house)... |
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As you can see, the architecture is much different that in the U.S. -- it is a very open house with lots of open doors and windows. The dining room is on the veranda. It's always warm to hot up here, so the design helps to keep you cool with breezes. Almost all of the houses are built up off the ground so that cooling breezes can flow under the house as well. |
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At Uncle Anthony house there is a big White-Lipped Tree Frog that lives behind one of their pictures in the living room. He comes out at night to help the geckos get the various bugs. |
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There are quite a few cool insects that live with them too... |
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The Great Barrier Reef residents -- off the shore of Cairns |
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Tony C. from ICE AXE KIDS and some old friends on a previous adventure to Australia... |
Koala