The Great Barrier Reef

October 3rd, 2006 Bridgewater Apartments, Brisbane, Australia
What a weekend! And again I am pooped.
After we were done with everything that needed to be completed on Friday, twenty-four of us loaded into maxi-taxis and went to the airport. I sat up front in one and began talking with the driver. I failed to learn his name, but for the thirty or so minutes to the airport, we carried on a very lively and thoughtful conversation. Originally hailing from Turkey, he met an Australian woman who was on vacation in his country, moved here fifteen years ago, and married her. Before being here, he worked on ships, sailing around the world. Not a bad job at all, at least from my perspective. I asked if he was Muslim, and he nodded.
“Have you made the journey to Mecca?” I asked.
He laughed and, with a version of the Mediterranean shrug, said, “I’m not that serious.”
We discussed religion a little further, the culmination of which was his saying, “The best religion is common sense,” and tapped his forehead. We moved to politics, and his opinion was you must look after your own country and home before looking to go elsewhere. A fair observation, I thought.
The flight from Brisbane to Mackay (pronounced Muh-kie) took around two hours. I was able to recline and read. As I approached the Jet Star desk in Brisbane, the jovial little lady working the ticket counter asked if I preferred window or aisle.
“Aisle, please,” I said, adding jocularly, “I have long legs and need to stretch.”
“Well then,” she said smiling, “I’ll just put you in the emergency exit row.”
I really wanted to hug her. I had the entire emergency exit row to myself, and it was glorious. And I was happy.
On our arrival in Mackay, we disembarked in that enjoyable way in which you walk down a set of stairs rolled up to the doors and walk across the runway. The Mackay Airport was one of the best I have ever seen, and not because of what it contained, but because of what it didn’t. It had only one restaurant in it and was just designed in a comfortable, inviting way. It had only one floor and there was just something about the atmosphere. All I’m saying is that it was neat.
We again took maxis to the Greyhound Bus Station in town. The airport is rather in the middle of nowhere, and so is the town. It was kind of dead, but I liked it. We had some time to kill before we began our two hour bus ride, during which I finished Christianity Rediscovered. Let me again say how amazing this book is: this book is amazing! I again recommend it to all. There is barely a page in it where I haven’t underlined something. I’ll miss reading it, actually.
We arrived in Airlie Beach around 7 o’clock. It was a pretty happn’ town. A biker convention was convening at that time, and the place just seems to be where the youth of Australia and all the backpackers commune. I liked it, or at least some of it. I can’t say I’m a huge bar kind of guy, and this place was full of them with some pretty shady people stumbling around outside. One girl “accidentally” fell into me as I was walking down the street. Other than that, it’s a cool place.
Seventeen of the group had booked rooms before we arrived, and that place was now full. The first place my little posse (six of us) tried was completely booked. I walked ahead, scouting out places before finding Magnum’s Backpackers. The rooms were only $16 a night, which was much cheaper than the rest of the group’s place. Those times of Dad making me and Caleb Meeks check out places during our trip through Ireland has certainly paid off. Four of us were put in a room together, but there were no other beds available in that particular dormitory. I opted to go by myself in one, thinking some people probably wouldn’t be comfortable being by themselves. I dropped off the pillow and sheet I was given and we headed into the town.
It was lively that night, but we did find some good eating at Cantina, a Mexican place. We then turned in early, because a full day was ahead of us.
I think the rooms must be a little dirty, because I became fairly stopped up over the weekend and my throat tightened to the point where I nearly lost my voice. Upsetting, yes, but I coped. Anyway, moving on…
I awoke at 6:45 and showered, and grabbed my things. The six of us (Darren, Heidi, Katie, Will, Felicity, and me) met and went to Shute Harbour where we boarded our Discovery Cruise boat for island-hopping. It was a beautiful day for such an activity. Our first destination was Long Island. The dock was attached to a wooden walkway which wrapped around the bay to a little resort surrounded by palm trees. We had a couple of hours on the island and went to the beach. However, we followed the wrong path and ended up hiking halfway up a mountain. It was rather nice, but not what we intended, so we promptly turned around, once we discovered we were still climbing with no sign of descending to water, and found our way to the rocky beach. For the remainder of the time, I explored a small peninsula on which sat a large tower of rocks. I climbed all over it, viewing the sea which swept around the Whitsundays (the name given by Captain James Cook to the grouping of islands).
Our boat then continued on to Hamilton Island, which was by far my favorite island of the trip. After a fish-and-chips lunch on the harbor, we hopped on a free bus to the other side of the island where we found one of the most spectacular beaches I have ever seen. A long expanse of white sand was overlapped by the clearest blue water, which remained waist-deep over thirty yards out. And the water was warm. A small island of rocks sprouted from the depths and I spent some time entertaining my inner child by leaping from the (safe) precipices of the stones into the water below. For quite some time, we simply swam around, crawling through the soft, squishy sand. Somehow, the banter took on the subject of stretch marks. I have two rather noticeable stretch marks running below my shoulders on both sides, and pointed them out, eager to join in the discussion, for some odd reason. Felicity brightened, pleased by the educational opportunity to view an example of the topic of conversation.
“Oh,” she said enthusiastically, “is that from when you used to have muscles?”
Ohburned. I quietly sank beneath the surface of the water to contemplate what I had just heard. Felicity since explained that she meant to refer to when I used to lift weights. Admirable explanation, I thought, but was it true? Hmmm……..
Our last destination of this glorious day was Daydream Island. It was the most touristy of the three, but still very attractive. The resort area contained a small lagoon, in which a variety of fish, including sharks and manta rays (not really a fish, but I’m including it here). We walked along the beach where we saw three statues of mermaids, symbolizing the enchanting dreamlike ambiance of the island. As we drew closer, we realized that instead of being mermaids from, say, the filmstrips of Disney, they were more like mermaids from the stripper-filled pages of Playboy. Awkward, we thought, as we walked away.
On the other side of the island was a very elaborate putt-putt golf course, and each of the nineteen holes was decorated in some theme of Australia, such as Ayers Rock, or the Sydney Opera House, or Ned Kelly, or the Outback. It was a very fun course, and I wasn’t too bad actually. Well….nevermind. During one of the courses, a song was played over the loudspeakers that made me smile. It was by a band called Enigma, which consisted of a blend of Gregorian chants and a techno-styled beat. Most will probably not recognize this talented group, but for those who do, I salute you.
That night we ate at the Café Mykonos, and I had a gyro with tzatziki. And I missed Greece with every bite. For dessert was baklava and I imagined sitting in the Plaka of Athens with the accordions and violins wailing in the background and the Parthenon standing triumphantly atop the Acropolis. But then I woke up and I was in Australia, and I had no problems with that either.
A few of us played billiards for awhile before retiring for the night. I and the other member of the party who had been in other rooms were able to switch into Room 28 with the rest of our gang. Felicity taught me to play a card game called Speed, which I remembered from long ago. I caught on quickly, but she seemed to very much enjoy making me look pathetic. Katie and Heidi seemed to enjoy that also.
We again awoke early and again went to the harbor and again boarded a boat, but this time we were going somewhere else. We were onboard Fantasea Cruises and were going to ReefWorld, which was stationed alongside the largest living organism that is the Great Barrier Reef. It was a two hour ride into the middle of nowhere, leaving all visibility of land far behind. As we drove past portions of the reef, the water turned to different shades of blue and green, creating a very pleasing visual smorgasbord. Anchored to the reef was ReefWorld, which was a rectangular pontoon. The boat docked beside it and we unloaded. It was quite an experience being out there. A hole had been cut in the floor to see beneath the pontoon. Gigantic groupers floated creepily in the water below. Bill Bryson described these monsters as the kind of fish that bites off human appendages and then realizes it really doesn’t like the taste of human flesh. Katie, who was the only certified diver among us, was able to go scuba-diving, and I was rather jealous. However, Darren, Heidi, Will, and Pierre (who joined our group for this occasion) all paid $90 to scuba-dive with an instructor. I decided against paying that price. A glassed room allowed a spectacular view of the assortment of fish swimming nearby, and there was also a semi-submersible submarine which took us alongside the reef. And then there was snorkeling.
I picked out fins and a mask and snorkel (we were all given our own mouthpiece, which I have kept), as well as a life vest, and then jumped in. I felt an amazing sensation as I floated above the reef, which rested only a foot beneath my face. Maybe it was just because the water was cold, but I think not. The corals moved as I passed, and the clams quickly closed as they sensed my presence. Colorful fish darted beneath me. I talked to myself underwater, saying, “I can’t believe I’m swimming over the Great Barrier Reef!” I eventually took off my vest so I could dive down next to the cliff side of the reef. I then retrieved the jacket so I could continue to explore the top of the reef. As I excitedly viewed every thing possible, I became aware of something hammering into the side of my leg.
“Oh no!” I thought. “It’s something poisonous and I’m going to die!”
I turned around to see a small fish staring me down. Evidently, I was on his turf…or anemone. It then began to bite my leg again, so I moved on. I looked back, and it was still glaring at me.
Once I was finished swimming, I changed and stood on the deck looking at the colors and the reef beneath the water. I say again: it was amazing. It definitely became a highlight of my travel experiences. I have a lot of those, actually.
The trip back to civilization wasn’t a pleasant one. The mixture of a pounding headache and allergies and the extreme conditions of the waves led me to feel a bit woozy. I closed my eyes and breathed through my mouth, resting my head on the table in front of me. It was unfortunate, because the television screen was showing episodes of Mr. Bean. I am proud to say I didn’t regurgitate any of the five buttered rolls I ate for lunch.
Dinner was at Cactus Jack’s, another Mexican place. We watched the end of the rugby championship between Melbourne and Brisbane, and Brisbane won. This is like the Super Bowl or college basketball championship. It’s big. The rest of the night was spent playing cards and visiting with two Dutch girls who were backpacking through Australia for a few weeks. I have been asked to note that supposedly I am attracted to girls from Holland, and they were no exception. But anyway, that’s beside the point. The point is……well, there wasn’t really a point. They were friendly.
I didn’t wake up until 9:30 Monday morning. We all packed up and checked out by 10 and then spent the day walking through town, perusing through the shops. Fish and chips were again for lunch, and they were good. They were wrapped in sheets of newspaper, which is the way it should be. And I was happy. I found a few bookstores, which is always a plus. I bought Patrick O’Bryan’s Master and Commander, which was the basis for the incredible movie. O’Bryan is often cited as the greatest historical novelist ever, and I was eager to check it out. There are eighteen books in the series. I found a copy of Sahara by Clive Cussler (the basis for a very fun action movie) at a used bookstore. It was only after purchasing it that I realized I should have bought a book in which I didn’t know the ending. I wanted a good mystery. Oh well, it still looks good.
Katie bought a Frisbee and we threw it on the beach for awhile. Unfortunately, it was a piece of junk and the wind was ridiculously merciless. The Frisbee was just too light. You’d think a sporting nation like Australia would have a decent Frisbee! We did our best under the conditions, but even two seasoned pros such as ourselves were beaten by Mother Nature. Dirty words.
At 3 we boarded the Greyhound to Mackay. I slept most of the way. We sat in that fabulous airport until our flight. As we got off the plane, I saw that the elderly lady in front of me was carrying a book by Clive Cussler. I pointed out I had just bought one of his books. We carried on a conversation about books and I realized that I was using an Australian accent. And not only that, but I got away with it! Yeah, I did. I always wanted to try that. It reminded me of the time when, in Ireland, my mom called the cell phone we had and I convinced her I was an Irish guy working for the phone company. That was fun.
It was strange being back in Brisbane. We all said, “Ah, it’s good to be home.” A different kind of home, but still home in a way. Poor Will was left behind. He didn’t realize his flight was a different time, and not only different, but at 7 o’clock tonight. Bummer for him.
I awoke at 9:30 this morning and ran. Felicity then accompanied me into town. We both had to do research for our presentations on the walking tours. We explored Brisbane, searching for our respective places. Mine was the Church House, which sat next to St. John’s Cathedral. Felicity’s was the Orient Hotel. Having completed our mission, we returned to Kangaroo Point and I was able to eat lunch and sit still for a little while.
At 1 o’clock, the whole group met once again. And then we returned to the city for the continuation of our tours. Anna Justus regaled us with the history of the oldest Church of Christ (which is actually the equivalent of the Disciples of Christ in the States; Churches of Christ Non-denominational would be what Harding would affiliate itself with) in Queensland. Felicity then spoke on her recently acquired knowledge of the Orient Hotel (a hotel in Australia is a bar). We then moved to the Customs House, presented by Chesley, and the Queensland Country Life Building, presented by Darren. Very interesting stuff, I must say, but not necessary to write about in detail. We found a quiet place near Customs House where we had class for awhile. Bible was again very enlightening, discussing theology and the extreme hesitation missionaries have in letting people form their own interpretations of the Bible. Not only do we want to present the Gospel, but we also want to say, “And this is how you should view that…” My parents taught me to think critically (which is different than criticizingly, which isn’t actually a word, but it works) about things I heard, and to ask questions about EVERYTHING. I think I very much appreciate that. I was able to talk with Rich during the ferry ride back to the Holman Street Dock. It was good to talk for a few minutes.
I spent the evening reading for classes the next day. I read Bryson’s book out loud to a few people, who, supposedly, think my voice is quite enjoyable to listen to. Kinda neat. I turned in my first paper to Dr. Byram earlier. Only three more to go!
There is a lot to be said for weekend excursions to beaches, but there is something about sitting in the familiar surroundings of one’s flat, listening to good music and knowing that there is a very lovely bed with two soft pillows just waiting to envelop you as you gently drift to Daydream Island……….but without the red-light district mermaids, because they were awkward.