The Amazing, Beautiful Great Barrier Reef

Wow. I am sitting in another internet cafe right now, this time in the center of Cairns, a tacky but well-intentioned hive of tourists and backpacker-oriented attractions. After almost three weeks on the road with my dirty little crew of anarchist travellers, I finally broke off yesterday to start my descent back down the coast. I was going to leave them two nights earlier, but they talked me into coming with them into the Atherton tablelands for a couple of days, reassuring me that it was a really easy hitch back to Cairns, and I'm glad I did. After crossing the ferry back from the Daintree, we stopped briefly in Cairns to re-up our supplies and then headed west. Our first stop off was Barron Gorge National Park, where we crashed in the parking lot for a very cold night. In the morning it quickly warmed back up, though, and soon it was blazingly hot- until I went for a walk in the woods. The thick rainforests were cool and calm and unbelievebly lush, just like all the other "bush" I've seen so far. I wanted to stay a lot longer, but felt guilty for ditching the group and possibly holding everyone up for too long, so I hiked around for a couple of hours before I reluctantly re-joined the posse. We eventually got all our stuff together and headed on, this time turning off only 7 km up the road at Davies Creek National Park. It was totally different, but just as stunning. There were just enormous boulders everywhere and when we drove higher up the mountain we were suddenly overlooking really beauiful waterfalls that collected in smaller pools that were perfect for splashing in before cascading the rest of the way down the mountain. I really wanted to take pictures of this place but hadn't thought to grab my camera on the way out of the car, not realizing how amazing it all would be. We had agreed to go back up and take some pictures before leaving again the next day, but when it was time to do so Kaz had a minor freakout and basically harassed me and Jo out of it, saying that there was no way they were ever going to get anywhere if we went up to take pictures for 30 minutes. So that was annoying, but so it goes.
From there, it was time for me to split off, and they dropped me at the nearest servo (that's a gas station for all us yankees), where the woman behind the counter kindly charged my phone and the first guy I asked kindly gave me a ride all the way back to Cairns (it actually wasn't that far, but still- it was nice!). He was an older dude with three grown kids and he was headed to Cairns to pack up his youngest son's apartment, cause apparently his son had had to move south really quickly to take a new job so there ya have it. I helped him move this funny little boat thing from one garage to another and he dropped me right in the center of town, easy as that. I'm hoping my luck is as good the rest of the way down- Cairns to Sydney is a long way!
But anyway, as far as WHY, after two whole days, I'm still in this hellishly hetero and touristy town- three words: Great Barrier Reef. It's the same reason everyone is here, really- and after going snorkelling in it today, I can fully understand why.
I managed to find a pretty affordable deal- $75 for a full day on a boat in the outer reef, including all snorkelling equipment, instruction, lunch, and a glass-bottomed boat ride to boot... it was totally worth it! I have always had a pretty healthy fear/ respect for the ocean and have NEVER been able to swim with my head under the water, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't really be able to do it. But it was actually really easy and now I am really motivated to get a lot more comfortable and skillful in the ocean- what is right under the surface is so incredible! Above the water the weather was actually pretty bad- totally grey, rough surface, and even a bit of rain- but as soon as I jumped in and stuck my face in the water I realized that to the fish, it was the same as any other day, and they totally were not afraid of me at all! I simply could not believe the amazing, flourescent colors that were flying all around me; there was soft, undulating coral in bright greens, neon purples and pinks, yellow- and all the fish were just as gorgeous. I saw enormous oysters big enough to swallow me, breathing (or eating?) through little round openings in their furry purple craws. And best of all, I spotted a green turtle who totally let me get close enough to pet its back when coming up for air, before going back down to keep foraging for food. It seemed like every time I turned around I was suddenly in the midst of a massive school of tiny, glowing minnows or directly above a gigantic, color-changing fish whose skin can best be described as reminiscent of those hypercolor jackets that were really popular in 5th grade (circa 1991- does anyone even know what I'm talking about?)....
Anyway, the ride back was considerably less fabulous, with the boat pitching and rocking all over the place- more than a few people were losing their lunches into the tiny paper sick bags the crew was frantically passing out. But I was totally cheered up by an adorable little Austrian boy whose unbridled enthusiasm for EVERYTHING was infectious, and I got really into cheering when a massive wave would send a huge peal of water slamming into the window across from us. All in all, a great experience- if anyone has any doubt about how important and incredible this is as an ecosystem, come and see it for yourself and I would dare you to say that saving it isn't crucial.
Anyway, that's been my past few days- I hope yours have been even half as gorgeous and inspiring as mine have been! I've been creating a new "to-do list" that I WILL start following up on- 1. Write a screenplay about Anne Bonny and Mary Read (look 'em up if ya don't know); 2. learn to use the Reason program to make my own music. 3. Learn to finally play the bass & guitar 4. Get fluent in Spanish 5. Learn to breakdance.
Yeah yeah, a lot of these have been on my list for ages, but you know what? I'm tired of waiting around and putting things off! What the hell else am I going to do for the next year?! I've got the time and I'm going to make the most of it, come hell or high water. Ya'll better hold me to it.