franklyHANK in CAIRNS

G’day, all.  My next stop on my great Aussie adventure was Cairns.  Despite how it’s spelled, it’s pronounced CANNS.  I’m still getting it wrong, but I’m trying.  Cairns is on the east coast of Australia and very tropical.  It reminds me of a little beach town we would see in the states.  It’s also the closest major city to the Great Barrier Reef.

When I trecked out to the reef, our first stop was Green Island (below – click on any pic to make it bigger).  Look how beautiful the water is.  Amazing!  It’s a small island, but it has a hotel and you can stop there and snorkel and relax.  That was not my destination though.  I was headed to the outer reef.

I would love to share with you the pictures I took at the outer reef, but my underwater camera floated out of my pocket while I was snorkeling.    Whomever grabbed it, I hope you enjoy the pictures I took and may a plague descend upon your home for the next 20 years (that’s the Italian in me coming out).

There was a bright ending to the day though… once I was back on the boat to come back to Cairns from the reef, we spotted this amazing rainbow nearby.

More past the page break…

Something that truly surprised me about Cairns is in this picture below.  Do you know what that is flying in the sky?

Yep, they’re bats!  Fruit bats!  And there were hundreds if not thousands of them flying all around Cairns.  They are protected so hotels and the city can’t do anything about them.  They are apparently also in the Botanic Garden in Sydney, but I didn’t notice them.  Here’s a closer shot below.  Yuck!

I also made my way to the Cairns Tropical Zoo while I was in town.  You cannot pass by a koala and not stare.  They are so cute and appear to be lovable.  They are actually cranky little pains in the you know what.  They eat leaves all day and sleep the rest of the time.  That’s all they do.  Must be nice.  I took a picture holding one of the koalas, but I’m saving that for when I am back on the show.

And finally… you can’t come to Australia without seeing one of the fiercest creatures that lives here…the crocodile.  They are some scary looking guys.  Wow!  Check out those teeth.

More from Cairns on the CAIRNS page.  Just click the link here or click on the CAIRNS banner at the top of the page.  Next on to Hamilton Island located in the Great Barrier Reef.  See ya soon!!!