Written and Compiled by Robert D. Stephens          Page 4
 

December 1: We left on a three hour flight to Cairns, a resort community on the northeast coast by the Great Barrier Reef.  From the airport, we drove up to Kuranda, a small village in the mountains south of Cairns.  This was a village of tourist shops with some selling Aboriginal art, boomerangs and decorated musical instruments, reminiscent of Adventure Land. 

We had lunch at the Frog Restaurant.  After parting with some good Aussie dollars for boomerangs and didgeridoos, we headed to a petting zoo where we got to photograph crocodiles, koalas, snakes, wallabies and lizards.  For an extra $5, you got to hold the koala.

Later we drove through Cairns to the Cairns Colonial Club, a resort near the beach.  It was very hot and humid, which was not helped when the power failed right before dinner.  

December 2:  We left at 9:00 AM for the docks at Cairns.  We rode out to the Great Barrier Reef on a large catamaran operated by Quicksilver.  We had two stops along the way before heading for the third reef of the Agincott Reef, northeast of Port Douglas.  There, Quicksilver had set up a floating dock for scuba, snorkeling, helicopter rides and a semi-submersible boat. 

We arrived about noon.  Steve Edberg and I signed up for the guided snorkeling tour conducted by a marine biologist.  We got better masks and wetsuits that those snorkeling in the area set aside for general swimming.  Swimming out from the dock, the guide showed us samples of Mushroom Coral, Piate Coral, Staghorn Coral, Coral Polyps, Cucumbers, and Giant Clams.  The guided tour lasted a little over an hour.

After lunch, we went to the public snorkeling area and had a lot of fun exploring that part of the reef. 

That night before dinner, we checked the weather prospects for the eclipse with Dennis di Cicco.  The prospects were rated as very good!