Our life in Tropical North Queensland

Many of our friends don’t believe us when we say that we don’t have time to do much. CairnsUnlimited.com, VisitarAustralia.es, but mostly our Cairns Digital Underwater Camera Rental business keep us busy every single hour of the day. But it’s unforgivable to live in this fabulous part of the world and not take advantage of its wonders. So when Down Under Dive, one of the many diving companies which visit the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, invited us to go on a day tour with them, we left all our responsibilities behind and got ready for a fun day out. About time, isn’t it?

Of course, taking a day off is not easy and we have to work extra hours the day before, getting the cameras ready for deliveries on the day after, replying to all the emails that were on our inbox, etc. And the morning of the cruise was an early rise as well, only to make sure everything was under control.

But finally we got down to the Reef Fleet Terminal, where we met some of the Down Under Dive crew and in no time we were on the boat, heading to the Outer Reef. We were treated like royalty, having the chance to do as much or as little as we wanted to. And to make the most of the day, we did as much as we could: snorkelling, diving, helicopter flight… I had the chance to do two introductory dives, the kind of dives that you do if you’re not certified, which I’m not. For all of you who come to Australia and want to try diving for the first time, don’t hesitate, it’s wonderful and fairly easy. My instructor Marcus (Steve decided that beer and diving weren’t compatible and he didn’t have the heart to abandon his best friend, called beer) gave us a brief before diving, where he explained in detail what you need to do in order to dive safely. And he also showed us a few hand signals, so we could always communicate with each other underwater. And once in the water he always kept an eye on everyone, I felt very safe and I recommend it to every one.

But apart from diving and seeing wonderful coral and fish, we also had plenty of time to go snorkel (it seems beer and snorkelling are not enemies. I think the reasons for Steve not diving are others, but he’ll never admit it). We saw some of the most incredible coral formations, colourful fish and impressive giant clams. Unreal how if you touch one of those clams, they will immediately close themselves to avoid attacks. Even Nemo was waiting for us.

After snorkelling, diving, talking to great people on the boat, sunbathing, eating and drinking, it was time to head home. And that was when Elvis took over the whole boat, singing, playing guitar, but mostly making people laugh. I couldn’t choose my favourite moment of the day, but Elvis’ show was one of the highlights. Only one complaint, he has to learn a song for the Spaniards.

And here you have some of our fav pics of that day. Of course, they were taken with one of our wonderful underwater cameras.

As usual, we have been very busy, but we have somehow managed to find time to meet some of our customers, that, as you can see in the photos, had already become good friends by the end of their stay.

Nacho and Cristina are from Barcelona, Spain, and Nacho contacted me a while ago because he wanted everything to turn out good. This was his first trip with Cristina and Austalia was his whole idea, so he couldn’t fail. They first went to Sydney to visit their friends Dan and Paula (also in the photo) and later came to Tropical North Queensland, stopping along the way in MISSION BEACH, CAIRNS and CAPE TRIBULATION. I think their favourite spot was Mission Beach, they were lucky enought to find a room in Scotty’s Beach House Backpackers Hostel, the place where we slept when we were making our way to Cairns from Brisbane. Don’t you remember? No dramas, check our previous blogs.

We went out with them for lunch, along with their friends Dan and Paula, Aussie and Spanish, and we enjoyed a really beautiful Mexican lunch. Loyal to the Spanish tradition, we finished our lunch and stayed in the restaurant long after, sharing travel stories, different points of view about various subjects, and just enjoying ourselves. I was very sad when we had to say goodbye, for some reason I felt I was saying goodbye to old friends. I hope they come back very very soon, otherwise we will have to go to Barcelona and see them. Good luck with all your project, guys, you deserve it!

Ana and Elias live in Sydney and came to Tropical North Queensland to celebrate Ana’s birthday. Happy birthday, “guapa”! I had been in touch with Ana long before they planned their trip to Cairns, we both belong to an online community of Spanish expats, so we had chatted on the phone and exchanged emails a few of times. But when Ana decided she wanted to visit this wonderful part of Australia, mostly because she wanted to go on one of the many DIVING TRIPS to the Great Barrier Reef, she contacted me and asked for our help. We put together a nice itinerary for them and during their time in CAIRNS, they also visited KURANDA, the DAINTREE RAINFOREST, the GREAT BARRIER REEF, and today they are in PORT DOUGLAS. Ana doesn’t know yet, it is a surprise Elias has organised for her, but they are staying in these beautiful apartments, Lychee Tree Holiday Apartments and later on they’re going for a beautiful Aboriginal show with dinner in the middle of the Rainforest. Have a really good time, guys!!! Poor Ana really wanted to go scuba diving and they booked a trip through us with one of the many diving companies. But she felt really sick on the way and didn’t feel like diving. And the crew were so nice than Ana got a refund. Isn’t it awesome? I hope they can come back and try again, it is really worth it.

And we also met with another great couple, Maria Jose and Fernando. It is a shame we didn’t take any photos when we shared a few drinks with them, but they have promised to send us some pics when they go back home. They only wanted to go snorkelling, so we booked them with one company that only does snorkelling so you can be assured that you will be taken to coral reefs suitable for snorkellers. And they had the time of their life!!! Today they should be on a SCENIC FLIGHT over the WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS, spending some time on WHITEHAVEN BEACH. Guys, let us know how everything went.

And of course, their trip to the Reef was even more enjoyable because they rented from us one of our great DIGITAL UNDERWATER CAMERAS. If you are thinking of scuba diving or snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, don’t miss the oportunity of renting one of our latest model 7.1 megapixels digital underwater cameras for much less than you think. Have a look at the photo of the camera and if you are still hesitant, why don’t you