We flew about 3 hours up to Cairns, North Queensland and did some snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef, of course, is amazing and there are something like 900 small islands throughout the region. Lots of fishies and trippy coral to enjoy and we went out to the Reef with a supposed "Eco-friendly" tour operator who operated a floating platform out in the ocean. Dunno how true the Eco-label was but at least we tried...
The area is an incredibly rich and diverse natural wonderland, with two World Heritage sites nearby: the Reef and also Daintree Rainforest, one of the -- if not THE -- oldest rainforest in the world.For a fun break, we also checked out the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, where we learned:
Butterflies can mate for up to 24 hours at a time; the male goes to sleep during coitus and the female flies around, carrying him upside down. Next lifetime, I'm coming back as a male Monarch Butterfly.
They really liked my glasses...and one might have laid eggs in my ear hair.
