Australia 2008 – Fitzroy Island
Our last excursion from Cairns was a trip to the nearby Fitzroy Island. There is a daily passenger ferry ride from Cairns harbour to this small island. The tickets were discounted due to the fact that the resort on the island was closed for renovations, though I’m not sure why that is a deterrent. During the renovations they were using the resort to house Australia’s “Biggest Loser” competition. It appears as though the renovations did not help in making the resort profitable.
Once we arrived we rented stinger suits and followed a trail around the island to a secluded beach south of the dock and resort area. Above is a view of the mainland with Cairns harbour around the point.
We brought our own snorkel gear, of course. That is why we lug it around the world. However, when it comes to stinger suits, we are at the mercy of the local rental shops. The stinger suits on Fitzroy were much more stylish than the ones we got on the reef boats.
The water wasn’t as clear as further out on the reefs but there were a lot more turtles here.
Matthew has been getting better at diving down while snorkelling. Here he is checking out one of the many turtles we found off the beach.
The turtles didn’t seem to mind us too much as long as we kept a comfortable distance. They looked like they were always planning an escape route in case things go sideways, and they can really move if they are in a hurry.
There were a few coral formations around the rocky areas but most of the area was clear “sand” (where by “sand” I mean jagged dead coral). Obviously there used to be a lot of live coral there at some time in the past.
Matthew and Ria when climbing around looking for ants to eat.
I found some. Mmmm, tasty.
On our walk back from the beach we found this spider just hanging out in a web the size of my car. We must have walked right by it on the way to the beach. Ria got right up close to take photos of this beast – she is fearless and was lucky to make it out with her camera.