From: drc@coelho.COM (david r coelho)
Subject: SUMMARY OF AUSTRALIA TRIP INFO
Organization: Coelho Publications, Fremont, CA USA
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 03:07:36 GMT

Thanks to all who sent me email, the following summarizes the
responses I received:

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uunet!ctt.bellcore.com!secure.bellcore.com!chazx

I was in Australia last spring and you are in for some great diving. The way
I did it was to spend a week on a live-aboard called the "Spoilsport". It is
an awesome boat and the diving we did was great. The boat is big and beautiful
and the crew was the best part of the trip. The name Spoilsport is appropriate
because they really do spoil you. The Spoilsport is based in Townsville. Mike
Ball who owns the Spoilsport also has two other boats, but they can not
compare to the Spoilsport. If you want to do a live aboard it is the only
choice IMO. I did some day trips from Cairns and the diving was nice but if I
go back I'll spend all my time on the Spoilsport.

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uunet!cardinal.ICS.UCI.EDU!steph

I went to Cairns in May and I had a wonderful time.
I highly recommend the "Rum Runner" which goes out
to the Coral Sea.  Great boat, great crew, and awesome
diving.

But, _TAKE A COMPUTER_!!!! Charlie, our captain/divemaster
planned multi-level dives that frankly scarred the crap out
of me.  It's much safer to have a dive computer (my own opinion
of course).

Other things to do in Cairns -- I had a lot of fun white
water rafting.  They run day and multi-day trips (depending
on what time of year you go, end of the year is going to be
summer, I suspect they will only run single day trips as it is
"off" season.

I also dove the Taka II, a great barrier reef (cod hole) dive
trip.  The Taka II is a reconditioned fishing tub.  It's main
selling point was that it was much cheaper than the
Agressor trip.  On the other hand, the Agressor just might
be worth the extra money.  I don't know.  Also, the Agressor
involved a trip to Lizard Island on a "tiny" airplane.

About Cairns, its a tourist town and you can (if you want to)
stay for very little money.  If you book your dive trip through
the hostel, they will probably let you stay there for free.
If you want fancy hotels, they have those too --- I never
went in them.

Have a great trip,
and (if you go) please tell the crew of the Rum Runner
I sent you their way.

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uunet!rpi.edu!waitsc

My wife and I were in Cairns in June. She is a non-diver so
we took one day and went out on the Quicksilver. They tie
up to a floating platform for snorkeling and a small dive
boat goes off from there. This particular day there were
about 75 snorklers or "sunners" on board and only 5 divers.
Diving was fair at about 55-60 feet. On another day I went
out with another dive operation on a smaller boat that was
more crowded. The problem in Cairns is that the reef is a
long way out and the boat ride seems interminable. We followed
that up with a week on Heron Island departing from Gladstone.
Heron Island is right on the reef and the diving is excellent.
Easy to do 2-3 dives per day at 50-60 feet. At low tide there
are guided walks on the reef surface that are fun and give
you a different perspective. There is also a semi-submersible
(boat with standard hull only made of glass so you sit below
the water line) -but that's Heron Island.
We took a side tour to the Daintree, a tropical rain forest
from Cairns and it was something we hadn't seen before. It 
took all day in a 4 wheel drive vehicle over a dirt road
ending with a boat trip down the river. TAKE INSECT REPELLENT!

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uunet!wtcd.daytonoh.ncr.com!cbrown

My SO and I visited Australia last December and enjoyed an excellent trip on a
Live Aboard with Mike Ball Diving Enterprises out of Cairns (Port Douglas). In
addition to our diving (which also included a trip with Mike Ball out of
Townsville), we thoroughly enjoyed a guided tour through Daintree Rain Forest,
which is located just north of Port Douglas. If you have a few extra dollars
and want to enjoy rustic elegance check into stayinf for a night or two at
Silky Oaks Lodge near Mossman Gorge, which is on the edge of Daintree (and
north of Port Douglas).

This is also quite an interesting area to drive through. If you don't have the
tine or desire for such activities, certainly a visit to Port Douglas is
worthwhile. You can either rent a car (if driving on the other side of the
road does not bother you), or you can catch a bus.

Hope you enjoy your dive trip as much as we did. You will readily see why The
Great Barrier enjoys so much favorable publicity. Don't know what your
arrangements for diving out of Cairns, but I hope for your benefit that
whatever you are doing, your itinerary includes a trip to Cod Hole, a truly
remarkable dive experience.

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uunet!sequent.com!kene

I just returned from a trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.  
We had a fantastic time.  We planned a lot of things, and were 
spontaneous about a lot of things, too.  I'll give you a quick 
rundown of what we did, but first a few general comments:  

 o  Australia and New Zealand have very strict import and quarantine 
    restrictions.  Both countries now experience some rather severe 
    problems because in years past people brought in non-indigenous 
    animals that have now become pests.  So, their regulations and 
    procedures might appear rather ominous when you enter the countries.  

 o  In Australia and New Zealand, you must fill out and submit an entry 
    card when you come in, and also fill out an exit card when you leave 
    the country.  REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU GET TO THE AIRPORT TO LEAVE THE 
    COUNTRY.  Don't arrive at the airport mere minutes before takeoff time.  
    YOU WILL BE WAITING IN LINE FOR PERHAPS 45 MINUTES EXTRA (not counting 
    baggage checkin, etc.) TO HAND IN YOUR EXIT CARD.  And the airport 
    does not exactly tell you that you need this card.  If you wait in line 
    till you get to the counter, then find out that this card is needed, 
    you pick up a card, then go to the back of the line and wait *another* 
    45 minutes or so to get back to the counter (I talked to someone who had 
    this happen to her).  The cards are usually laying around in stacks on 
    counters near where you check your carry-on baggage.  

 o  If you stay in hotels, the lobbies should have a wall of brochures for 
    things to see and do.  The hotel reception desk can book you into most 
    (or all) activities, and in many places the activity provides 
    transportation to and from the hotel.  

And now for some highlights.  

Cairns (pronounced "Cans"), Australia:  

  Spent three days here.  This is kinda the hub of the area.  Can be 
  pretty touristy, but not as excessive as some other places we went.  
  Things to see and do:  

  o  Great Barrier Reef.  Cairns is the main gateway to the reef.  (Other 
     towns having reef excursions are Townsville to the south and Port 
     Douglas to the north.)  There are scads of outfits that do reef 
     trips.  If you stay in a hotel, the lobby will surely have a wall of 
     brochures to pick from.  Or, simply walk down the main street along the 
     waterfront (called the Esplanade) and check out the booking outlets 
     there.  If you're into scuba diving, there are at least six or seven 
     dive boats.  I went out on the Quicksilver (one of the more ritzy 
     trips, cost me $130 AUS, which included scuba rental...non-scuba trips 
     cost less).  This is an air-conditioned catamaran with bar and kitchen 
     and capacity for 70-90 people or so (my estimate).  Along the way 
     a marine biologist gives a talk on the sea life.  The boat goes to 
     the outer reef.  You can go scuba diving (if you're already certified), 
     snorkeling, or on glass-bottom boats.  If you're perhaps interested 
     in trying scuba, they have an "Intro to Scuba" program where you can 
     get some basic instruction and give it a try.  It's an all day trip.  
     I thought it was exceptionally well-run, but some people might prefer 
     a smaller boat with less passengers.  
     
     The other two people on the trip went to Green Island for the day.  
     They loved it.  Beaches, snorkeling, glass-bottom boats, and an 
     underwater aquarium out there.  Green Island is the closest and 
     most-visited island, and so purists see it as too touristy, but my 
     friends made no such comments.  

  o  Kuranda.  This is a small town a short distance north.  Best to go 
     on Sunday or Wednesday, as these are market days.  On these days, the 
     local craftspeople set up a giant market to sell their wares.  In 
     retrospect, we thought that some of the best selection and prices 
     on our entire trip were here at this market.  Also, if you want to 
     pick up any souvenirs dealing with aboriginal themes, here is the 
     best place to do it.  

     Other things around Kuranda:  

     -- Noctarium.  This is a small place with a simulated jungle scene 
	inside.  The scene has nocturnal jungle animals in simulated 
	moonlight (fruit bats, spiny anteaters, flying squirrels, etc.).  
	I thought it was worth seeing.  

     -- Butterfly sanctuary.  This is largest butterfly sanctuary in the 
	world (it's in the Guiness Book of World Records).  It's like a 
	big aviary, except that instead of birds there are hundreds of 
	tropical butterflies flying around.  And since there are no 
	predators, the butterflies are tame.  Try to get a guide tour.  
	Really interesting.  

     -- Aboriginal cultural center.  Here you can get tickets to an 
	hour-long show of aboriginal dance and culture.  Pretty good 
	show.  You can buy aboriginal artifacts in the gift shop, but 
	they are rather expensive.  A more cost-effective place to buy 
	aboriginal souvenirs is across the street and about one block 
	farther down...there's a store that just sells aboriginal 
	artifacts.  Look for it.  

     -- There are lots of shops and eating places along the streets.  
	(By the way, the whole town is only about 3-4 blocks or so in 
	either direction.)  

     -- The Kuranda train.  This is an old railroad that runs from Cairns 
	to Kuranda.  You can ride it up to Kuranda, then ride the bus back; 
	or take the bus up and ride the train back (which we did); or any 
	such combination you want.  The train comes back to Cairns twice 
	a day.  The first trip (around 12:30 or so) includes a verbal tour 
	of the scenery along the way.  

Sydney, Australia:  

   We spent about three days here.  We were visiting friends, and so did 
   not have a set agenda for sight-seeing.  There is a lot to see and do, 
   and we barely scratched the potential.  We missed some major attractions, 
   but saw some less-know things that were still very interesting.  

   o  Check out the downtown bus lines.  There is a special line (I forget 
      the name) that runs a short circuit downtown to places of interest.  
      The buses on this line are red, and an all-day ticket costs something 
      like $19 AUS (I think, might be less).  The bus has 22 stops or so at 
      such places as:  

      -- Opera house 
      -- Museum 
      -- Historical points 
      -- Shopping areas 
      -- etc.  

   o  There are harbor tours through the Sydney harbor.  

   o  Checkout the tower in downtown Sydney.  You can scope out the city from 
      the observation deck.  

   o  We went to a place called Koala Park.  It is like a small zoo.  They 
      have most of the animals associated with Australia, and you can reach 
      over and pet many of them and even walk among some.  

   There's loads more to see, but we were saving our time for New Zealand.  

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uunet!menu.visus.com!br

Of course, you have to go to the Cod Hole.
If you can swing it, go all the way to Lizard Island.
There are several good outer reef spots from there.
There is a plane from Cairns to Lizard.  I not
really sure you can get to Cod Hole from places other
than Lizard.  Cairns itself is not worth a whole
lot of time.  The smaller islands are more interesting.

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uunet!solwarra.gbrmpa.gov.au!rob

I have to reply to you personally, as I have difficulty mailing 
to rec.scuba! I assume from your post that you have your dive 
itinary all sorted out, but remember that there is a lot more of 
the reef than you will ever see off Cairns: almost 1500 miles 
of it!!!
If you are after topside attractions, I hate to say it but next 
to west coast U.S. it will probably strike you as hot, dry, drab 
and full of biting insects (unless we get a wet season, and 
then everything will be reversed except for the insects). 
HOWEVER, the tablelands to the west of Cairns and Cape 
Tribulation and Port Douglas to the North offer some very nice 
views and rainforest, and the coastal areas MAY have some 
worthwhile fringing reef dives (but not comparable to the outer 
barrier reef dives you seem to have planned..). Be aware of the 
box jellyfish (_Chyronex fleckerii_) in coastal waters, though: 
don't swim without a lycra suit in nearshore areas, as there 
are several deaths each summer from stings.

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uunet!ucqais.cba.uc.edu!ggibeau

Even as we type, my roommate is in Australia diving the GReat Barrier Reff as well as the Coral Sea.  He is on one of those 5-6 day live aboard dive boats.  I will keep you e-mail address and have him drop you a line when he
returns.  He gets back in about 5 days.

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uunet!cup.portal.com!Debbie Thu Nov  5 10:16:33 1992

Sorry about the blank e-mail titled, "Test".  Portal was having a problem
sending messages last night, so I figured I'd give a test run before I
spent time writing a response to you.

I've dove the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns.  It's VERY popular with
divers of the beginning persuasion, but you'll still have a good time.
Spend the money to take a live-a-board boat for a couple of days.  The
further out you can afford to go AND the further north you can afford to
go (by boat), the better the diving....fewer tourists.  One of the best
boat operations is Deep Sea Divers Den, but they all go out to the reef.
Shop around for brochures and check out the different prices and amenities.
If you fly Continental Airlines, they can package a Holiday deal for you
including the diving on a boat for far less than you can arrange it for
yourself....ya, I know...I was suprised at that too!

Cairns is a neat little fishing town....kind of laid-back.  There are lots
of hostels along the waterfront with a great park across the street that
stretches along for about a mile between the waterfront and the water.
Lots of birds in the park, lots of sidewalk/hostel eateries along the 
waterfront.

If you tire from diving, there are a lot of other activities from bungy
jumping to white water rafting.  The raft trip down the Tulley River, in
my opinion, was better than the diving.  I'd go back to Cairns just to do
another raft trip!  Make sure you do a raft trip!!!

Climate in Cairns is similar to Hawaii -- subtropical.  This time of year
is their summer, so dress accordingly.  You'll still want to bring a 
sweatshirt or something for evenings.

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uunet!decwrl.dec.com!ampex!ampex.com!tbarber

I did the trip to Queensland last December.  Excelent time to be there.  The 
thing I would suggest though is a white water raft trip since I'm sure you'll
get enough on diving the G B Reef.  But, if you end up in Port Douglas stick
to the small dive organizations.  There is this company called Quick Silver
that had these mamoth boats.  My friends and I refered to them as "reef ant
hills."  I can't for the life of me remember the name of the dive company we
did use but the head of the opperation was this high-energy little blond
goddes.  They ran out of a dive shop in the shopping center next to the 
marina.  I think if you ask for Leslie, every one will know her.  Anyway, in 
Ciarns (pronounced `cans') there is a rafting shop called C&C Whitewater.  
This is an opportunity to see the rainforest for which QL is also famous.  
It's a day long trip through some of the best scenery and rapids you can
get for only $A 99.00.  If your interested, I have the address at home.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the land down under.

Ted Barber
tbarber@ampex.com


-- 
david r. coelho                        email: drc@coelho.COM
coelho publications                           drc%coelho@uunet.uu.net
43000 christy street                   voice: (510) 770-0875
fremont, ca 94538-3198                 fax:   (510) 770-0728
Newsgroups: rec.scuba