Stephen and I debated for days over wether or not we should go out to Green Island. Although Cairns is right on the water, there isn’t really a beach area. Green Island is the place to go if you want to lay on the beach. After my 8 hours of terror on the high seas the day before, we weren’t sure the 45 minute boat ride to the island was a good idea.
Thankfully, the weather was clear and the wind speed was only 10 knots. Plus, it was our last day in Australia. We had to do it! So, that morning we booked our Green Island trip. Since we signed up for the half day experience, we got to sleep in and fart around before we needed to go the marina. It was nice to have a low key morning on this last day.
Eventually we go to the marina and boarded our boat. We made a beeline to the back of the boat in hopes of keeping the seasickness at bay. It worked! I felt a little queasy when we were 10 minutes out from the island, but that was it. (I used those 10 minutes to envision myself running a mile. It seemed to do the trick.)
I survived the trip there! Yipee!
Green Island is a great spot because it has a little bit of everything.There is a pool, sandy beaches, snorkeling, kayaking, rainforest walks, the 2nd biggest croc in captivity, and multiple restaurants all on this tiny island. Upon docking, we picked up snorkel gear and headed for the beach. We split our time between laying on the sand (what I wanted to do) and playing in the water (what Stephen wanted to do). The water was chilly, but I sucked it up since I knew I wouldn’t get any more time in the Australian waters.
We snorkeled a little (Stephen even took more video), but then the lifeguards made an announcement about a high number of jellyfish stings, and that scared me back up onto the beach. Never been stung and I’d like the keep it that way thankyouverymuch. By that time we were both hungry for lunch anyway.
Enjoying Green Island’s sandy beach.
We peopled watched and ate and then in no time, we were due back at the boat to return to Cairns. I was most scared about this boat ride. 45 minutes on the water immediately after eating? Sounds like a bad idea! Funnily enough, this was the boat ride that I felt the most normal on. I was able to look around and enjoy the trip back to the mainland. I’m so jealous of people that don’t get seasick. You lucky, fools!
We used our afternoon to do a little shopping. (Stephen got some much lusted after Birkenstocks and a souvenir pin.) Then it was time to pack. Boo!
Green Island from a distance.
Getting back to the States was a long process. The short version: 3:30am wake up, 5 am flight from Cairns to Brisbane, 2 hours layover in Brizzy, 12 hour flight to LAX on which we both got no sleep. We landed at LAX and because we crossed the International Dateline it was 7am on Friday morning. Layover in LAX with a delay, 3 hour flight to Dallas, and then finally home. We both stunk and were exhauted by the time we landed. I definitely preferred the flight to Australia!
Now that we’ve been home a week, I have to say that I’m happy to be here. Vacation is nice, but not as nice as being at home and relaxing together!*
