The Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Seen

 Okay, location two in Australia is ON. We lost a night and a morning here in Port Douglas due to our cancellation from Melbourne, but made due anyway. This isn’t a big city with a ton to do on our own, so it wasn’t a huge deal losing that time, but the whole travel experience of coming here SUCCCKKKEEEDDD. More on that right here… 

Day 10 Port Douglas: This morning started as a travel day with a very early flight from Melbourne to Cairns. We were flying the same airline we took to get to Australia (Jetstar) so wanted to get there with plenty of time in case any issues arose. Since our original flight had already been canceled, we definitely didn’t want to miss this one. Check-in and security were pretty seamless, but the baggage drop-off had some issues and the belt kept breaking down. The woman working there was trying to help me and kept walking away to fix it, then would come back to help us. This must’ve happened five times. J had her baggage go through and the belt kept stopping with mine because people were sticking their hands in it a couple belts away. After happening multiple times, she finally manually entered my info and then got the bag to go through. Success…or so I thought…

This airport doesn’t announce the gate until ten minutes prior to boarding so then everyone rushed there and got in line. We got on board easily and the flight went by decently. When we went to grab our luggage, J’s came out right away and we were still waiting for mine. And waiting. And waiting. Soon enough, everyone had gotten their bags except for me and the guy who put his stuff on the belt next to me. Cue the panic. J and I had a suspicion with all the issues with the belt, that my bag was in trouble, but we didn’t want to think the worst. And then when the bag didn’t come out, we realized our suspicions were correct. Although my bag went right after hers, all the issues with the belt definitely caused it not to get on the plane.

I went to the Jetstar desk to report my bag missing and the guy there asked for all my contact info so he could text me when the bag arrived here. It was indeed left in Melbourne and they would try to get it on the next flight here. He had said it should come to the hotel around 7 tonight and he would text me the confirmation info. Fine. Okay. Out of my control. And shocker of all shocker, I did NOT cry. I don’t even know how that happened, but I guess I realized it wasn’t going to change anything at the moment. 

Through all of this, J and I still didn’t see our names on a sign from the drivers there. This is something that hasn’t happened once to us on all of our travels. The drivers are always with our names on a paper or tablet. Not this time. We figured we’d wait it out a bit longer, but after fifteen minutes or so, and like forty after they should’ve been there, we had a feeling they probably weren’t going to show. I had even confirmed with them the night before when all our flight plans changed and they repeated it back to me. SMH. Since our phones can’t make international calls, we asked to use someone’s phone to call the company and she was nice enough to let us, but there was a long call wait time and she needed her phone back. We kept asking all the other drivers what company they were from and if they could call our company, and finally one other driver worked for them and called. They had our reservation for the next day (again, despite my confirmation the day before), and he agreed to take us to our destination which was more than kind of him since he had two other drop-offs. 

While J worked this out, I went back to baggage to see if there was a claim number so I could track my baggage because I wasn’t sure if I would receive his text. He hadn’t done it yet, but since there was no line, he did it right there for me and gave me the number. I asked him to also text it to me and when he tried, it wouldn’t work. Apparently we can’t get international texts like that outside of WhatsApp and their phones didn’t have that. Kinda weird for an airline who flies people from ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, not to have access to text people outside their country code. But I was glad to have gone back to ask for the number or else I would’ve been screwed, again and would’ve had no way to track my bag. I was hopeful the guy wasn’t bullshitting me and my bag would indeed arrive this evening. The one saving grace was that I had a bunch of clothes in my carry-on because 1) I was too scared my bag would be overweight again and they would want to charge me and 2) after a missed flight in Croatia a year ago and a missed connection in Munich with having no clean clothes, I learned my lesson and always have extra in my carry-on. 

With just my carry-on (sigh), J and I headed to the hotel via our new driver. When we arrived, it was not what we were expecting. We knew we had a two bedroom suite again, but this place was less like a hotel and more like a long-term rental. It had a full kitchen and family room, a washer-dryer (which would be a big score if I had my luggage and dirty clothes), a giant balcony, and J and I each had our own bedrooms and bathrooms. The pool was also shaped kind of weird, but we would make do. I was still in a very shit mood over my bag so any accommodation probably would’ve disappointed me at this point. We were hungry and wanted to get lunch, but this place also didn’t have a restaurant. There was a Ramada next door that had one, but we decided to relax by the pool for a bit just to be outside in the sun. After about an hour, we were ready to eat so we walked over to the Ramada to get some food. That was really the only walkable place around our hotel. If we wanted to go to town, we needed to call a shuttle that would take us to the main drag of Port Douglas stopping at other hotels along the way. Additionally, they shut off their reception phones and lock the doors at seven, so if my luggage were to come, I wouldn’t have any way to be contacted. It was just a frustrating and upsetting situation. I decided to email the airline and give them our liaison’s phone number because they could call him and he could WhatsApp me if he got any info. 

Despite my bad mood, J and I decided we would take the shuttle into town and see what it was all about. It was a cute little downtown, although many shops were closed due to a National Holiday. There were a bunch of cute restaurants and shops and we noticed that we saw a lot of older people. It kind of reminded me of Boca Raton. From that observation, we kind of assumed that Port Douglas must be a snowbird destination for those who live in southern Australia. The older people must come north for the warmth in the winter and many of them are here. It was fascinating to see. And they’re not called snowbirds here; they’re called “gray nomads.” Anyway, J and I walked around for a bit, stopped in a grocery store for some snacks for the apartment, and then called the shuttle back to the hotel. I was physically drained from such an early wake-up call and just mentally drained from all the stress of the day with my luggage and the driver not showing up. I was still super upset about not having my stuff and I just wanted to go to bed and wake-up to a new, more positive day. 

Day 11 Port Douglas: Today was our Daintree Rainforest day which we were excited for. J went down to get some coffee when we woke up and I was semi-hopeful my luggage would be sitting out front, but it was not. I checked the status of it again online and it said the same thing it did last night. I contacted our liaison here in Australia and he promised to try and call them and get some information if he could. I left my phone service on for the day in case I needed to WhatsApp him or get an email back from Jetstar. 

We got picked up at 9:00 for our excursion. The first stop was Cooya Beach where we were supposed to go fishing. What we didn’t realize was that it was spearfishing and that we would be going farrrrrr offshore, by foot, to do this. The tide was super low, but I was very uncomfortable being so far from land and in the ocean where we were warned of stingrays (and in summer months, crocodiles. FUCK NO. Had it been summer, there is no way I would’ve gone near that water and I was still hesitant anyway.)  At first it was fine, but as he kept going further and further, I was getting quite uncomfortable. I didn't know how far we were going and for how long. The sand at times also felt like quick sand which obviously scared the shit out of me. I mean I know they do these excursions all the time, and if they truly were super dangerous, they wouldn’t exist, but as I have said before, I just am not an ocean girl. There are too many unmentionables and unpredictability. After about 25 minutes of being super anxious and uncomfy, J and I decided to head back to shore as the group just kept going and going. We got back as the tide was still low and just kind of walked the beach, collected shells, tried to use a boomerang (update: it was unsuccessful) and tried on a turtle shell cause I am a child. The group came back like 40 (!!) minutes later and told us they encountered a couple stingrays and a hammerhead shark. I have never been more confident about a decision as I was when we left the group. I know for sure that I would’ve panicked and freaked out if we were out there and saw that. Hell to the no-no-no. 

When everyone came back, they showed us what they caught: some mussels, some crabs, and some other fish and shellfish. The guide was going to cook it for us and bring it back. Initially I wasn’t going to try it because I didn't want to get sick, but it looked and smelled so good that I tried some grab and some type of scallop/muscle shellfish that I can’t remember. Both were so fresh and so delicious. And then the best news came: My luggage arrived at the hotel. Yayayay. Since I had kept my cell service on, I was able to receive emails and the lady working the front desk of the hotel emailed me informing me. She knew how upset I was about the bag, so I was happy she let me know. The sense of relief I felt after getting that email immediately lifted my spirits. 

We were soon picked up again for the second half of our excursion which was supposed to be a hike in the Daintree National Park Rainforest, which is one of the oldest Rainforests in the world. We were under the assumption that we were going to see Mossman Gorge as well as some waterfalls along our hike. Part of the group were going up in a van and we were going on a guided hike with a guide. At the time we were way more excited that we would be hiking instead of being in a van, but we were unfortunately wrong. Our hike was suuuuuper underwhelming. We started with something cool with a smoking ceremony led by our guide, a local aboriginal man. This was supposed to protect us while in the rainforest, which I was fine with since there are some very dangerous plants AND animals in there. From there, it went downhill a bit because we didn’t actually really hike. The group was large and the guide kept stopping and talking for too long. In the hour hike, we only actually walked about half a mile and didn’t see much of the forest. We did see a ton of trees and plants (some that could make you very sick or even kill you) and J and I walked through there very paranoid about touching anything. Thankfully we didn’t see any snakes or monster bugs, but again, we didn’t cover that much ground. We were actually quite disappointed when it was over because the description of what the hike should’ve been and what it actually was did not match. And when we met back up with the people who went in the van, they said what they saw was the beautiful gorge and waterfalls. To say we felt jipped would be an understatement, but we couldn’t change it at that point and it was time to head back to the hotel anyway. 

When we got back, I was a little frustrated and wanted to get out for a walk. I figured I would try and head down to the beach. I asked the front desk for directions to get there and she told me it was about a five minute walk. However, I thought I heard the woman say to turn right at the end of the road at a playground and I didn’t see a playground and went right, but still didn’t see the beach. There were all types of paths through a jungle to get to the beach, and I started to follow one in and then just pictured a crocodile jumping out of a creek and grabbing me or hitting a poisonous plant or getting another bite again from an unknown creature so I sprinted out of there and made my way back to my hotel. Failed attempt. Fine. I’d try again though. 

After laying around for a bit and relaxing, J and I decided we would head back into town to grab dinner, which ended up being a much more difficult task than anticipated. There are quite a few restaurants on the strip and all were packed by like 7:15 when we got there. We figured the old people would be home by now, but nope, still out and eating and drinking. We must’ve gone to about six restaurants and they had no tables available and didn’t have a wait list; they “don’t do that here”. There were also a couple of restaurants that had tables you grabbed and then went to a different line to order food. When we finally got a table, a nice couple offered to hold it for us, but then we saw the food line and it was about 50 people long. No thanks. We left. We were starting to get desperate so we walked to one more place who told us their kitchen is closed (it was only 7:30) and then into Domino’s (I actually love their pizza; zero shame) and were going to get some to-go and they told us they were “having issues” and not taking any more orders. WTF. At this point, J and I were getting annoyed by this and decided to go back to one more place. We snagged a table, another nice couple agreed to save it for us while we ordered, and finally were able to get some dinner. This whole ordeal was ridiculous. Does this town not want business? Are they just not prepared for the crowds, which to be honest, were not even bad at all? Are they just lazy? (This is actually what a bunch of people told us while we complained.) Whatever, we were fed and decided we would not come back down here again. 

We got our shuttle back to the hotel and called it a night, but not before being terrified by a ginormous bug on our door. We got up the stairs to our room and spotted this giant creature that looked like a larger flying cockroach with long-ass antennaes. Not exactly what you want to see in Australia, (land of the deadly everything,) or anywhere. We didn’t know what to do. The reception desk was closed so we couldn’t call someone to remove it, so finally, we made a run for it. J put the key in the door and we bolted in and shut that sucker so fast behind us.  So fast in fact, that she left the key in the door and I had to reopen it and reach around an pull it out. We slammed it shut again and even stuck a towel under the door in case that thing wanted to try and sneak in. (It was even still there in the morning. Waiting for us. Sheesh.) 

Day 12 Port Douglas: This was the day we had been waiting for this entire trip. The highlight of this vacation: going to the Great Barrier Reef. Our tour was picking us up at 9:15 and we were READY. But first, I had my first taste of Vegemite. We thought that Vegemite was to Australia as Nutella is to Europe. J and I had thought we would see it everywhere, but beyond on the shelf at the grocery store, we hadn’t seen it. The man working the front desk at the hotel asked us if we had tried it yet and since we hadn’t, he wanted to pop our Vegemite cherry. (For the record, he did not put it that way, those are my words.) I figured this was my chance and I had to do it. He told us it was salty and tasted like the leftovers in like a meat pan. The smell was definitely like that (ie: it was not good).  He spread some on a cracker for me and I took a bite. Ick. Not good. Def don’t recommend. I had heard you’re supposed to eat it with butter as well, but the guy told us to have it with cheese so he cut me a piece of cheese to add to it and it made it a tad better, but still not anything I need to ever eat again. But I can now say that I have had it. Check. 

After our taste test, our bus came to take us down to the marina and onto this gigantic boat that was taking us out to a pontoon out in the reef. We honestly didn’t know what to expect, but it was freaking awesome. We rented an underwater camera because neither of us were comfortable using our phones in those waterproof cases (even though I bought one just for this.) When we got to the pontoon out in the reef, we got all fitted with snorkels and stinger suits (yup, we wore these on the off chance there were jellyfish out there). Again, as freshwater girls, neither one of us are too fond of the saltwater, but we had to put our fears aside. It was reassuring that they had lifeguards out and had pool noodles and life vests for people to feel more comfortable in the water. Initially I didn’t feel like I needed a life vest, but when we got on the platform to get in the water and I saw some massive fish, I decided I’d rather be safe than sorry and didn’t want to worry about panicking and not having anything keeping me afloat. Plus the current felt strong and the water was choppy, so already being uncomfy in the sea, having all the creatures and the current, I wanted extra protection to ease my mind. J was much more nervous for me for a change because I think my excitement to get in the water and see the reef overtook my fears this time. I very much knew this was a once in a lifetime experience, and frankly, with how Climate Change is bleaching the reefs at such an astonishing speed, these will not be here this much longer at this pace of the Earth's warming. 

In my Human Impact unit in class this year, we obviously did a whole thing on Global Warming and Climate Change and how it’s affecting the reefs and the ocean ecosystems. The warm temperature is warming the water and bleaching the coral reefs, killing them. There is an awesome, but very sad
documentary on Netflix called Chasing Coral that shows how the scientists went about documenting this massive bleaching in different reefs around the globe and show time lapses of their destruction. It is HEARTBREAKING. The first time I showed it a year or two ago, I cried in class. Anyway, having all this information and more, I knew my time at the GBR would be special. I had my underwater camera and my snorkel mask ready to go and I was pumped. I was a little nervous at first because I haven’t had the best snorkeling experiences in the past (ie. I got so freaked out seeing all the fish that I panicked and left the water. This happened in both Puerto Vallarta and Grand Cayman Islands), but I was ready this time. Once I was in, I was all good and very happy to have the life vest; a very wise decision on my end. Seeing the reef with my own two eyes blew me away. Like to see this magical reef, that is one of Seven Wonders of the World, in person was just incredible. I saw a couple of cool looking fish, but because of the vest, I couldn’t dive very deep to go further down and that was actually fine with me. I was more impressed with the reef itself and how diverse it was in colors and shapes and textures. I stayed in and snorkeled for about 35 minutes or so and had seen enough. What a cool experience. But I knew it was about to get even better. 

J and I dried off and ate lunch because we had the activity we were most looking forward to ahead of us: A helicopter ride above the reef. Neither of us had ever been on a helicopter before and I thought I’d be nervous about it, but I wasn’t. Again, I think my excitement overtook my fear again. We got in the helicopter and were off, high above the reef. This was absolutely UNREAL and something I will never, ever forget. It’s even hard to describe how absolutely gorgeous the water and reefs were from above. The blues, the greens, the whites. Absolutely amazing. The helicopter ride was about ten minutes and I had a huge smile on my face the entire time. I don’t know exactly how much it cost, but whatever it was, it was worth every single penny. We didn’t want it to end. We just kept saying “Wow. WOW. Wow.” Again, bucket list experience that I will never forget and definitely do not take for granted.

It had started raining a bit when we were in the helicopter and when we landed, it was still raining so J and I called it a day and just went and sat back on the large boat and grabbed a snack and a good seat for the ride home. The ride was a bit rocky, but the movement actually was so soothing that I fell asleep. Before we knew it, we were back at the harbor and grabbed the bus back to our hotel and wanted to shower and check out our SD card from the underwater camera we rented. Unfortunately, neither my computer or the hotel one had a SD card drive so we’d have to wait on these. A bit of a bummer, but we did see it with our very own eyes. 

After relaxing for a bit, we decided to just go to the hotel next door for dinner because we were not dealing with the annoyance of downtown again. And we knew to go there on the earlier side as well. Luckily we got a table right away and were able to eat outside. Then it was back to the hotel for one last load of laundry and some TV and bed. 

Tomorrow, it is off to our last destination/city of this trip: Sydney. Back south to winter temperatures and pants and hoodies and to another big city. We have a bunch of things to knock off our list and feel aside from Melbourne, this is where we will get the most walking steps in. We are READY to end this already incredible trip on a high note.