A perfect day at Green Island
What is better than a weekend off and a beautiful sun shining day for a trip to Green Island? So here we go, my fiancée and I got ready last Saturday for a relaxing yet fun day in this little corner of Eden. We checked in at 10.30am at the Big Cat counter which was nice and fast then after a short wait we were all ready to board the Reef Rocket. The sea was a little rough on the way out, the passengers who chose not to sit outside the boat and get some fresh air got a bit sick. During our boat ride to our destination we collected our snorkeling equipment and enjoyed the salty breeze while getting more and more excited for the day that was awaiting us. I even met up with my colleague Sharon on the same boat. After about a 45 minutes boat trip we were at Green Island! We had perfect conditions there, no wind, no clouds and at least 10 metres of visibility underwater. We couldn’t ask for anything better! Soon after we arrived, we hired a couple of lockers for our backpacks and equipment and we headed for lunch. There were a lot of delicious choices (we tried them all of course), but my fiancée absolutely loved the beef and my favourite was no doubt the vegetable lasagna. And I, being Italian, know something about lasagna and definitely give thumbs up!! Full and satisfied, we still had some time before our semi-submersible tour so we decided to take a quick look at Marineland Melanesia, a nice habitat park right in the centre of the island and nested in the lush vegetation. There are a few crocodiles in there (one, Cassius, is an impressive 5.5 metres long!), aquariums, 2 giant sea turtles, fish and beautiful artifacts from Papua New Guinea and other exotic Islands. Soon after, we were ready for the semi-submersible tour, the “Yellow Submarine”. We boarded this special boat and headed downstairs where we took our seats and got ready with our cameras. The semi-sub it’s just perfect for pictures: if you place the camera very close to the glass and do not use the flash, there is neither glare nor reflection and the result is impressive. The commentary during the tour was interesting and accurate and I learnt a lot about this extraordinary ecosystem. My favourite part of the trip was the “sucker” fish, which gets a free ride while sticking to the external windows of the semi-sub. Very funny to see! Just towards the end of our tour, it was fish feeding time. They dispense special food (which has to be approved by marine park laws of course) and hundreds of fish came right close and literally surrounded the semi-sub. Such a nice experience. After the semi-sub, we decided to go for some snorkelling. We had less than two hours left on the island and we wanted to take advantage of this perfect day. I wanted to try the amazing Seawalker Helmet, but I do have a few problems with my ears and pressure changes so I just opted for the “quick and easy” option. Snorkelling was great. Out of the two beaches, we picked the non-supervised one (less crowded) and off we went. Visibility was very good; we saw quite a lot of fish, it was totally worth it. About half an hour before boarding time, we decided to take a shower and have a well-deserved ice cream after such a big day. There is a souvenir shop as well and a nice pool. The pool is part of the luxurious resort located on the island, but visitors can use it at their leisure. We were really tired to do anything else though, so we gave that a miss. The trip back to Cairns was much smoother as the wind was very low, we enjoyed a drink in the air-conditioned comfort of the catamaran (we had enough sun for the day!) and 45 minutes after we were greeting the shores of Cairns. Very tired but happy, we drove home almost ready for bed. Thank you to the Big Cat crew for a great day and great memories! What is better than a weekend off and a beautiful sun shining day for a trip to Green Island? So here we go, my fiancée and I got ready last Saturday for a relaxing yet fun day in this little corner of Eden. We checked in at 10.30am at the Big Cat counter which was nice and fast then after a short wait we were all ready to board the Reef Rocket. The sea was a little rough on the way out, the passengers who chose not to sit outside the boat and get some fresh air got a bit sick. During our boat ride to our destination we collected our snorkeling equipment and enjoyed the salty breeze while getting more and more excited for the day that was awaiting us. I even met up with my colleague Sharon on the same boat. After about a 45 minutes boat trip we were at Green Island! We had perfect conditions there, no wind, no clouds and at least 10 metres of visibility underwater. We couldn’t ask for anything better! Soon after we arrived, we hired a couple of lockers for our backpacks and equipment and we headed for lunch. There were a lot of delicious choices (we tried them all of course), but my fiancée absolutely loved the beef and my favourite was no doubt the vegetable lasagna. And I, being Italian, know something about lasagna and definitely give thumbs up!! Full and satisfied, we still had some time before our semi-submersible tour so we decided to take a quick look at Marineland Melanesia, a nice habitat park right in the centre of the island and nested in the lush vegetation. There are a few crocodiles in there (one, Cassius, is an impressive 5.5 metres long!), aquariums, 2 giant sea turtles, fish and beautiful artifacts from Papua New Guinea and other exotic Islands. Soon after, we were ready for the semi-submersible tour, the “Yellow Submarine”. We boarded this special boat and headed downstairs where we took our seats and got ready with our cameras. The semi-sub it’s just perfect for pictures: if you place the camera very close to the glass and do not use the flash, there is neither glare nor reflection and the result is impressive. The commentary during the tour was interesting and accurate and I learnt a lot about this extraordinary ecosystem. My favourite part of the trip was the “sucker” fish, which gets a free ride while sticking to the external windows of the semi-sub. Very funny to see! Just towards the end of our tour, it was fish feeding time. They dispense special food (which has to be approved by marine park laws of course) and hundreds of fish came right close and literally surrounded the semi-sub. Such a nice experience. After the semi-sub, we decided to go for some snorkelling. We had less than two hours left on the island and we wanted to take advantage of this perfect day. I wanted to try the amazing Seawalker Helmet, but I do have a few problems with my ears and pressure changes so I just opted for the “quick and easy” option. Snorkelling was great. Out of the two beaches, we picked the non-supervised one (less crowded) and off we went. Visibility was very good; we saw quite a lot of fish, it was totally worth it. About half an hour before boarding time, we decided to take a shower and have a well-deserved ice cream after such a big day. There is a souvenir shop as well and a nice pool. The pool is part of the luxurious resort located on the island, but visitors can use it at their leisure. We were really tired to do anything else though, so we gave that a miss. The trip back to Cairns was much smoother as the wind was very low, we enjoyed a drink in the air-conditioned comfort of the catamaran (we had enough sun for the day!) and 45 minutes after we were greeting the shores of Cairns. Very tired but happy, we drove home almost ready for bed. Thank you to the Big Cat crew for a great day and great memories! Big Cat Information
Valentina The Tour Specialists Hilton Cairns