Cairns Photo Diary

Situated in tropical Far North Queensland, Australia, Cairns is the gateway to the world famous Great Barrier Reef and also host to a weekend getaway the Mr and I recently went on. For anyone who's ever had a travel bucket list, this location deserves to be in your top ten.

The vast expanse of the green blue sea plays home to endless stretches of coral reefs viewable to the naked eye. Sailing around the Great Barrier Reef on a glass bottom boat was a life altering experience, all of a sudden a whole new world opened up. A world that until now was only ever viewed from the comforts of my own home or occasional aquarium visit. Seeing all these beautiful marine life in their natural territory was simply breathtaking. Without any warning the roles suddenly reversed and us humans became the guests, the aliens, visiting a foreign land. And because we foreigners were careful enough to tread ever so lightly, the local population greeted us with delight, often swimming up to snorkelers and divers and sometimes even putting on a show. It's nice to know there are places in the world that remain relatively untouched by humans.

I'm looking forward to the day when my daughters are old enough so we can visit again together.

Perfect year round weather and plenty of palm trees.

Beach essentials.

The public pool overlooking the ocean in the middle of downtown Cairns. 

Snorkelers by the pontoon of Marine World

Off to meet the locals

Sunset from the Shangri-la Hotel

Breakfast of champions

Mysterious fig tree

Cooling off at Millaa Millaa waterfalls

Abundant lush green rainforest

Recycling at it's best.