Hi everyone,

I apologize for the delay in finishing up my report, work has been killing me since I got back from my honeymoon.

Anyway, we took a puddle jumper from Cairns to Lizard Island (LI) on Macair. Only problem, Quantas which runs the gate at Cairns for Macair had the flight as 25 minutes early then my itnerary sent by Macair. I had to get in an argument with the gate operator and finally pulled out my email confirmation for us to get on the flight. (They had closed the gates at this point). The flight was great. Neat to see how the pilots operated. Flying over the reef was breath taking. They even pointed out a ship wreck that had hit a reef.

LI was great. We stayed in Anchor Bay Suite 40 which was a little more secluded then the rest of the cabins on the Island (Thanks to DawnF). After hunkering down we went over to the Dining Room which is an open-air room that looks right out on the bay. The first night they had a cook out which included bugs. I first thought bugs were actual bugs but in reality they are giant sweet prawns, very tasty. One of the great things during the entire time we were there, I had told one of the staff about my wife's allergy to seafood. Within minutes the chef was out to talk with us about the meals and describe where food could come into contact with seafood. Also the staff knew as soon as we sat down for our first meal. They really know how to treat a person.

Day 2: Full day dive out to the Codhole.

We took LI's boat out to No-Name reef and the diving was great. The ride out was not so great. At least two people were sick. I even had to take seasickness pills and I am never seasick. We were both a little nervous since it was the first time diving since our certification and we were certified in a Quarry. Needless to say we were stunned by the clearity of the water. We even saw a large fish the crew had named Daisy that would show up when the boat reached the reef. Lunch on the boat was a nice mix of picnic meats, cheeses, fruits and salad.

The codhole was great and the ability to pet and touch the fish as the divemaster fed them was really cool. They felt a little slimy but overall they could care less about the divers. We also saw several sharks(white tips, black tips and a couple grey whalers) one of the reasons I wanted to dive was to see sharks. We also saw several clownfish (nemo) and was our running joke about "finding nemo" while we dove the rest of the time we were at LI.

After the boat ride home we passed out until dinner. I would love to describe each meal in detail but besides the first day dinner meal all the meals were so good and seemed to blend together. I will say breakfast were the same everyday and included Chorzio, eggs benedict, scrambled eggs and pancakes. I mostly ate seafood and the wife beef.

Day 3: Since we loved diving (we were the only two divers on this trip) so much we went out the next day for the 1/2 day dive. This was an inner reef dive and the water was murky with about 25 ft of visibility. Very different from the day before, less large fish and smaller fish but vibrant coral(more so than the day before). I would like to compliment Jared, the divemaster, was excellent and pointed out all kinds of neat fish, coral and other creatures that I would of missed entirely. He really took care of us.

After coming back from diving, We ate lunch and passed out (common theme). Around 4 o'clock, I decided to hike over the other side of the island to see if there were any sea turtles around (a couple the night before said they saw a couple on their walk on that part of the island). Didn't see any but the other side of the island is gorgeous, crystal clear water and white beaches. On the way back as the sun was setting a light rain came down and I saw beautiful full rainbow stretch over the lagoon.

Day 4: We are diving again with Jared. There were only two of us. It was awesome with over 100 ft of visibilty. Easily the best diving of the three days and no problems with waves or seasickness at all. We first dove at dynamite alley. It is a shear coral wall. A giant Maori Wrassi, the crew had named Humphry, showed up and allowed us to pet and touch him. He was a ham to some extent and followed us through the entire dive and would come right up to us and allow us to pet him pretty much anywhere.

The codhole again was great,again, and Jared took great care of us. One the way back, since there was only 2 divers and 2 snorklers on the boat the crew cruised around the island a little bit and allowed us to snorkel in turtle cove before setting in.

One great aspect of taking the full day dive was the ride in b/c the crew would stop right outside the resort bay (maybe 100 ft from the shore) and drop some fish for a 500lb grouper that would show-up. We also saw a 6 ft nurse shark. The crew would hold out the food and the nurse shark would gnaw on the fish and you could reach out and pet the shark. Very cool.

Day 5: We took out one of the dinghy's and went snorkeling over in watson's bay and saw neat fish and the giant calm garden. We really couldn't do much as we checked out at 2. After checking out and our flight was not until 3:30, we sat in the resort lounge and watched "Finding Nemo" (I fully admit we became obsessed)

The flight back was fine. We sat in the Cairns airport for our VB flight back to Sydney. We wish that Quantas and/or VB had some kind of coordination with Macair b/c we sat in the airport for over 3 hours in the layover.

After landing in Sydney we took a taxi out to Coogee Beach (thanks to Fodorites on that suggestion). Cost us about $25AU and stayed in the Crowne Plaza. Great hotel and our view was awesome. Saw the entire beach.

Last day: We woke up and since our flight was not until 3 o'clock, we ate breakfast in a cafe by the beach and headed out to hike along the cliff face. It was great and reminded my wife a little of San Diego. The beach barrier pools that bathhouses had set up was very interesting as well. We tried to figure out the reason for the pool other than to stop the waves but could come up with another one. Coogee was definitely worth a trip and allowed us to realize we should of planned a day in Bondi and/or Manly. Another time. The flight home was uneventful beyond landing in LA prior to taking off in Sydney.

Issues: My wife is deathly afraid of lizards and they are everywhere on LI including small geckos on the ceiling of the dinning room at night. The guananas were her biggest fear and they constantly surprised us as they roamed LI pretty much of their own free will. I loved them and became obsessed with following them around when I got the chance. They are very afraid of people and would take off running when you walked by but they stilled scared my wife. It was well worth it though.

Another issue for the entire trip was not heading out to the outback for a trip to Alice Springs or Ulhuru. But we can always come back.

If anyone has any questions let me know.

Thanks for the great report on LI. We were to go out for the day (May 3) w/ Greg of Daintree Air, but he had to cancel due to bad weather.

Although the "wet" was supposed to be over, we experienced lots of rain . Greg remarked that the "wet" seemed to be like those of the past where it could rain into June.

So anyone planning far NQueensland might want to consider a later time than early May.

However since it's hot, walking in the rain was pleasant and the green was spectacular for us desert dwellers.

AndrewDavid

We too stayed in Coogee at the Crowne Plaza for a few days at the start of our trip. We needed to be out that way because of family in Maroubra. I really enjoyed Coogee - seemed like a holiday resort when we were there.

Hi cguest - thanks for the great report and glad you enjoyed Lizard Island. At the risk of being pedantic, here's a few comments.

Lizard Island was named by Capt Cook, the first European to discover it, because of the profusion of lizards, which on this island are Gould's sand monitors. The iguana is not native to Australia, perhaps you are confusing it with the word "goanna" which describes a variety of monitor lizards - the lace monitor is one which can reach 6' in length. Goannas tend to flee up trees when frightened - it's always a wise move to duck as the goanna may think a standing human is a tree and you'll end up with it clawing on your head!

House geckos are common in all over the world in tropical climates and are usually welcomed as they do a wonderful job in keeping down insects. Even if you managed to catch one, it would soon find it's way back inside. They're harmless to humans and there is no danger of them falling off the ceilings or walls to land on you when you're sleeping- they have little suction pads on their feet.

Bugs are not large prawns, they're a type of small lobster, much valued for their delicious tailmeat. In Queensland they are also known as "Moreton Bay Bugs" and in NSW as "Balmain Bugs".

There's my little nature lesson for the day!

Apropros Pat's nature lesson: We had excellent bugs as part of a lavish seafood feast at Red Ochre in Cairns. Highly recommended esp if someone else is paying.

AndrewDavid

Queenslanders consider the Moreton Bay Bug superior to the Balmain (Sydney) variety. As a former Balmain resident it hurts, but I think they're right.

Balmain, an inner-city suburb situated on a harbour peninsula, used to be a tough working-class locality (for US readers, perhaps Sydney's South Boston). One of its sons, who became a wealthy barrister and then Premier of NSW, once declared "Balmain boys don't cry", and rightly so. Sadly, these days it's deteriorated into the home of Chardonnay-sipping basket-weavers who can spend almost seven figures on a musty, cockroach-infested Victorian terrace house.

The moral of this discursion is that no matter how small and stringy the little bugger might be, there was a time when yer average Balmain Bug was more than a match in a scrap with its overfed, pampered northern cousin - until it took up crafts, vegetarianism and listening to New Age music, that is.

Oh Neil - that's delightful! What do you think of the gov'ts latest handout of $700 for remedial English to Grade 5 kids who can't read?? And their parents don't know they can't!! Not applicable in Queensland - perhaps the kids are marginally smarter!!

Thanks for the info on bugs (lobsters). They were delicious.

The weather while I was in PD was overcast most of the time and rain everyday at one point.

On LI it was great. Sightly cloudy but never rained and a perfect mix of temps and humidity. But everyone told us you guys needed more rain after the last couple of years. I hope the Wet helps.

Hi, Pat. The idea sounds OK in principle but I agree that it's very unlikely that Queensland kids need it. (Seriously, I think a lot of parents from non-English-speaking backgrounds have a lot of difficulty knowing whether their kids are doing well or not.)