Further to our exciting, magical, snorkelling adventure out to the Great Barrier Reef we could now cross it off on our RTW “to do” list yet, captivated by this marine world, we decided to take one more chance to experience the reef, this time in a more relaxed way.

We were to pick among two coral fringed islands off Cairns: Green Island or Fitzroy Island. We were more tempted for the second option as it looks wilder and more remote plus, at first, it seems we could camp overnight there other than the campground was currently unavailable and we missed the only boat out, clearly there wasn’t any choice any longer.

The 45min ferry ride from Cairns to Green Island turned out to be quite choppy but I couldn’t care less, my only thought was to reach in a great hurry the 15ha coral cay island and plunge in the tropical water of this marine park.

While approaching the island’s dock, from the upper deck it looked so picture-perfect: a tiny white sandy island covered by lush forest and surrounded by emerald water, ahh.

However, the answer to this trip to us was to be discovered below the water’s surface. We speedily reached the beach, geared up and splash, off we went snorkelling. Did I forget to put on my contact lenses? Was my mask foggy? Where all the fishes have gone? Where is the reef? It wasn’t only me but Chris too was hysterically scanning the ocean around us for some form of sea life. There was nothing wrong with our masks. Disappointingly all we found was sand, seaweed and more seaweed. Only sporadically we came across few minuscule fishes. It might be cause the ocean was suck away by the low tide that you really would had to swim a good amount, behind any of my capability, before the water would go deeper then 1mt.

After a good while patrolling around the water, shattered and with a bitter taste in mouth, we gave up. There was only one thing left we could do: jump on the glass-bottom boat tour, which luckily we got it for free instead of the hire of the snorkelling gear (if not we would have paid $15 extra each).

This time we could ventured to deeper water and, with a bit of help, it turn out to be a fish feeding fest, at least, with huge and various fishes floating over corals beneath our eyes.

We could now spend the rest of the afternoon beachcombing among many other families, tourists, the kind “who don’t want to get wet” as the island offers among many other activities also a “seawalk” experience, which seems much appreciated by the Japanese. Indisputably, against our expectations, Green Island turned out to be a day-trip tourist trap; maybe we should have opted for more pristine Fitzroy Island.

Tips:

• you can stay overnight on Green Island but there is only one pricey resort (room starts at over $500 per night). If you want to visit this island on a budget you are better off bringing your own lunch if not you could use the facilities and shops of the resort;
• the campsite in Fitzroy Island should open up soon; check it with the Cairns’ Council who run the facility;
• the ferry rate from Cairns out to Green Island is $73 and you could opt for a full day or even half day cruise.