Ulla kirjutab maast ja ilmast: Cairns Vol 2 + Brisbane

Oma teiselt HelpX projektilt naasnuna oli meil plaanis enne l6unasse suundumist paar p2eva Cairnsis veeta. Seda kahel p6hjusel – esmalt, et saada natukene rahulikult omaette olla ja puhata, kuna olime yle kolme n2dala j2rjest iga p2ev HelpX v66rustajate juures olnud ja t88tanud; ja teiseks, et saaksime viimaks Suurt Vallrahu vaatamas k2ia.

Puhata ja omaette saime me olla kyll ja enam – nautisime taaskord Cairnsi Esplanaadi ja sealset basseini, ja muidu v6tsime viimast sellest, et paar p2eva ei tulnud koidu ajal yles 2rgata – kuigi teisel p2eval pidime me siiski 2ratuskellaga 2rkama ja kell pool seitse uksest v2lja minema, ent see meid ei heidutanud, kuna olime teel sadamasse, et laevaga Vallrahule s6ita. Olime ylirahul, et vaid kaks p2eva varem olime l6puks leidnud tuuri, mida me endale lubada saime. 99 Austraalia dollari (ca 63 eur) eest saime terve p2eva merel olla – sh peaaegu 4 tundi snorgeldamist, taustainfo Vallrahu kohta, rikkalik l6unas66k, ja klaas veini (tagasiteel – korraldajad ei olnud napsitanud turistide vette laskmisest huvitatud).

Nagu ma Gili saartest kirjutades mainisin, meeldib mulle hirmsasti snorgeldada. Ma naudiks ilmselt ka L22nemeres snorgeldamist, isegi kui seal suurt midagi n2ha pole. Aga maailma suurima ja rikkalikuma korallrahu kohal snorgeldamine oli midagi t2iesti erakordset. Suur Vallrahu on 2300 kilomeetrit pikk ning p6him6tteliselt on tegu maailma suurima elusa asjaga. Vallrahu koosneb tuhandetest v2iksematest korallriffidest ja saartest ning seal leidub yle 600 eri korallisordi, sh nii k6vad kui pehmed korallid. Suur Vallrahu on yhtlasi ka ylioluline 8kosysteem, olles elupaigaks tuhandetele loomaliikidele, mis omakorda toidavad paljusid teisi liike. Nagu k6ik muu eriline loodus maailmas, on ka Vallrahu vaikselt h2vinemas. J22me lootma, et ehk h2ving siiski peatub ning et ka tulevased p6lved saavad riffe imetleda. Meie aga saame olla rahul, et saime Vallrahu n2ha seni kuni teda veel on.

Riff on rannikust yldiselt p2ris kaugel, ja kuigi Cairns on hea koht tuuride jaoks kuna seal on riff v6rdlemisi l2hedal, v6ttis s6it aega siiski kuskil poolteist tundi. Kohale j6udes peatus meie laev kahes eri punktis – eri riffide juures (Hastings ja Norman riffid) misj2rel meid k6iki vette lasti. V6isime snorgeldada palju hing ihaldas, 80 meetri raadiuses laevast. Esimeses kohas oli vee n2htavus veidi kehv, ent snorgeldamine oli ikka meeldiv. Teine koht kus me peatusime oli aga ylimalt v2gev. N2htavus oli laitmatu, ja me saime nautida nii riffipealseid, meist meetri kaugusel ning t2is k6iksugu kirevat ja v2rvilist elu; ning ka sygavamaid kohtasid kus riff veep6hjast yles t6usis. Seal ujusid suuremad kalad ning v2ikeste kalade suured parved, veep6hjas olid meripurad, ringi hulpisid meduusid ja kalmaarid. Ja k6ikjal olid korallid – absoluutselt igas m66dus, igas kujus, igat v2rvi korallid. Justkui oleksime j2rsku kuhugi muule planeedile sattunud, k6ik oli nii kaunis ja kummaline. Meie tripi tipphetk oli aga siis, kui m2rkasime korallide ja kivide vahel ujuvat haikala! Tegemist oli kuskil meetrise noore valgeuimhaiga, teatud tyypi riffhai. Ta ujus niisama omi asju ajades ringi, ja lasi meid teda p2ris mitu minutit j2litada. Haid on muidu v2ga arad ja lasevad kiiresti jalga kui inimesi n2evad, seega oli meil 6nne, et saime teda n2ha. Minu kaameral ei ole veekindlat ymbrist, seega snorgeldamisest mul paraku pilte ei ole, kyll aga oli Paolol kaasas ta v2ike veekindel kaamera ning ta on haist juba video ka yles pannud. Tegelikult on ta meie reisi jooksul p2ris mitmeid videosid teinud ja sinna ylimalt h2id laule taustaks pannud – siin on link tema Vimeo kontole kus on ka muid videosid meie reisist.

Suur Vallrahu n2htud, oli meie missioon p6hja-Queenslandis t2idetud ning v6isime rahumeeli l6unasse s6ita. Cairnsist lendasime me Brisbane'i, mis on Queenslandi pealinn ning asub regiooni l6unaosas, Austraalia idaranniku keskpunktis. Brisbane on umbes 2 miljoni elanikuga modernne linn, mis asub rannikust veidike sisemaal, Brisbane'i j6e kallastel. Tegemist on Austraalia yhe vanima linnaga, synniaastaks on tal eelajalooline 1825.

Meie saabusime Brisbane'i hilis6htul ning plaanisime seal olla vaid yhe t2isp2eva, millele j2rgneval hommikul pidime juba sealt jalga laskma. Paraku aga olin mina endale mingi pisiku saanud, mist6ttu veetsin ma meie planeeritud ainsa p2eva Brisbane'is hostelis, palavikuga voodis olles. L6puks otsustasime siiski yhe p2eva rohkem linnas veeta, et j2rgmise HelpX v66rustaja juurde mitte haigena saabuda. 6nneks l2ks t6bi 2ra sama kiiresti kui tuli ning p2ev hiljem olin juba jalul ning saime l6puks minna linna uudistama. Brisbane on t6epoolest modernne linn – terve keskus on pilvel6hkujaid t2is. Ent samas on seal ka piisavalt rohelust – n2gime mitmeid meeldivaid parke ja rohelisi alasid. K6ige yllatavam oli aga see, et linn tundus pooltyhi olevat. Vaatamata sellele, et tegemist oli laup2evaga, oli linnas ringi jalutamine meeldiv, kuna rahvast oli imev2he. Kui aus olla, saime tunnise jalutusk2iguga kesklinna 2ra n2htud ning kuna seal ei tundunud suurt midagi teha olevat, otsustasime me kinno Deadpooli vaatama minna – film oli 2ge, ja otsus oli 6ige!

Brisbane'ist l2ksime me j2rgmisel hommikul rongi peale ja s6itsime kaks tundi p6hja suunas sellisesse v2iksesse kohta nagu Cooroy. Sealt v6ttis meid peale Sally, meie j2rgmine HelpX v66rustaja. Oleme tema juures nyyd juba kolmandat p2eva ja siin on t2ielik paradiis. Pikemalt kirjutan siinsest elust millalgi j2rgmise kahe n2dala jooksul. Meil oli plaanis siin kaks n2dalat olla, aga hetkel tundub siin niiv6rd m6nus, et v6ibolla j22me pikemakski. Eks n2is!

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Having returned from our second HelpX project, we planned to spend a few days in Cairns before heading south. That for two reasons – firstly, we needed some time off to relax and just be by ourselves after having been with HelpX hosts and working nonstop every day for over three weeks. But more importantly, we wanted to finally go and see the Great Barrier Reef while we were still in the right area.

We got to rest and relax more than enough – once again we enjoyed the Esplanade and its pool, and we took the chance to enjoy not having to get up at the crack of dawn for a few days – even though on the second day we did have to wake up to an alarm and get up by 6.00am. But that didn't bother us at all, because we were heading to the harbour to catch a boat that would take us to the Great Barrier Reef. We were over the moon to have finally found a tour (just two days before) that we could afford. For 99 Australian dollars (ca 63 euros) we got to be out at sea the whole day – including nearly 4 hours of snorkelling time, background information on the Reef, a nice buffet lunch and a glass of wine (on the way back though – the crew were thoroughly uninterested in fishing out drunken snorkellers).

As I mentioned when I wrote about the Gilis, I absolutely love snorkelling. I would probably enjoy snorkelling even in the Baltic Sea. But to be able to snorkel above the world's largest and richest coral reef is something extraordinary. The Great Barrier Reef is 2,300 km long and is basically the largest living thing on the planet. The Reef is made up of thousands of smaller coral reef formations and islands and there are over 600 types of corals there, both hard and soft. The Great Barrier Reef is also a very important ecosystem, being home to thousands of species of animals, who in turn feed lots of other species in the ocean. Like everything unique and beautiful in nature today, the Reef is slowly disintegrating. We can hope that the destruction will stop and that future generations will be able to enjoy the spectacle that is the Reef. However, for the moment we were happy to have been able to see the Great Barrier Reef while it is still there.

The Reef is actually quite far away from the coast, and while Cairns is one of the best places for tours because of the relative closeness of the Reef, it still took us over an hour and a half on the speedboat to get there. Once there, our ship stopped at two locations, near two different reefs (Hastings and Norman reefs), and there we were all let out to sea to play. We could snorkel as much as we wanted, as long as we stayed within 80 meters of the ship. The first location, while still awesome, didn't have that great visibility. The second place however was absolutely stunning. The visibility was perfect and we could enjoy both the reef tops, just a meter away from our faces and teeming with all sorts of colourful life; at the same time we could also enjoy views of the deeper bits where the reef rose up from the seafloor. There we saw larger fish swimming around, and large schools of tiny fish hiding in the rocks. Sea cucumbers on the bottom and jellyfish floating around... And coral everywhere – in all sizes, shapes, forms and colours, magnificent! It felt as if we were suddenly on a different planet, it was all so beautiful and bizarre. However, the highlight of the trip was when we saw a shark swimming among the coral formations! It was a young white tipped reef shark, about a meter in length. It was just swimming around minding its own business and it let us follow it for a good few minutes. Sharks are generally shy creatures and will swim away when near to people, so we were really lucky to have seen one. My camera does not have a waterproof casing, so unfortunately I don't have any photos of what we saw underwater, however Paolo had his underwater camera with him and he has already uploaded the video with the shark. In fact, he has been making and uploading quite a number of little videos during our trip (and choosing excellent background songs for them) – here is his Vimeo channel.

Having seen the Great Barrier Reef, our mission in North Queensland was complete and we were free to go south. From Cairns we flew to Brisbane, which is the capital of Queensland and is located in the far south of the region, in the center of the Australian east coast. Brisbane is a modern city of 2 million people, and it is situated a wee bit inland from the coast, on the banks of river Brisbane (very inventive). It's also one of Australia's oldest cities, having been established in the prehistoric year of 1825.

We arrived to Brisbane late at night and were planning on spending one full day there, and leaving on the following morning. Unfortunately though, I had caught something and was not feeling that well, so I ended up spending what was meant to have been our only day in Brisbane in our hostel, in bed with a fever. In the end we decided to stay an extra day, to avoid arriving at our next HelpX host feeling ill. Luckily my illness went as quickly as it came and the next day I was up and exploring the city with Paolo. Brisbane is indeed a modern city – the whole center is packed with high-rise buildings. But at the same time there was quite a lot of greenery as well – we saw lots of lovely parks and green spaces. The most surprising thing was however that the city seemed nearly empty of people. Despite it being Saturday, we saw very few people and it was strangely pleasant to walk around town with no crowds. To be honest though, we felt like we saw most of the city center within an hour and since there didn't seem that there was a lot to do, we decided to go to the cinema to see Deadpool – great decision, the film was awesome!

The next morning we took a train to go two hours north to a tiny place called Cooroy. From there we were picked up by our next HelpX host Sally. By now we have spent three days at her place already and it's complete paradise here. I will write about what it's like here sometime in the next two weeks. We had planned to stay here for two weeks but at the moment it looks like we may stay longer. We'll see!