[Lonhro]

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where wer you 6 mos. ago? :-p

Have you ever been up to cairns?

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I have, twice actually. Cairns itself is quite, how would I put this - boring? Tourist-y? A lot of Japanese tourists are stationed in Cairns, they love the joint. The area itself is outta this world - basically Cairns just happens to be the hub from where you go to every cool place around it. Port Douglas is about 35mi north of Cairns and is a much better option to stay at, although it is a little more expensive and upper-class - much more of a 'boutique' area. Going out to the Barrier Reef is awesome, although it's not as good as it used to be, and you really need to be selective with your tour guide. Generally speaking the bigger the operation, the less bright are the coral, the less the abundance of fish. Pollution and over-use will do that to a highly volatile environment. Try and stick with a smaller operator - it's more fun, you get to learn a lot more as it's more 1 on 1 type of questions, and they generally go to a different location every day or at least rotate their locations. Going on a river cruise down through the Daintree Rainforest is a must as well. To samj, good luck with the bub - but try and get out here when things settle down, you (and your wife and little one) would really love it.