Journey to The Great Barrier Reef!

March 28, 2025

Greetings Friends, Family, and Fellow Travelers,

Welcome to our first newsletter out of the country that is also a continent, Australia! We’ll be here for six weeks, slowly making our way down the Eastern coast until we reach Sydney in mid-April.

Sara’s Thoughts and Recap

We began our trip in Far North Queensland, landing in Cairns to a torrent of rain. Buckets and buckets poured out of the sky, and I reluctantly checked the weather to discover a similar forecast was expected for the entirety of our nine day stay. We scrambled to get our soaking wet luggage into the car, and as we drove an hour north to our accommodations in Port Douglas we re-examined our game plan – multiple outdoor hikes, reef activities – and hoped for the best.

And…. Our first three days in Port Douglas were among the best consecutive adventures we’ve had on this trip! While there was some rain, the air was warm and it didn’t negatively impact our experience in the slightest. On our first full day in Australia, we visited Huntley’s Crocodile Farm, where we saw a crocodile feeding, took a boat trip, toured the reptile cages, and learned about snakes. Also spotted at Hartley’s: koalas (“the most boring animal on the planet,” according to the croc handler), cassowaries, Komodo dragons, and too many snakes. Still jet lagged and sleepy from having to wake up at 3am the day before, Calla and I excused ourselves mid-visit to take naps in the car, returning just in time for the crocodile attack show disguised as a safety briefing. I wasn’t really concerned about being eaten by a crocodile before coming to Australia, but now I am. Nothing is more quintessentially and stereotypically Australian than a man wading through water feeding a crocodile, running away from the crocodile, and then telling us about all the ways that tourists can be eaten by crocodiles. (In case you’re wondering, according to statistics only two people die in Australia each year from being eaten by crocodiles, and as of March 17^th, so far – none! Not sure if that’s a win or a threat.) At the end of the croc show, Hagrid the crocodile lost a tooth. Simon asked to see it, which resulted in the handler saying, “You know what? You can have it, mate.” Simon was elated to be handed a fresh crocodile tooth, which I now need to smuggle into five more countries before heading back to the US. Not to be outdone, Jonah opted to purchase a crocodile tooth at the gift shop. So now I have two crocodile teeth and, thankfully, a letter from the gift shop for customs.

The following day we took our first of two trips to the Great Barrier Reef. This has been a bucket list trip for us for quite some time, and with climate change and persistent damage to the ecosystem, it was not one we wanted to delay. I opted to tour with the company Quicksilver first as they are based in Port Douglas, have a larger boat, and dock at a pontoon. Given the weather, the boat ride out was extremely choppy and despite taking anti-nausea meds, both Jonah and I lolled around with wet towels on our foreheads until arrival. We’d booked ourselves for a busy day – Justin and Jonah were doing a dive in the morning, and in the afternoon, I’d plan to dive while Justin and the kids did an intro guided snorkel. The set up of the pontoon made things so easy – clearly marked bins with Lycra suits to keep out the jellyfish, fins, life jackets, and masks. After Justin and Jonah left for their dive, I took Calla and Simon snorkeling, and this will be a moment I remember forever. We suited up and sat together on the shallow steps ready to enter the water. I grabbed each of them a pool noodle and held on as we swam. At first, I was sorely disappointed as there was not much under water, but once we got further out, brightly colored corals and fish emerged. Calla was tentative about putting her face in the water as this was the first time she was using a real snorkel mask rather than one that covers her entire face, but she soon got the hang of it. The kids loved it, and I felt relieved that everyone was going to be able to participate in future snorkeling endeavors. There was something so magical about holding onto each of my babies while the underwater world came alive. Even in the face of ongoing bleaching and destruction, the Great Barrier Reef is spectacular.

After our respective snorkeling and scuba adventures, we re-grouped for a quick pre-lunch with plans to eat after our afternoon activities. I was the only one on the boat diving the afternoon slot, which was really nice. I saw a giant clam as well as a giant cod that I feared was dead but was thankfully just sleeping. At one point, my guide whipped out a legit etch-a-sketch and wrote, “watch white fish,” for whom he’d left a small shell. The white fish emerged from its hiding spot, took the shell, and disappeared once again. He then gave me a small shell and gestured for me to place it on a small pile of sand for the fish, as well. Once the dive concluded, I slowly ascended to shore where I saw Justin and the kids gleefully enjoying their snorkeling adventure. While the sun had been shining all day, as we were getting changed it began to pour again so we raced back onto the boat for late lunch and hot chocolate. 

Ultimately, our experience with Quicksilver was excellent. At the same time, it would not have been the tour I’d have chosen if I didn’t have kids or if it was the only Great Barrier Reef trip we’d planned to take. The clientele trended older, and we encountered many individuals who had never snorkeled before. The three of us were the only divers on the boat. That said, because it was so much an an introductory set up, it was perfect because it helped Calla and Simon build their confidence navigating the water with snorkel masks and fins. With a Galapagos trip in May, having our entire family willing, able, and enthused about snorkeling is a primary goal for us.

On our third full day in Port Douglas, we went for an excursion with the company Walkabout Cultural Tours. This experience far exceeded my expectations and was hands down one of the best tours we’ve done on our entire trip. Walkabout is a small, Aboriginal family-run company that promotes nature-based ecotourism, allowing visitors to connect with the land and sea and learn about First Nations culture and traditions. On the day of our tour, we were picked up by Juan, the company’s owner, and his niece, Chasely, and taken to a local beach. There, he showed us how to use our feet to rustle the sand at the base of the ocean to locate small mussel-like bivalves, which we collected to later cook and eat for lunch. Chasely and Juan also showed us the almond trees growing alongside the beach, where we gathered almonds that had fallen to the ground. While we were cracking into the almonds, Juan produced a small stone, and said that as a kid, he and his friends would rub these “hot stones” on logs and take turns trying to burn one another. For some reason, all of us except Calla allowed him to do this to us, and it was freaking painful.

We then went to another beach to look for mud crab. The tour description said, “have a go at spear throwing.” For some reason, I was picturing that crab spearing would be like archery, where there’s a target and you just hurl a giant weapon at it. Instead, everyone (except Calla; even Simon was a dicey choice) was given a giant spear to carry through marshland. During our walk, we were instructed to look for snails on the trees, but only pull off the ones that were yellow inside. Calla took this task very seriously, and I credit her for the plethora of snails we later enjoyed for lunch. We eventually emerged with muddy water up to our knees into the vast ocean and continued to hunt for crabs. We could tell when one was near when a pocket of water became less cloudy. Juan explained that if you spot a crab, you want to hold onto the spear with one hand and plunge straight down. Though he also told us that crabs were hard to catch lately, somehow, we ended up with six, most weighing around a kilo. Here is where I mention that crab is one of Jonah’s absolute favorite foods that we never eat because it costs approximately one gazillion dollars in the US. Six crabs?! That is quite the feast. I couldn’t have designed a better activity for him if I’d tried. Of course, while crab hunting we managed the usual frustrations and anxieties – Simon was scared he would get bitten by something, and disappointed when he needed help to spear the crabs, but eventually he was able to get one mostly on his own – but everyone persevered. All the while, Juan and Chasely talked to us about going crab hunting with their own children; Chasely told me that she tries to get to the water every day, and I could see why.

We were then taken to Juan’s parents’ home, where Juan cooked us a feast of the crabs, snails, and bivalves in a mix of coconut oil, chili vinegar, and garlic. We ate damper, a traditional Australian bread, made by “Nana,” as well as the wraps that our guides picked up earlier in case we didn’t catch any crabs. Chasely gave us small pins from her grandmother’s sewing kit to help us extract the snails from their shells. We’d also stopped for fruit earlier, which was served for dessert – a delectable array of custard apples, passion fruit, mangos, and rambutan.

After lunch, Juan brought us downstairs to show us a crocodile skin and a turtle shell from animals his brothers had caught and eaten. (You never kill for fun – just food.) Juan’s father is an avid musician and the basement was filled with guitars, drums, mics, as well as contained a dedicated recording studio. Justin joined the other men for a quick jam session, and then Calla decided she needed to perform, as well. She made up a song, which she sang directly into the microphone and forbade us all from playing instruments, laughing, or smiling. It was excellent.

Happy and with stuffed bellies, we visited Mossman Gorge – part of the Daintree Rainforest. On cue, it began to pour. We walked the pathway, and Juan showed us other medicinal plants, including one he squashed in his hands to form a sort of soap to put on cuts. He also taught us that you can eat the green part (“the bum”) of weaver ants, which has a lime flavor and is filled with Vitamin C. With the exception of Calla, we all tried them, though days later when Simon and I were bitten by a swarm of weaver ants at a fruit orchard, it was karma at its finest. We also tried something Juan called “nature’s tic tac” – a small, oblong berry-like object that he removed from a tree. Juan also had me taste the sap from under tree bark to help with digestion. It was disgusting but also it was amazing – everywhere we went, Juan knew what was safe to eat, what to use to heal. He told us two stories, one about a snake that carved the river and left stone eggs and another about a demon that ate people in order to scare kids from not running off in the woods. (The latter was a fail, as Calla ran away at one point while we frantically tried to find her down the slippery trail.) After the Gorge, Juan and Chasely drove us back to our apartment, continuing to answer our multitude of questions for them. What an incredible, incredible day.

After three busy days, we took an “off day” to explore the town of Port Douglas and visit the Forever Reef Project (at Juan’s suggestion). The Forever Reef Project is newly opened, and their mission is to protect the biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef. We learned all about the coral collection, processing, and preserving processes, and then got to see all of the different coral specimens under the protective lights. We marveled at the various species which – when in small fragments – resembled the display case at a gourmet chocolate shop. Afterwards, we took the kids for ice cream and stopped for a while in a bookstore for wherever we are in the world, a bookstore is a solid place for us to anchor.

The next day, we resumed our adventure travels with a second Great Barrier Reef trip, this time with the company Passions of Paradise. Unlike Quicksilver, which departed from Port Douglas, Passions departs from Cairns. This meant we were on the road for the day at 5:30am. Nothing sets a family with kids up for success like an early morning wake up plus an hour-long drive and two hours with nothing to do on a boat, right? Fortunately, Jonah and Simon fell asleep on the boat, while their tired sister insisted she wasn’t tired at all but could she have some more cookies, please? Unlike Quicksilver, where our boat was taken to a pontoon to dock, Passions is smaller and visits two different outer reef locations. Thus, it attracted a somewhat younger crowd though yet again, we had the only children on board. Upon arrival at Hastings Reef - 1770, I headed off for my scuba dive while Justin took the kids snorkeling. I surprised myself by feeling panicky for the first time since my very first attempt at scuba back in Koh Lanta. I don’t know what happened, other than my mask wasn’t fitting very well. This isn’t objectively a problem; you don’t breathe through your nose when scuba diving and having some water in your mask is okay. It’s just uncomfortable and can trick you into thinking you won’t be able to breathe underwater even though you wouldn’t normally think about or try to breathe through your nose when diving. I was worried I was going to have to abort the dive but relied on my trusty DBT skills (and a really great dive instructor) to keep me underwater. I turned my mind over and over again to being in the moment of the dive and practiced paced breathing to a count of four inhales and six exhales, all the while focusing on what I could see around the reef. This helped anchor me, and I was able to complete the dive. Visibility was murky, but we did manage to see a lot of lovely coral and a couple of giant clams.

During lunch, we moved locations and the kids excitedly recounted their snorkeling adventure, which included seeing a shark. When we arrived at our second location on Hastings called Stepping Stones, Justin went for his dive, and I took the kids snorkeling. We were thankful that the ship offered us a guide to help us with Calla, who was insistent that she did not need to hold onto the orange floatie ring that she 100% needed to hold onto in the choppy water. (At one point, she let go of the ring and jumped into my arms. I was not wearing a life jacket and I was very grateful that we had a guide to help peel her off of me ASAP!) Alas, no sharks this time around, but Jonah spotted a jellyfish. Once his dive was complete, Justin briefly joined us in the water before we all headed back to the boat to warm up and decompress.

Once on the boat Calla – at long last – fell asleep, though by that point there was only thirty or so minutes left in the ride. We’d opted to stay overnight in Cairns to avoid doubling back to Port Douglas since we’d planned to explore the Atherton Tablelands area the following day. After quick showers x 5, where Jonah and I both discovered we were sunburned, we went to dinner at Cock ‘n Bull, which I can only best describe as “imagine if a bunch of Americans opened an Australian-themed restaurant.” We ordered a kangaroo filet, crocodile schnitzel, and chicken parmesan (which did not come with pasta, so I had to explain to the confused person taking my order that I wanted some on the side. Were this actually an American restaurant, pasta would have been a given). For dessert, the kids wanted “Death by Chocolate” and I wanted banoffee pie, which was essentially a giant dish of dulce de leche with some crumbled pie crust and sliced bananas. Not pie, but definitely not complaining. Portions were huge, and the restaurant was attached to a casino that offered something called “pokies.” Pokies is a gambling thing. I know nothing about it and do not care to google.

The following day, we checked out early so that we could drive the hour and fifteen minutes to Yungaburra in time to visit the monthly market - (more on my love affair with local markets momentarily). The Yungaburra Market has around 250 stalls, and we enjoyed stopping to look at the various items on display. (To be clear, I use the term “we enjoyed” loosely, meaning primarily Calla and myself, occasionally Justin, and rarely Jonah and Simon.) Calla got her face painted, while the boys elected to have a tarot card reading. I bought a half dozen donuts that were demolished within seconds.

Next, we visited the Curtain Fig Tree. Jonah was grumbling about being taken to see yet another tree since we’ve been laughing about the “life changing” Wanaka Tree for weeks, but when we arrived he stood corrected. The Curtain Fig tree is less of a tree than …an experience. Standing in the aptly named “Curtain Fig Tree National Park,” the tree has aerial roots that drop 15 meters into the ground, forming a curtain-like effect. The tree is thought to be approximately 50 meters tall and over 500 years old. It was one very cool tree.

We then drove to Gallo Dairyland where we sampled house-made cheeses and chocolate. Despite their assorted gourmet tastes, none of our kids like good cheese. While this is disappointing and clearly needs correction down the line, it also meant that Justin and I did not need to share our cheese platter. For “fun,” I had each child smell the blue cheese, as I’d asked for the smelliest one. Unsurprisingly, zero children were willing to sample it. Again, not a problem. More for me.

Finally, we stopped at Millaa Millaa Falls, which many of you may recognize from a 90’s era Herbal Essences commercial involving a bunch of women with gloriously long locks frolicking under the waterfall. While he did not frolic, Justin did swim in the frigid water while the rest of us deemed it way too cold.

By that point, we were all getting tired, so began the two-hour drive back to Port Douglas with plans for a lazy, pj-clad evening.

The next day was Sunday, which I’d read was the day for the Port Douglas local market. As I mentioned above, I absolutely love artisan markets that bring together handicrafts like jewelry, clothing, and pottery, niche products made from local ingredients such as lotions, and homemade foods. I could spend hours touring the various stalls, sampling various items. Occasionally I even buy something! Thus, Calla and I enjoyed a fun girls’ morning out in Port Douglas as everyone else was unwilling/uninterested in a second consecutive market visit. There were many more artisans than food sellers at this one, which was fine by us, though after several minutes of wandering Calla cried, “I just don’t know what sweet thing to get – cookies, donuts, or a popsicle!” (The winner was “popsicle,” though we bought cookies to bring back to the apartment for after dinner. Sorry, donuts, but you will never be bagels.) Without my delightful young sons trailing after us and complaining, Calla and I were able to zig zag the market twice, once to assess and once to purchase. After nearly nine months on the road, I’m sick of my entire wardrobe, and caved, buying a couple of handmade dresses and some earrings. We walked back to our condo, where Justin took Calla and Simon swimming and I worked on this newsletter, probably. Later that day, we took the kids to dinner at The Tin Shed. We’ve had a few experiences now where we’ve needed to queue up to order our meal, once at the bar for drinks, and once elsewhere for food. This makes sense at more casual restaurants like Cock ‘n Bull and N17 (a burger place where we ate our first night in Port Douglas) but we were surprised to see the same set up at a more upscale place like The Tin Shed. I grabbed drinks while Jonah waited in the food line, and then I relieved him, waiting at least 20 minutes to place our order. The woman behind me complained every minute or so, remarking “I can’t believe how long this is taking!” Her mannerisms and cadence reminded me of my grandmother so despite the constant bellyaching, it made me smile. At long last, I went to place my food order, only to delay the process further when I tried to order an appetizer and entrees in a land in which appetizers are called entrees and entrees are called mains. After confusing the poor host, I finally managed to relay that “I want our oysters first please and all of the food after we are done eating the oysters.” Oysters were eaten. Mains were served. All was well.

Monday was our last full day in Far North Queensland, and we spent it among the crocodiles again. We took an hour-long boat tour in the rain with Solar Whisper, where we spotted a mama croc and some of her babies. We then took the ferry further into Daintree, where we visited the Daintree Rainforest Discovery Center. There, we learned about the plants and animals native to the region. Finally, we made a stop at the Daintree Ice Cream Company. This place was incredibly cool and unique – an organic farm that grows fruits from around the world and then turns them into ice cream. Their signature is their offering of four flavors, changing daily depending on what’s in season and what tastes best together. On the day we visited, we were served mango, coconut, yellow sapote, and wattleseed sorbets and gelatos. While the first two were self-explanatory, we’d never heard of the others. Yellow sapote originates in Mexico and Central America. Also called eggfruit, it had a sweet, toffee-like flavor. Wattleseed - originating in Australia and nutty in flavor - was my favorite. After we ate, we toured the grounds, ending our tour abruptly when – as noted earlier – Simon and I were attacked by a bunch of weaver ants. We drove back to Port Douglas to finish packing and get ready to fly south to the Sunshine Coast the following day.

That’s a wrap on Northern Queensland! Next up, we have a leisurely two weeks in Noosa Heads before driving south to Sydney.

Finally, one general challenge that I’ve not written much about is being able to spend time with Justin. While I’ve been great about carving out 1:1 opportunities with each of my children, by the time everyone is asleep for the evening amidst ever-changing permutations of beds and bedrooms, I’m already exhausted myself. Without regular childcare, the time we have for ourselves is fleeting. Sometimes, we aren’t staying somewhere with a common area or we have a very early wake up. As we are taking Australia relatively slowly, I’m hoping this is something we can remedy before we move onto a faster-paced schedule in South America. I also suppose this is a long way of saying that we are only three episodes into the second season of Severance, so please no spoilers.

Justin’s Soapbox

Port Douglas and Great Barrier Reef was the first time we've been able to Scuba dive since we first learned in Thailand. Thankfully, it was a pair of well-guided excursion we were able to take out to the reef which had the basics of scuba coming back to me like riding a bike. My second dive in the reef was my first without Jonah to accompany me, so I had a little more freedom to float around and explore independently. It was definitely my best dive experience to date, and while I'm not sure how many more times I'll scuba again (It is a bit of a to-do, as they say), it really felt like a visitation to a different world. So going short on words but long on underwater footage for this newsletter edition. Please enjoy your moment of zen with some video highlights from the dive, and bonus points if you can place that background music!

Jonah’s Musings

For 9 days we stayed in Port Douglas, a place in the state of Queensland, Australia. We've done so many cool things while we've been here and I want to share a  few of them with you.

The first thing I want to talk about is snorkeling/scuba diving. If you didn't know, back in Thailand I got scuba diving certified, meaning I am allowed to go out on dives. 

Here in Australia we went scuba diving and saw so many cool creatures. First I saw clown fish, which are actually pretty hard to find because they're only in anemones. The next animal I saw was an eagle ray, a type of marine animal related to manta and sting rays. I also saw a hawksbill sea turtle, as well.

But by far the best thing that I saw when I was snorkeling was a white tip reef shark. We only saw it for about 10 seconds though, because it swam away really quickly.

Another really fun activity that we did was crab spearing; yes, it's exactly what it sounds. We went on a tour run by people of Aboriginal descent. We learned about plants they'd use as medicines, and a type of bean that burns you when rubbed against a rock. But most notable of all we went crab spearing, where we went into a mangrove swamp to find crabs and spear them. One of the guides managed to get one crab while in the swamp, but once we got into the big clearing we got a lot more.

I came face to face with a massive crab that I started jabbing my spear at. After only making a few light hits on it the crustacean fled. But later our guide got the same crab. We knew it was the same one because it was missing a claw. At the end of our hunt we had around 6-8 crabs. Then we cooked them at the guide's house; they were some of the best crab we had ever had before. [Ed note: This was done within the parameters of Australian crab fishing guidelines and with ethical guidance from our native hosts].

The last thing that I want to talk about was Hartley's Crocodile Adventure, where we got to see and learn about saltwater crocodiles and other animals. The main attraction of the center was seeing crocodile feeding and a crocodile attack show. During this show the person would show us what the crocodile death roll was and how to stay out of its way. At Hartley's, we also saw kangaroos, koalas, emus, and cassowaries. 

Australia has been my favorite place on this trip so far, and I wouldn't be surprised if it would be my favorite place we went to for this entire trip. Anyways, stay tuned for the next blog post and subscribe to our YouTube channel and newsletter. See you in the next one!

Simon’s Reflection

We went to Port Douglas in Australia and went snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef! I saw a white tipped reef shark! I loved doing it. There was hot chocolate on the boat. Everyone knows why hot chocolate is good.

At Harley’s Crocodile Adventure – hence its name – there were crocodiles. But more than that, there were koalas, wombats, cassowaries, parrots, kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, and a Komodo dragon. They also showed a brown snake what is the most venomous snake on earth, meaning it will kill you in about four minutes. There were also statues of the prehistoric animals; there giant wombats weighing up to 2,310 kilos. There was also a giant type of Komodo dragon that weighed about 1000 kilos. There were also these prehistoric kangaroos. Their teeth were more like a wombat than our kangaroos to this day. I also watched the crocodile attack show where the person got in the water with a saltwater crocodile and he was able to avoid it really easily. At the end the crocodile’s tooth came out and the dude who did the attack show let me keep it! It was so cool. My brother was so envious.

Also, we visited the Daintree Rainforest. At the Discovery Center, I did a tree walk and there were fish and cassowaries, but we couldn’t find any. I really like cassowaries. Before that, we went on a boat and saw baby crocodiles. It was very rainy. After, we got fruit ice cream, but I can’t remember the names of the flavors. My Mom and me got attacked by ants! 

I also went to a market where I was hungry. I got a donut and saw a parrot. I also got my fortune told.

So far, I am liking the trip. It’s fun; I still can’t wait to be home! I am hoping to see my friends when we get back. Shout out to Moses, Sean, Emmett, Nikhil, Connor, George, and Ari. Yippee!

Calla’s Corner

Mommy: Calla, this is our blog about all the fun things we’ve done since arriving in Australia. What do you want to talk about?

Calla: I want to talk about that we … [At the Yungaburra Market] I got to do face painting and I also got to get a hair clip, too. It was a unicorn. I liked it so much because it was so fun. My face painting was like a dream flower queen! And I also liked to do it because it really was fun and I got to get … here, this is a new market [Port Douglas], so I got a popsicle at the new market and I also got to go into a playground. It was so much fun there! Just me and my Mom, and it was so nice to be with her, and I just could not stop doing it. And then we left, and then… this is now, this is not a market time. This is now we’re going to snorkel.

Mommy: Oooh, so let’s talk about visiting the Great Barrier Reef!

Calla: Okay! This is going to be fun. I got to see a clown fish. You might think it’s Nemo cause it’s a clown fish, but maybe it was his father searching for his other Nemo. Haha! But we saw a SHARK SHARK! So… when we saw a shark, it was very fun. It didn’t bite us. It wasn’t very close. It was the one with the loooong eyes sticking out. It had a flippy tail. It’s a kind of shark, not a regular shark.

Mommy: What do you think about snorkeling?

Calla: Well, I liked seeing all the coral reefs. Okay, as I swam by coral reefs, I saw pasta core. Pasta core is something that looks like poofy yellow coral reef stuff under the water. And it was so much fun to go snorkeling cause I already know how to do it. I’m not old enough to scuba dive, but I know how to snorkel. I wish I didn’t have to hold onto the [orange safety ring] thing! So, thanks a lot for coming to hear about my blog. I like the way I’m sending this to you. And thankful that this is going to be a card for hours, and thanks a lot for seeing my snorkel and all day about doing the snorkeling stuff. I hope you enjoyed my market and snorkeling telling you about all the different things I’ve done and all the different things I saw!

Mommy: Thank you, Calla. That’s a great blog!

Calla: Now I seem to like blogs!

We miss you all and love hearing from everyone who is reading these!!

xo,
Sara, Justin, Jonah, Simon, and Calla