Fitzroy Island. Gorgeous!

Ever been to Australia and wanted to stay there? Welcome to the club! lol

After many years of thinking and talking about going to Australia I finally visited the beautiful country. Where do I begin..Australia is a young country in the pacific east part of the world where the primary language is English. In Sydney, the country's capital, there is a healthy mix of ethnic cultures that boosts the modern city's cultural diversity. While the country's economic competitiveness at the international level continues to evolve, natives at heart seems to value family life and one's well-being over work. I absolutely love it. Play hard, work hard, and take care of yourself and others - living in the moment! What is not to love about this kind of attitude?!

So while my experience in Australia was fabulous in many ways I'd like to focus on one part of my trip. Specifically, the day I spent up on Fitzroy Island, Cairns. Cairns is home to the world famous Great Barrier Reef. It is a popular destination for many people especially divers who have much to see in the world of the sea. The Great Barrier Reef consists of many small islands and many of them do not have resorts on them meaning you must travel to the islands in the morning and leave in the afternoon to go back to the town of Cairns. Cairns is a small town and the part of it with the most bustle is of course the streets where all the hotels are.

My trip to Fitzroy began with an hour-ish ferry ride from the pier of Cairns.

 Fitzroy island is probably going to rise in popularity now that they have a hotel resort on there. The resort is brand new and while I haven't been into the rooms or the restaurants of the hotel, everything looks 4-5 stars.

One natural destination between Fitzroy and the other Great Barrier islands is the beach shores of the island is not made up of soft sand. Most of the beach shoes are made up of fossilized coral. Awesome to look at, but not so awesome to walk on with flap flops. You are better off in trainers when you're out and about on the island. The water is pristine and you'll see in the photos below just how far you can see through it. The reefs themselves are only several meters off from the shore so there is plenty to see in the water even just with snorkeling. There are a bunch of other activities you can do on Fitzroy which includes hiking, camping, diving, paddling, and more.

resort pool

 

 

the reef is protected by the government and it is illegal to remove them from their natural habitat

There are two beaches on Fitzroy. One is readily accessible just as you hop off the ferry while the other, Nudey Beach which has soft sand on its shores, requires a 30 min hike to the opposite of the island. According to the resort staff, it had been raining the entire week so we missed the super shiny days, but it was blessing that we got decent amount of rays during the hours we were there!

you can see into the water all the way to the coral from the pier

ocean trampoline

My visit to The Great Barrier was one of the most memorable parts of my trip to the outback. There is loads of information available online if you're interested in planning your own trip there. I would only suggest that as part of your research to please learn how to protect the reef during your visit. Part of the reef's viability and keeping the reefs open to tourists depends on all of its visitors. I found a great place online at Dive The Reef where you can begin your research.