When we met friends in Cairns recently, we were keen to show them the reef.
An incredible number of people visit the Great Barrier Reef each year and,
since a lot of them go to Green Island because of its proximity, which keeps
costs down, we decided to go elsewhere. Michealmas Cay presented itself as an
option, and looked amazing – easy decision.
With over 900
islands, covering roughly 2,300 kilometres, choosing which island to
visit could be an endless task. Fortunately tour operators only offer
trips to a few islands or the choice might take all day.
We started the
day with a leisurely 33 kilometre sail out to sea, which took about two hours,
and lounged around on the deck of our large catamaran, chatting in the
sunshine.
Michealmas Cay
When we arrived
at Michealmas Cay it looked like an isolated atoll in a travel magazine; it was
perfect. The cay is a bird sanctuary so only a small section is accessible to
daytrip visitors, but there was plenty of room. The birds were fun to watch
too.
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| Scuba diving, Michealmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia |
Scuba diving
As keen divers,
we had signed up to dive, so promptly vanished when the boat moored up for the
day at the edge of the reef that surrounds the cay. We dropped down the reef
wall and were promptly met by schools of fish. There were lots of soft and hard
corals. We swam through a narrow canyon and found a turtle waiting for us on
the other side. As we swam back to the boat we also saw a pregnant blacktip
reef shark resting on a sand patch. The water was warm, the visibility fair,
and the lack of sea lice was a bonus!
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| Yellowtails on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia |
Lunch
Having been
underwater, we had missed the morning tea that was served on arrival at the cay
and a marine biology slideshow presentation, but we returned in time to join
our friends for the buffet lunch, which consisted of a few hot food options and
a variety of cold meat slices, cheese and salads. Drinks were extra.
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| Snorkelling from the beach, Michealmas Cay, Queensland, Australia |
Snorkelling
It was possible
to snorkel along the edge of the reef, off the back of the boat, but there was
also a glass bottom boat transfer to Michealmas Cay, so we hopped on that to
have a better look at the cay, see the birds, and snorkel from shore.
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| Michealmas Cay bird sanctuary, Queensland, Australia |
There were a lot
of birds. The cay has a small wire fence separating a section of the island for
visitors and, amusingly, the birds kept to their section. It definitely had a
desert island feel, with chunks of driftwood covered in birds and then just the
ocean as far as the eye could see.
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| Snorkelling selfie! |
Snorkelling from
the shallow, fine sand beach was wonderfully easy. It was a short swim in waist-deep
water until the inner edge of the reef, which was not in quite as good
condition as the deeper section we had dived earlier, but then it probably gets
a lot more visitors, and the accompanying fin scrapes. There were lots of fish
in the shallow section, and several turtles munching lazily on the coral as
they slowly cruised around, delighting snorkellers.
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| Turtle, Michealmas Cay, Queensland, Australia |
Afternoon tea
As per Aussie
tradition, afternoon tea of tea and coffee and biscuits was served as the boat
crew rounded everyone up for the return trip. We had spent four hours at
Michealmas Cay (We could quite happily have stayed longer). Pleasantly tired
and salty, we snoozed in the bow nets of the catamaran as we sailed back to
Cairns.
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| Sailing into Cairns, Australia |
Was Michealmas
Cay worth it?
The trip to
Michealmas Cay cost a bit more than other trips that were offered such as Green
Cay and Fitzroy Cay, probably because it is a bit further away, so it takes
more fuel to get there. The benefit of this is that lots of people are not
prepared to spend that extra money and time sailing, so the boats that go
further are not so busy.
Our catamaran was
not full; it was certainly busy, but not unpleasantly so. We were always able
to find somewhere to sit or stretch out and there was plenty of food, and
snorkelling and diving equipment (including dive computers) available.
The crew was
friendly and approachable, and reassuringly concerned about safety without
unnecessary impositions.
All in all, it
was a great day, and we’d certainly go again.
Photo credit: Karen Naylor
Photo credit: Karen Naylor
