World Heritage in Northeast Australia

According to the Lonely Planet, locals from Cairns “speak reverently about their region and will look at you with undisguised pity if you’re form ‘down south’”. That was exactly what happened in the first hours of our 3,5 days long weekend in Cairns, when we talked to some authentic Australian blokes in a local pub.

In our 3 days, we had the chance to:

- Stay in a $19 backpackers’ place (with dinner included ;o))
- Drive through the beautiful sinuous road of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, in the middle of the rainforest, headed to Cape Tribulation
- Do a short walk and see where the rainforest meets the see
- Take a boat in the Daintree River and see 3,5 meters crocodiles
- And most importantly: snorkel and dive in the exuberant Great Barrier Reef! (I saw all sorts of corals, molluscs, fish and even sea turtles, crown fish - Nemos! - and a shark!)

The Reef totally deserves to be called World Heritage, as it has so much to teach to humanity with its interrelations, uniqueness and beauty. More than the colours, shapes, dimensions and features, the incredibly intricate harmony of life under the water is really impressive. Camouflage, fluorescent, tiny, gigantic, funny and odd fish are host by hard or flexible (but always gentle) nurturing corals. When the water current is strong, they all pulse in the same rhythm, as if they were guided by the best of the orchestra’s maestros.

At the end of the weekend, I got a jellyfish scarf, felt a lot of “saudade” from Brazil and shared the Cairns citizens’ pride for living in the paradise.