In between research we decided to take a vacation to Cairns and got a lot of photos. We stayed on a semi-private beach where a mangrove estuary met the ocean. Tidepools were everywhere with a variety of gastropod and barnacle species as well as trapped blennies, gobies, and damsels. Rock anemones and crabs were abundant as well! Cairns is very close to the great barrier reef (see photo taken from the air above) and close to some of the several island research stations I visit for collecting trips. More photos:
In additon to it's abundance of aquatic life, Cairns is tropical and features hundreds of miles of tropical rainforest, much of it on the mountain ranges that are up to 3000m tall!
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