Seeking advice on nature tours from Cairns; general travel advice from Sydney
Looking for advice. Will be in Australia for a little over two weeks in August, half in Sydney. (Have never visited before and likely won't get to again.). Thinking to fly to Cairns and do day tours to rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. Hoping to see nature not supercrowded with tourists, but we don't want to rent a car and drive. Seeking recommendations for specific tours-- willing to pay a bit more for a nicer, quieter experience. (Also, I can't swim and am nervous about seasickness-- should I skip the Great Barrier Reef and tell my husband to go alone and enjoy the snorkeling?)
Also happy to get any recommendations, especially if they are near Sydney. (Are we making a terrible mistake to skip Melbourne? I'm sure we would like it, but we are thinking we need to focus.) We are generally city people but also want to experience landscapes that don't exist elsewhere.