This past weekend I traveled to the tropical northern part of Australia (weird that the north is warmer). We stayed in Cairns where the Great Barrier Reef is right off the coast and the rain forest is just a drive out of town. It is not a big city, centered on tourism, and everything is within walking distance which is nice. Our hostel was right in the center of town and had a walk in pool right next to the bar. The weather was gorgeous! Nothing but sun, and mid-80s temperatures.
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Day One
Our first full day in Cairns started bright and early as we had to check in at the marina by 7 am. We took a catamaran out to a beautiful part of the reef called Michaelmas Cay. The reef here was shallow and the water was so clear, perfect for snorkeling. On the way there, our crew told us about what things we might see while snorkeling or diving. One asked, "What do you think the biggest thing you will see on the reef today will be?" In my head I thought, oh please don't say shark. He answered, "Tourists. That's right, the don't bite so feel free to touch them. But if they are female be careful where you touch them as they may get aggressive." They assured us that if we did see a shark it would be just a reef shark no bigger than a human and they tend to swim away from people. I skipped the first part of snorkeling to learn how to scuba dive. We had to learn all of the hand signals to communicate, how to get water and out of our masks, and how to equalize our ears. When we first got in the water, we held onto a rope and put our faces in to get used to the breathing. At first, I was somewhat freaked out as it feels really unnatural and you have to tell yourself to only use your mouth to breathe. After a while though you get used to it and diving is amazing! Some fish were not shy at all and would swim inches away from my mask! I saw tons of different types of coral, fish, giant clams, and a giant sting ray! This location was only 30 miles away from where Steve Irwin was killed. We ate lunch on the boat and went to our next location, a deeper spot further out called Paradise Reef. This was my second dive so I was used to the equipment and the scenery was amazing! Just like out of Finding Nemo! Everything was so colorful and there were fish everywhere. After, we got biscuits (cookies) and tea as we cut the motors, put up the sails, and cruised back to Cairns. We laid out on the deck getting some sun and watching dolphins swim with the boat.
Day Two
This was our free day and we walked around town, going to the markets and checking out the waterfront. The beach there is so different. Because it is dangerous with deadly box jellyfish and salt water crocs not many people make use of the shoreline. Instead, the town has its very own man-made lagoon to swim in. After, we went to relax and lay by the hostel pool. That night, we joined a pub crawl that took you to all the bars in town via a double-decker party bus. What a night! We had two 40 yr old birthday parties and a bachelorette party (known as a hen party) in our group! And one guy invited his mom and boss to try and set them up (on a party tour?). At each bar the group played a game. To break the ice, each girl was given a nut and each guy a bolt and you had to go around the bar trying to find your match. The group was dominated by French and English... you could tell who was who. It was a ridiculous night to say the least.
Day Three
After chugging water and trying to soothe a headache at 6 am, we were picked up in a bus to head up to the rain forest. We took a ferry over a river filled with crocs and were told the last girl to decide to go for a swim never came back. Once in the rain forest, you can't see much of anything besides trees from the road. The shrubbery is so thick, we would be driving next to the ocean and only get a glimpse of it every now and then. In the wet season, people can get stuck either going in or coming out because parts of the road would be completely underwater, more than a bus could get through. I thought there would be somewhat of a town centre where all of the buildings are, but it is just one long road with a shop or two off on a little road to the side every km or so. We could not see a restaurant across the road because of the trees. It was beautiful though. We went ziplining through the canopy. Here they call it "flying foxes". We learned that on our first stretch of zipline we passed more trees than we would if we went from the top of canada to the southern end of North America. Pretty crazy. We also saw the nutmeg tree that the man who wrote Alice in Wonderland had been smoking when he came up with his story. Flying through the trees, I could not help but sing the rain forest song from zoo camp to myself. We actually saw a wild cassowary and babies! It is a giant predatory bird in the rain forest, google it. It took 20 years, but I have officially been to a place more humid than Columbia, SC! You could work up a sweat just sitting outside. We spent all day at Cape Tribulation and headed back to Cairns around 6 pm.
After an AMAZING weekend, we were up at 4:45 am to make an airport shuttle for a 6:20 am flight! We were exhausted, but it was definitely worth it. I watched the sun come up over the ocean right before I put my Ipod in and snoozed all the way back to Sydney.
