The further south I travel, the smaller the towns become (and Cairns wasn't exactly enormous to begin with) and the colder the nights become. Dawn arrived as I travelled on the bus and revealed large pine plantations, thick mists hung in the still, cold air and gave the forest a mysterious feeling with sunshine flickering through the misty branches. I was exhausted from my overnight journey and although I hadn't needed to spend any money on accommodation that night, I had slept very little on the bus. I spent my first day in Rainbow Beach snoozing and had an early night. [View Full Entry]

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My favourite place in Airlie Beach would have to be the artificial lagoon complete with manicured lawns, flower beds and palm trees. They even have lifeguards stationed there, although their services seemed unlikely to be required, the lagoon was less than 2m deep in most places and it's not like there would be any rip currents to contend with. Gangs of yellow crested cockatoos fly noisily through the trees, and larger flocks of rainbow lorikeets chatter to one another as they feed on the few flowering trees along the waterfront. Of course the seagulls make an appearance too, screaming and dan [View Full Entry]

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Satisfied that I'd completed what I set out to achieve in Cairns I made preparations to head south. Before I left however, I decided to try one more treat. After a short walk along the main road I booked myself into a new hostel for the night and set about flicking through some of the travel brochures. One that caught my eye was a trip down to the Tully river for a bit of rafting for the day. Worried that I was too late to make a booking (21:20) I was quickly assured that it was not a problem and I [View Full Entry]

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To find words to describe my diving experience over the past two days may be difficult. Exceptional, outstanding, awesome just seem inadequate. Everyone must go diving or snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, it should be compulsory! Far and away the best thing I have ever ever done. Please forgive the typos, the screen is swaying around a bit, feels like I'm still at sea. After a smooth hotel pickup at 07:45, I climbed aboard the ferry-like vessel at Cairns marina, pier B. Quite a luxurious affair, much nicer than the ferries used in Auckland harbour. I was surprised at how [View Full Entry]

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Today I arranged a trip to Kuranda which is small settlement in the rainforest. I took a scenic train trip to the settlement, the railway was built in the late 1800's by men with picks and shovels and it's a pretty amazing stretch of railway track spanning deep gorges and tunneling through mountain sides. It's really difficult to imagine how they achieved this railway all that time ago. The Kuranda settlement itself was nothing to shout about. Loads of tourist trap curio shops selling junky decorative trinkets. However, my trip included entry into the animal parks in the town where I [View Full Entry]

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Flying from Auckland at the crack of dawn has its perks. We witnessed a stunning sunrise as we travelled north towards Australia. The flight was very bumpy due to a tropical weather system but we cleared the bad weather after a few hours and sitting next to a fellow chatty traveller from Germany made the 5 hr flight pass quickly. The descent into Cairns was as memorable as takeoff, the great barrier reef splayed out below us like iridescent oil patches on the ocean's deep blue surface. I can't wait to get out there and dive into the warm blue sea. [View Full Entry]

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As the day of departure approaches, I find myself reflecting on past months spent preparing for this trip. What motivates someone to abandon all that they know, all that is familiar and plunge into unknown countries and cultures? For me, I guess boredom as much as anything. Bored with the sameness of each day, week days at work and weekends at home. Having worked for several years for a successful company, I felt that I had two options: (1) Drop my savings into property to buy my first home, or (2) Go on an epic journey across the globe. Option (1) [View Full Entry]

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