Cairns,Mission Beach,Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands

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Hi All,

I hope everything is ok at home!

Cairns

We arrived in Cairns from Singapore with a short stop in Darwin. It was a long trip through the night, we did manage to get about 3 hours sleep on our first flight to Darwin but we were both exhausted once we got to Cairns. We got checked into our hostel which we had pre booked called JJ's it was nice but we did notice that this seems to be the end of getting free wifi in the hostels. The hostel is a few minutes outside the town but they run a great lil bus service up and down through out the day. Rather than go and get some sleep we had to go out and talk to a few tour companies to see what they would price us if we booked all of our planned trips for the east coast all together. We eventually settled on one company and were very happy with the deal we got. We ended up booking our great barrier reef trip, the Whitsunday islands, Fraser island as well as getting our greyhound bus ticket to Melbourne and also some nights accommodation. So after a long day we went back for a short nap before heading down to the woolshed for our free dinner that came with our hostel. Going for your meal here can only be described as lining up to get fed at a soup kitchen! Our life as living like king and queen in Asia has come crashing down. We are now peasants here in Aus! The free meal is basic spag bol but thank god you can upgrade for a small fee After dinner we just decided to head back on the hostel bus like most and head to bed.

Feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep we decided to do some food shopping as we aka Ian will be cooking from now on. After our successful food shopping in coles we decided to chill out at the lagoon in the centre of town. The sea is not very inviting in this part of Aus with the box jellyfish season starting! After a couple of days here in Cairns we were hoping the rest of Aus was not going to be the same! There is not a nice vibe in the town itself, there is always a lot of locals hanging around shouting and the like. Apart from the barrier reef and cape tripalation there is not much else to do from here! That evening there was a bbq going on in the hostel so we decided to sign up and we had some lovely food well apart from the beef sausages Laura was not happy with these. We got talking to some very nice people and it was a very good night.

We were up early the next morning to head to our barrier reef trip. Our boat was called ocean freedom, the boat and crew were really great. We had both decided to do an introduction dive while here. We got a small talk on how to breath through the regulator and what signals to use when under the water etc. We were both pretty nervous getting into the water but the company is great they only allow 2 divers per instructor which makes it more comfortable. Once in the water we got comfortable breathing with our regulator on before our instructor brought us down a few feet while holding a bar to run through some more safety checks. This was getting us to clear water from our mask, equalising the pressure in our ears and removing our regulator from our mouth opening our mouth and then popping it back in and spitting the water out! It was at this point that Laura decided she had had enough and didn't want to do anymore which had the instructor baffled because she thought Laura was doing great. So Laura got out and left me on my own, after performing my safety checks and taking in some water the first time i tried removing the regulator me and my instructor were off hand in hand to explore the reef. In my thin stinger suit i was physically shaking from a combination of the cold water and i'll admit some nerves. I got to see nemo and loads of other pretty cool fish and coral. I couldn't believe how comfortable i got after a few minutes in the water and i loved every minute of it. I think the instructors really help to make you comfortable. They are constantly looking and making sure you are ok. It made me think that we should of made time to do the paddy course in Asia, but there is always the next time i suppose. We spent the rest of the day on the boat going snorkeling at a few locations even getting to see a pretty big 1 1/2 metre reef shark. There were 2 sharks in a cave and the instructor swam down to see them, one obviously wasn't happy with us trying to take a look and swam out and we all went after it. Again stupid how comfortable you get in the water! We both had a great day on the reef snorkeling and a first dive for Ian. The boat and crew were great and we were well looked after with food and drink we would recommend them to anyone.

Mission Beach

The following day we caught our first greyhound bus to mission beach. We got checked into our first dorm room of the whole trip pretty early in scottys hostel and there wasn't a massive amount to do here apart from sky diving. So we decided to take a trip to see a wallaby sanctuary which is run by the hostel. A woman in the area rescues wallabies who's mothers have been killed usually by dogs or cars and nurses them in her home. She gave us a little talk on wallabies and then she let some of them out to hop around us and get photos with us holding them as well as a lizard and a python which she has as pets. Laura decided she wanted a photo with the python around her. As soon as she had the python around her neck there was a knock at the door and a man brought in a rescued wallaby. With that Laura was left with the python constricting around her arm and by looking at her face you could tell she wasn't happy. With the woman distracted one of the girls from the hostel who had never handled a snake tried to take the snake of Laura as she was now really freaking out! But Laura trying to get it off herself which we were told not to do didn't help, eventually after a lot of panicking she was free from the snake and has decided against having one around her again. We spent the rest of the day chilling by the pool in the sun. The following morning we were to catch a bus to Townsville and then get the ferry to magnetic island.

Magnetic Island

After our bus ride the ferry was no more than 20 minutes and the sun was shining again (usual occurrence these days lol) Once we arrived we hopped on the only bus that goes around the small island which the locals nickname "Maggie". The bus was pretty packed and a lovely old lady even offered to hold one of my bags on her lap as we were standing!! We dropped off people along the way who returned from work and kids who were returning from school in Townsville, the bus driver more or less dropped them at their houses!! When we arrived at the Base hostel (the first of our free 10night accommodation we had got when we booked our greyhound bus pass) we were pleasantly surprised! The bar was pumping tunes overlooking the sea and some amazing views, we checked into a 6 bed dorm and Ian was the only guy, i'm sure he was not complaining though! The rooms were small huts they were very hot as the aircon was not great but it wasn't too bad. We headed to the local supermarket and got grub to cook for dinner....unfortunately the only downfall of this lovely hostel was the communal kitchen. It was disgraceful, infested with ants!! Huge giant ants and little ants crawling everywhere. Ian managed to cook pork chops with mash n veg but it was a struggle and not sure we enjoyed it too much as we were shoveling it down to stop the ants getting at it!! The next morning we headed off on the bus to the Koala Sanctuary and wildlife park. This was a lovely place, we got a guided tour around the wildlife park, we got our pictures taken with crocodiles, turtles, different birds, lizards and last but not least we got to cuddle a Koala Bear! It was brilliant and the tour guide made lots of time for everyone to hold all the animals and have their pictures taken, she was also very informative and answered any questions. At the end we also got to experience a bird feeding which was pretty fantastic but also a little scary as the birds were landing EVERYWHERE haha on our arms, heads etc!! The only disappointing thing was that the photographer lost all our groups pictures with the Koala Bear 😞 we had managed to get one on our own cameras but it would of been nice to have the professional photo!! On the way home on the bus we very randomly bumped into a girl we know from home Michelle with her boyfriend Robbie they have been here for over a year working and just happened to be on the island for a day trip, such a small world!!! That night we had good fun in the bar at the hostel there was a brill atmosphere but we didn't go too mad as we had to get up early for a ferry back to Townsville and catch our bus to Airlie Beach!!

Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands

So after another long enough bus journey we arrived in Airlie Beach, we were only here for a very short time as we were heading sailing on the Whitsundays the next morning. So we checked in for our free accommodation and managed to bag an upgrade to a very nice private room for a very small fee which was a nice change after a few nights in dorms. The hostel was lovely and we headed to the bar next door for our cheap meal deal and free drink before heading to bed as we had early start!! The next morning we checked out and headed to check in for our boat trip, we had chosen the SV Whitehaven as it came highly recommended, we were given small blue bags and told that was all we could bring with us so we had to try stuff our belongings into it for the 3 days. Once we got checked in we had an hour or so to kill so we headed to McDons for breakfast to use the free wifi. Then we headed to the peir and after a roll call and short introductions we boarded our beautiful boat. The boat was not the biggest and so cabin space was small we had a double bed shaped like a triangle at the very front of the boat and we had 2 girls sleeping on a bunk either side of us and their only way of getting on or off their beds was to step down on to ours haha so it was nice and cozy, one of the girls snored all night long she sounded like a ventilator hahaha!! But for the whole 3 days we were fed like kings!! Every morning we got cereal, fruit and toast, for lunch we were given a selection of cold meats, salads and breads the first day a curry for dinner, the second day we had fajitas for lunch and spag bol for dinner also every evening we were given tea and coffee,a huge tray of biscuits and nachos with dips and cheese. So we were very well looked after!! We sailed around the Whitsundays for 3 days we had spectacular views and stunning sunsets we got to snorkel in many different places we got to kayak and Ian even swam with a giant sea turtle. It was a little daunting snorkelling in stinger suits that covered most of our bodies as it was stinger season and some of the jellyfish can kill you so it took us a while to feel comfortable in the water, you were always on edge. The highlight of the weekend was our trip to Whitehaven beach we did see a few other islands and some other lovely beaches but Whitehaven was just amazing. We did a short hike up to a look out point and then we had time to spend on the beach. We just cannot put into words how beautiful this place is so we will let the pictures do the talking!! The 3 staff on the boat were brill they were very informative and looked after us so well. We also met some amazing people we had a fantastic weekend and we were sad to say goodbye to everyone. Once off the boat we had time to shower, get some dinner and then it was straight onto an overnight bus to Hervey bay!! Its all go go go but we are loving every minute!!!

Until next time

Lots of love Laura and Ian xxx

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