Oz / Queensland Cairns to Airlie Beach

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I arrived in Brisbane on the 18th June, on a cold overcast day not what I expected for Oz. I was hoping to have a bed at a couch surfing friend but unfortunately that fell through so decided and the spur of the moment to do a domestic flight to Cairns. So I had pretty much spent a day and a half in an airport or on a plane. I was suffering major jet lag but looking forward to Oz too much to care. The airport runs a shuttle bus into town if you are in a group use a taxi it will be cheaper. I stayed at the YHA which was really clean and tidy and had a great atmosphere.

I quickly booked myself onto a diving on the Great Barrier Reef. I did a 3 day 2 night trip there which was amazing I saw so much wildlife including sharks, turtles and minki whales to name a few. A long term trip is a lot better than a one day trip you get a lot more dives and for me more value for money.

There are a lot of other activities to do in Cairns every night is a Friday night and everyone is laid back. There are a lot of adventure activities but I choose a more scenic one and did the Kuranda railway experience. Really worth while, I found it really impressive the views from the cable cars and the train were amazing I just don't have a good enough camera to do them justice. Mental photos count for a lot.

Headed next to Townsville this is a major stop off for the Magnetic islands. The island is again beautiful full of small bays and great views. There are loads of scenic walks which you can do and if you are lucky you can see a Koala in the wild (I was lucky) although they don't do much. They sleep up to 20 hrs a day. I also went to an Animal Sanctuary and got to hold and handle some amazing animals. The best one was a snake that ended up wrapping itself all round my head funny but a little scary.

Next up was Airlie Beach the stop off for Whitsundays. I have booked a sail boat tour. Yet to do it but everyone who I have spoken (excluding tour guides) says it's amazing. The city is built on this trade and you will be bombarded by tours you can do. Do some research before you go to get the best price. Some of the multiple packages work out better.

Final food for thought is that whilst travelling people loose all track of time, me included so much so that I am on a bus for my birthday, how sad. Will make the most of the journey might actually treat myself to a chocolate bar mmmmmmmmmmm

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Photos

Magnetic Island
Koala Park - I'm taking you home for Nadine

Magnetic Island
Koala Park - You can't have my glasses

Cairns - Kuranda Railway
Construction of the Railway was an engineering feat of tremendous magnitude in the 1880s

Comments

[Splash]

Hi Bruns
Hi there planning on touring OZ next november so following many of you guys here on travelblog sounds like you are having a great time! enjoy it! By the way how much did that 3 day reef diving cost? was it scuba or just snorcle? would your recomend your company? do they have a web? Happy birthday form the other corner of the globe I live in the small island of Ibiza in Spain Take care

[bruns]

Late reply but hope not too late
Glad too see that there are people who are reading my blog. There are lots of companies that you can dive with on the Barrier. My company was called Pro Dive. They do introductionary scuba, guided scuba and on your on scuba as well as snorkelling. There are lots of companies that operate out of Cairns and the best value for money was the 3 day trip a one day trip could cost 200 dollars oz and 3 days include bed and food was more like 400 dollars. I booked it last minute with the trip leaving the next day so got cheaper rate. Hope that helps. Here is my email i check that more if you have more questions = [e-mail]