Carrying on in Cairns

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Hello from the sunny and rainy climates of Cairns!

Arrived here on Wednesday from Alice Springs. First thing I saw as I stepped off the plane was mountains covered in rainforest and the sun setting behind them with a lovely red glow.
Noticed while driving to the hostel that Cairns has a lot of bars, hostels, bars and hostels! The night life here is quite good but there's not much else to do. It's like Alice Springs people come here to stay the night before heading up North to Cape Tribulation or the Great Barrier Reef. But saying that it's a nice place to chill out which is what I've been doing.

On the front is a place called the lagoon (a glorified swimming pool) which was built as there's no beaches in Cairns, a nice mud flat though! On to the English subject - the weather. Had a couple of dodgy days with really heavy rain, I was dressed in a summery outfit, skirt and flip flops and got a bit wet. The past couple of days I ve been sitting by the pool at the hostel and the lagoon, chillin' and tannin'.

On Thurs went to the rainforest up a hill which had 200+ bends in it. First stop was the Catherdral fig tree which is a tree that was killed by a fig tree. All that is left is the roots of the fig tree. Pretty spectacular sight. Drove further through the Atherton tablelands to a couple of lakes and 3 beautiful waterfalls, that a couple of people swam in. Including the thick blonde girl from Milton keynes, her Northern friend looked like Einstein to her (Hello to all the Northerners BTW)! Our driver was a pervert called Bart who wore no shoes when driving and didnt seem to know much about anything. You could see him getting sweaty at the idea of the girls in their bikins. Unfortunately I dont have a bikini so I avoided his lechourus stares (Dam!).

On Saturday went on another tour and kept my fingers crossed for another Bart. Unfortunately my prayers weren't answered. The guide was a bloke called John who shook my hand when he picked me up (from the corner). A totally different attitude to the usual back packer tours and I could see why. At one point I was the youngest on the bus by about 30 years, looked like I booked on to a Saga tour. Then I family came on and I was only the 3rd youngest. Yay! Our destination for the day was Cape Tribulation and the Daintree River. On the River saw 3 wild crocdiles, no sign of Steve Irwin though! Was amazing to see them in their natural environment. Further up the coast was Cape Tribulation an amazing beach in a cove with rainforests everywhere. Along the road were little beaches that no one else was on - paradise.

Yesterday was on of the main reasons I came to Cairns - to see the Great Barrier reef. Got a boat to a place called Green Island one of the main islands people go to. Website of GIslandThe boat took about 1h 15m and there were a lot of Japanese tourists throwing up. I was close by the end but my stomach is strong from many nights of Smirnoff Ice's. Cairns is popular with the Japanese as JAL fly here on a regular basis. Did you know that Cairns is the 3rd busiest airport in International travel, I bet you didnt!

Back to the Barrier Reef - Went on a semi sub and saw brilliant creatures. Saw a giant clam and a turtle. Also lots of fishes that were lit up by the sun and had a lumious colour to them. Things you would only see in Sea World. The coral was really good. nice clear waters to see it. Also went on a glass bottom boat which was OK but you are on top of the coral not next to it, so didnt see much.
Then had 3 hours to spend on the island. Sat on the beach for a couple of hours and wading through the water seeing some more of the coral. I sat on the beach that is on the website I would love to tell you that it's a terrible place to make you feel better but it isn't so I will just have to put up with your jealously. Had a exploration of the island which took 30 mins and then home. Waters were a bit calmer by this stage!

Today I have been sitting by the pool recharging my batteries for the next leg of my journey. Going down the East Coast in 3 weeks before heading off to NZ on the 22nd of Sept. Going to be seeing the inside of Greyhound coaches for many hours!

Must be off the sun is still out and I can catch the last few rays!
Hope all is well in what ever people are doing

Karen

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