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Cruising Down Under
You might just be able to see Australia below.So now its Australia then! Out of the Asian frying-pan and into the preverbial barby! Lets kick off with a few facts - Australia could fit the entire landmass of the UK into itself over 21 times, yet has 3 times less people residing in it. To successfully make it out of Adelaide in 7 weeks, we will have to travel far more miles than we ever travelled in Asia in considerably less time. But you know what? I have a sneaky feeling we might just make it!
For those of you aware of our current location, and following the blogs as I publish them, you might be able to spot that I have the power of hindsight to make that last statement! But while I catch up, in the interest of keeping things nicely chronological, I'm writing each blog entry as I would at the time. Far-North Queensland is one of Australia's most unexplored regions, but emerging like a tropical mirage from the great unknown of the Cape York peninsular is Cairns - an extremely agreeable tourist town and the start of our Australian journey.
Joining us for our week in Cairns would Pauls girlfriend Nikki. We
met her at Singapore's flash new airport and it wasn't long before we were telling tales of the trip so far while waiting for the flight. The journey was as comfortable as any plane trip I have ever had as the aircraft was half empty. This meant I was able to grab a whole row to myself and form a makeshift bed. After a brief stopoff in Darwin we arrived in Cairns - feeling relatively fresh. It was a good job too because we had the rigmormole of Australian customs and quarantine to deal with...again. We had already been thoroughly and offciously dealt with in Darwin, but obviously the chance that we have picked up a Koala killing funghi in the 90 minutes since then was too big-a-risk for the Cairns authorities. Once our bags were scanned, sniffed, sprayed and searched we were finally allowed into the country! By this point I feared a sneeze could bring about an apocalyptic plague! Of course I jest, now having been in Australia a while, as well as seeing the numerous TV adverts on the subject, I can see the vital importance of protecting the country's fragile ecology. As the adverts say -
'Quarantine Matters!'.
Anyway, on with Cairns! We grabbed a taxi from the airport that happened to be driven by a Southampton Football Club supporting Kiwi. When asked why he supported the Saints, his brilliant answer was 'well, its the closest team to New Zealand of course!'. After some refreshingly coherent football banter (after the Thai's we have been used to!) we arrived at our accommodation. The beautiful Harbour Lights apartment had been very kindly arranged by Nikki for the three of us. To say it was a step-up in quality of accommodation that Paul and I are used to would be an understatement of epic proportions. The apartment looked straight onto the picturesque Cairns marina and we immediately got the impression it was going to be a great week.
Perhaps Cairns' primary attraction is as a launching point for trips to the Great Barrier Reef, so as we headed out for an explore on that first morning, deciding on, and organising a boat trip was at the forefront of our minds. After grabbing some food from the supermarket, and managing to lose a particularly annoying backpacker who was tagging along, we visited a travel agent. There we got
The Great Barrier Reef
Populated by strange human shaped creatures with snorkels. some useful advice with regards to choosing the best boat trip, as well as picking up a fair amount of literature to be studied later.
The nightlife in Cairns, as can be expected from such a tourist orientated town, is renowned for its liveliness. So after an afternoon nap to counter the effects of jet lag we headed out in the early evening, hoping for a good night out. It was at this point, as we walked the short distance to the town center, that we witnessed the most amazing sight. A definate reminder we were in a strange and foreign land. First one, then a couple more, and then what seemed like thousands of bats began to swarm overhead. With the moon rising in the background it made for the most surreal sight. Turns out the bats were flying foxes, the same type we enjoyed seeing at Singapore zoo. From there, the night turned out to be a good one. The $5 meal deals in P.J O'Briens were as tasty as they were good value, and the 'World Famous Woolshed' bar went someway to justifying its reputation.
The next day, with the weather beautiful and showing no
sign of breaking, we decided to book our trip to the reef. Having weighed up prices, activities, and even the look of the boats, we settled on one. It would depart fairly early the following day. With the rest of the current day still available we set out to try and develop a mental map of Cairns' compact town center. We had discovered the night before that despite (or maybe because!) being a well organised collection of square blocks, Cairns can make a newly arrived traveller feel like they are in an impossible labyrinth. Whether that was just us, or happens to all visitors to the town I'm not sure! Either way, it would be a failed mission, because even after the complete 7 days we were still getting lost!
The Great Barrier Reef is reputed to be the Worlds' largest living organism. Thats a questionable fact I reckon, as it is surely a collection of many individual organisms. Regardless though, it is undoubtedly one of the natural wonders of the World. And as we woke on another sunny Cairns morning, it was our turn to come face to face (literally) with it. We 'checked in' at the marina,
Nikki & Paul Underwater
One for the mantelpiece maybe!? right below our apartment. This allowed us, after another night out, to pretty much roll out of bed and onto the boat. Once fitted with flippers, masks and snorkels we were good to go. Unsurprisingly, it was obvious from the start we were in the hands of a very professional unit (as I am sure all the reef trips are), perhaps a million miles away from the dubious safety of our Thai boat trips! We were all assigned safety numbers, and briefed thoroughly regarding our conduct on the reef and the dangers of the open ocean. This was all done with a humour that helped pass the cruising time to the reef, without detracting from the serious nature of the message. Despite being fairly large and at capacity, the boat and its crew maintained a personal approach.
Once arrived, we wasted no time in getting ready to get in the water. Sporting a rather fetching rash vest (or 'rashie' as the Aussies call them) I had bought the day before, and all the equipment that was given to us I was one of the first to jump ungracefully (more like fall, as a result of the flippers!) into the
Land Ahoy!?
..Or not! Me looking sharp in my Rashie! water. Without wanting to use an over worked cliche, it really was 'another World' down there! To my surpise, but for a couple of buoys there was nothing above the water level to suggest the wonders that lay beneath (thinking about it, why would there be?). However as soon as you peared into the abyss below, it was spellbinding. I had been amused by the marine life when we went snorkelling in Asia. But here, as well as brightly coloured schools of fish, was bright masses of coral, swaying with the water like a hallucinagenic rainforest. As well as this there were seveal huge fish (giant wrasse's) and, as ugly as they were, they only added to the experience. The variety of marine life increased still further when we swam over the coral ledge itself (being very careful to make sure our flippers didn't touch the delicate reef), and in each nook and cranny there seemed to be a different species. As we explored, an underwater cameraman managed to get some great shots of us, while we gradually became more adept to intricacies of snorkelling. It wasn't long before we were diving as deep down as our lungs would let
Nikki Holding Koala
Forgot to mention, we went to Cairns´zoo upon the roof of the Casino. Hence the Koala! us to get an even closer look at some of the fish.
Through the combination of physical exertion from the snorkelling itself, and swallowing copuous amounts of sea water, we took a short break on the boat. Conveniently, around this time they started serving lunch. However, before I grabbed a plate there was a shout from one side of the boat of an exciting sighting. We ran across to have a large turtle pointed out to us, pretty amazing stuff! After a nice platter of meat, salad and cheese we were informed we would be moving onto the next site.
That next sight, complete with floating helipad and helicopter, was even better. Here the fish were fed, and thus came in such numbers that it was almost overwhelming. As well as the the numbers, the size of the fish was impressive, if a little disconcerting to be surround by them! Even more worrying were the Aligator Garfish that periodically swam by. These long, torpedo like fish had mouths full of, well, aligator like teeth! Fortunately they didn't seem to pay much attention to us, but it was exciting to be amongst some slightly less placid looking creatures!
Got Meat!?
Some hot BBQ action. After plenty of underwater adventure we retreated back to the boat. A days worth of swimming made it nice to just relax on deck and take in the surroundings. Pointing out funny looking fish that swam by, taking photos, and, as an added bonus, finding a discarded $20 note! By the time the boat started to head home, there was no doubt in our minds that we had, had a brilliant day on the reef. There was however one highlight to come. As a nice wind-down one of the crew, an amiable Aussie (of Pacific origin) played a bit of acoustic guitar cabaret. One-by-one he made fun of each of the nationalities of guests on the boat. He played his guitar like a eukalaylie, as well as some distinctive reggae flavours, making the perfect sound to match the blue skies and clear waters outside. We certainly had fun with him, even if not all the guests enjoyed his fun poking. As we pulled into dock he semi-jokingly labelled other boats as ´cheap cruises´, that, added to our brilliant day, justified our decision to spend a little extra on the trip. We disembarked and headed home, another night out, this time
Cable Car to Kuranda
There´s always one isn´t there! to celebrate, was in order.
´Celebrate what?´you might ask. Well, erm, not everyone gets off the reef unscathed! Just ask anyone who has seen the film ´Open Water´! Anyway, despite our tenuous reasoning behind the night out, it was another good one.
Over the next couple of days we soaked up the relaxed atmosphere that Cairns most definately offers. Although often fronting onto a muddy bay (when the tide is out), the towns esplande is wonderful. Beautifully paved and surrounded by large grassed areas, public barbecues, and the piece de resistance - an artificial beach with lagoon - it is truly a fine example of urban recreation space. I don´t like putting the UK down, I´ve seen on this trip that we take a lot for granted, but you got the impression it was the sort of place that couldn´t exist back home. Anyway, without doing anything particularly of note we had a relaxing day or two. You could almost call it having a holiday within our 7 month holiday!
On our penultimate day we decided that for dinner we would have a barbecue on the esplande. After buying copuous amounts of meat, at remarkably cheap prices,
we headed to the push-button operated grills. Thanks to Nikki and Paul´s barbecuing skills, and my food cutlery preparation skills, the meal turned out to be a great success. No doubt we ate a months supply of red meat each, but as they say, when in Rome!
For the last day we took a trip to Kuranda - a small village in the nearby rainforest. To get there you can take one of the longest cable cars in the world up over the rainforest canopy, or take a scenic railway journey. On advice we were told to take the cable car up, and the railway down. I´d say the journeys themselves were the best bits. The cable car very impressive, soaring literally just feet over the canopy. It also allows you to get off halfway up to walk through a section of boardwalks within a portion of the rainforest. The railway on the way down was equally impressive. Obviously instead of travelling above the trees you travel through them, as well as several tunnels described by the onboard commentary as ´engineering marvels´. The village of Kuranda itself is pleasant enough, but after getting something to eat, taking another walk
Farewell Cairns
Me toasting a good week, with all my friends! in the forest, and looking around the small, but interesting Venom zoo, we felt ready to leave. Still, as a whole, the trip was very much worth doing.
The next morning it was time to say goodbye to the beautiful apartment we had occupied for the week, and head to the airport. Unfortunately it was also time to say goodbye to Nikki, who I´m sure even with the understandable jet lag, had a wicked time. For Paul and I it was onto Brisbane. Here´s hoping the rest of our time Down Under is as good as our time in Cairns!
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