Cairns

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As soon as we stepped off the plane, a heat wave hit us. It has been around 30 degrees steadily since we arrived, low of about 23 degrees I think. We got to our hostel, Caravella 149. Christine had recommended it after I had booked it already off the web, and I would recommend it to future backpackers. Nice setup, central pool, air conditioning. We splurged for the twin private room so no bunks this time!

We wandered around the town and came back to get ready for dinner when Sara, the American I met in Brisbane knocked on the window! So after our free dinner (courtesy of the hostel) at the Woolshed, we met up with her and made our way to the bottle shop and back to the hostel. It’s always nice to see a familiar face in an unknown city. She was leaving early the next morning but it was nice to hang out that evening.

Next day we found the lagoon and swam and tanned for a few hours. Its pretty cool, a giant pool with sand on one side like a fake beach and docks on the other side. When we got bored we went back to the hostel and hung out by the pool. Finished another book that day.

Tuesday we went to the jetty and went out on a day trip to the reef. It was amazing!!! The cruise out to the reef was about 2 hours. It was a huge catamaran, thought they didn’t put up the sail it was still awesome. I sat up on the deck soaking in the sun and enjoying the feel of the wind and the waves. There were times when I shut my eyes and imagined I was back in Vancouver on Grandpa’s boat. Around 11 am we got to the first snorkeling site. I must have stayed out for 90 minutes, it was so fascinating. It was so colourful, the clear water, the reef, the fish. By the time I went in I was ravenous, so lunch was particularly delicious, though Sarah informed me it wasn’t any better than the last tour we were on. We sailed onwards to the next site, a sand bar in the middle of the reef. We took a glass-bottomed boat to the sand bar and snorkeled back to the boat. It was even more amazing there as the water was shallower so everything was closer. When we got back there was coffee and cake. We sat up on the deck for the cruise back to the harbour. The trip ended with a flute of sparkling wine, which was the cherry on a perfect day in my mind.

Today was tried to sleep in a bit but couldn’t manage later than 9 am with the sunlight streaming in. We spent the morning at the lagoon again. Now we’re back at the hostel; Sarah by the pool, me enjoying the air conditioning! Tomorrow we head to Auckland, won’t get there til midnight, kiwi time. Can’t believe it’s only 4 nights til I fly home…

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