Cairns - Reef and Rainforest

---

The night bus was another long journey bit I managed to get maybe an hours sleep. I arrived in Cairns at 06:20, and caught the courtesy bus to the Bohemia resort. I was exhausted after 4 nights with out any real sleep and my words and actions were a little slurred! I had to wait until 14:00 before they would let me check into my room so the morning was spent doing some washing and enjoying a full English breakie.
Luckily I bumped into Kim and Trev at the hostel and they gave me a bed until check in, cheers guys!

The Bohemia was more of a resort than a hostel and there was an excellent pool and spa, and outdoor bar where every night a new film was screened on the large outdoor projector.

The must do’s in Cairns are the Reef and the Rainforest. After talking, some others and I agreed to hire a car for 2 days and drive to cape tribulation to see what the rainforest has to offer. It was a great trip. Emma, Wai, Michelle, Kirsty and Jackie and myself set off early and drove to the Lync Heaven campsite in the middle of the rainforest, stopping at Port Douglas for lunch and Mossman Gorge, for a dip, on the way. The number of insects and the sheer bloody size of the buggers is overwhelming, and despite the heat and humidity we retired to the cabin after a dinner of pasta with a full garlic chucked in to try and fend of the mozzies; it didn’t really work it but tasted gooood!

The following day was spent walking the rainforest and exploring Cape tribulation. We went on a croc safari but unfortunately didn’t see anything.

The other part of my Cairns encounter was diving the Great Barrier Reef. I got 6 dives on a live-a-board on the outer reef. The visibility of the water was brilliant and I saw a reef shark and patted a hawk-billed turtle, while it munched on coral. I also got the opportunity to go on a night dive, which is a totally different experience. I didn’t see any substantial fish but you can see there little red eyes looking out at you from the coral. It is a pair of green eyes that you need to worry about. This means SHARKS, and you wont see it until it is at your face! When under water the time passes really quickly and 40 mins bottom time goes in a flash. I also did my first unguided dive with a Dutch guy called Minnet.

For my final day in Cairns I caught the scenic sky rail and train to Kuranda, a village in the rainforest, where gold used to be mined.

After persuading the minibus driver at the hostel I got a free lift to the airport, where I flew onto Brisbane. I managed to get I lift off of a guy I met on the plan from the domestic to the international terminal, where I spent the night and flew out of Australia and onto the next leg of my trip in New Zealand.

---

Photos

Bohemia
Trev and I at the pool

Dinner
Jackie and Kirsty took pity on my dinner of banana and biscuits and made me pasta

Beach Heaven
Palm Cove Beach on the way to Cape Tribulaiton

The Group
Taken at Palm Cove

Beach Pose
At Palm Cove Beach

Tree Frog
Some of the wildlife in the rainforest

Mind the jellys
A little exagerated in size!

Chavs on Tour
Alot of campers had cool graphics

Refreshing
Me taking a jump into Mossman Gorge

Fig Tree
After wraping around another tree and killing it off, this is what is left

Watch out for the Kassowaris
A local had altered the road sign to get his point across

The Kangeroo Explorer
My home on the reef

Sky rail
Over the Barron river

Kuranda
I don't know what that Roo thinks he's doing to the Kassowari

Trigger Fish
Lurking in the coral, look at its teeth!

Turtle
munching the coral

Spotty Fish
I think this is a potatoe cod