East Coast Part 2 - Tours, Friends and Family

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After Mission Beach we arrived in Cairns and managed to fill over a week with lots of fun activities! On our first day we explored the town which has a lagoon and lots of shops - mainly souvenir shops and food places and in the evening we discovered the delights of the Woolshed for a free dinner (pasta or rice, yum!). The next day was time for our trip out to the Great Barrier Reef which was the cause of much excitement and an excellent day. We cruised out in the catamaran to the opolu cay, a tiny island made completely of sand (seriously tiny, about 30 people could stand on it and that was it!) and then everyone set off snorkelling over the reef and back to the boat. The sea was a bit choppier than I'm used to, and my snorkel spent a large portion of time attempting to drown me, but the reef was amazing - each part of it is completely different and there's so much to see! Our trip also included glass bottomed boat tours which allowed us to see the reef and learn about it at the same time. During lunch we had cruised to our next location and everyone went snorkelling again. I think the second location was better as there seemed to be much more reef and plenty more fish to see, and I went on a guided snorkelling tour which was by far the best part of the day for me. The guide pointed out lots of different fish (including some that he said mate for life, awww) and also swam near a giant clam to make it close up and let us all stroke a sea cucumber. Looking out over the sea from the top deck of the boat you can see all the different colours in the water caused by the reef underneath and the sun hitting it at different places. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be to fly over. We headed back to Cairns feeling very satisfied with our day on the Great Barrier Reef and very lucky that we had the opportunity to see this magnificent natural creation.
The following day we set off for an overnight trip to Cape Tribulation, which is the most northern point of Australia we went to (this time!). The bus was driven by a tour guide who certainly knew his stuff and he was very informative, giving us great commentary at each of the stops which included a wildlife sanctuary, where we saw a cassowary bird (they like to kick you to bits apparantly!). After crossing the Daintree river and driving through the rainforest we were taken to our accommodation and Ellie and I spent the day roaming around the area and checking out the beach, which was about 2 minutes from the hostel, and the cape tribulaiton look out point. The next day we opted to hike to a natural swimming hole and after passing the 'danger, crocodiles inhabit this area' sign we jumped in for a swim. No we are not crazy - we followed instructions and stayed upstream of the croc bits! On the way back to Cairns we went on a crocodile spotting cruise along the Daintree river and we saw one large croc, mostly submerged under the water, a wild pig, a tree snake and a frog on the boat. Our driver took us on a whistle-stop tour of Port Douglas before we made it to Cairns, which is a very exclusive and fancy area by all accounts (read expensive) and we indulged in a game of spotting that elusive being known as the celebrity...no luck! When we arrived back in Cairns we found that we were sharing a dorm with none other than the lovely Kyrsty, flown in especially to see us! Well, ok, maybe not, but she caught up with us on her travels and the three of us spent one night catching up before she went to Cape Trib and Ellie and I went to the Atherton Tablelands. This was another exciting trip with a great group of people and the first day was spent walking through lots of rainforest looking at some huge trees (some of which you can stand inside!) and swimming in beautiful lakes and under a stunning waterfall - breathtaking. We had a night around the pool table enjoying some very long games of pool as none of us were very good, then the next morning we went for a good bike ride around the countryside - lots of huffing and puffing but I only pushed the bike up a couple of hills - it's amazing what you can do when you figure out how to work the gears! After lunch we went off on a canoeing adventure; Kayleigh (my canoeing buddy) and I had a great time attempting to paddle in the right direction and trying to spot wildlife and then halfway through the trip everyone got out and enjoyed some aboriginal face painting with rock-clay type stuff! Our bus was stuck in traffic getting back from the Tablelands but we were entertained by a girl on on board singing kareoke through the microphone and when we got back we were sharing another dorm with Kyrsty. We all spent the next day together wandering around the shops, hanging out by the lagoon, eating naughty foods and generally having a good laugh. We had a great time with you Kyrsty and it was great to catch up again!
Before we knew it, it was time to fly to Alice Springs for a slight change of scenery! Alice is hot and dry, with not so much as a slight river running through the river bed! We set off very early for our Outback Safari tour to the red centre and driving along the lonely stretch of road it struck me (when I wasn't asleep!) that the outback is alot greener that I expected! We enjoyed a camel ride at one of the stops (very bumpy!) and got to our camping ground at the Ayers Rock resort at lunch time. In the afternoon we went for a hike through the Valley of the Winds, otherwise known as the Olgas, otherwise known as Kata Tjuta! The huge rocks were amazing, each one totally different, and the view from our final lookout into the valley below was amazing. We went to Uluru for sunset, which was so amazing, the rock really does change colour as the sun changes position and sometimes the changes were so subtle that it's only when comparing my pictures that I noticed. We slept under the stars that night in 'swags' - aussie canvas matresses that zip up. Star gazing as you fall asleep - perfect! The following morning we got up for sunrise which was possibly even better than sunset as we watched the rock change from a looming black shape to a looming orange and then red shape! We then embarked on a walk around the rock, definitely seeing it from all the different angles! It's very different to how I thought it would be and some of the stories about the different parts of the rock are fascinating. I could go on all day, but I won't! Sufficed to say, I feel extremely privileged to have been to Uluru. That afternoon we travelled to King's Canyon and the next morning the group hiked along the rim of the canyon; due to being very silly and not drinking enough in the blazing hot sun I didn't take part in this activity - something which annoys me no end! We arrived back in Alice tired and dirty, but we managed just enough energy to spend the next day exploring the town and petting lots of lizards at the reptile centre before we fell on seperate flights to go and stay with our families. I am, once again, writing from the lovely Dee and Paul's in Melbourne, where I have had a great week and a bit chilling out and feel like I have been totally spoilt! We went up the Eureka tower to see some great views of the city and I've had a lovely time walking the dog, wandering around city and hanging out with my awesome relatives. Thank you for having me!
Tomorrow I head off to Perth, where I will be meeting Ellie and we'll be jetting off to South Africa!

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Comments

[mum]

new adventure
Well Cat Oz sounded really wonderful, what great memories you will have. Great to speak to you earlier, can't wait to hear all about your next adventure in South Africa. Love and miss you loads Mum xxxxxx

[bettyrobson]

home soon
Hi Catharine you still seem to be having a whale of a time it has been great following you around to see and hear about every where you have been and the things you have done but it will be great to have you home again even if you do not agree, i know your mum will. Enjoy the rest of your fantastic holiday and I hope to hear to hear all about from you yourself in the not too distant future. take care XXX Betty

[Dad]

Bye bye Aussies
Hey Cat, Had enough reading about Australia now.....where's the first blog on South Africa?? Great to speak to you on the phone recently - can't wait till 2/12 when you're back home, drowning out the telly and moaning about making me a cup of tea!! Love you loads, Dad. xxxxxx