Cairns - what a thoroughly pleasant surprise

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The Northern Greenhouse has got to be the best hostel ever. It is everything a hostel should be, with great facilities including massive dorm rooms with giant bunks, ensuite bathroom, a fridge and loads of cupboard space. There's a pool, a massive and clean kitchen, loads of settees to relax on, a cheap bar and cool staff. All for 25 dollars a night. Bargain.
We stayed in the heart of the city, just a couple of streets from the main CBD and a short walk from the manmade lagoon. Having done no research we had no idea what Cairns would be like (other than be told its a party town) so we were all really impressed by what we found. There are no sky scrapers here, the heighth of the buildings cannot exceed that of a palm tree, so when standing in the town you have a birds eye view of the beautiful mountains beyond.
The shopping is pretty cool and the manmade lagoon on the esplanade is great for cooling off and where most people seem to congregate to socialise.
As said, Cairns is notorious for a bit of a wild night out and so it would have been rude not to sample what was on offer in the way of bars. With our own hostel bar offering 2 for 1 deals on spirits at 4 dollars a pop, it was a great place to start the night. We then headed out to a few of the irish bars (what is it about irish bars? think that even on the Moon they have probably got a Shenanigans or Murphys and most definitely a McDonalds!), ending the night in the infamous Woolshed, where it is apparently mandatory to dance on the tables. With our 2 friendly roommates, Tom and Aiden in tow, Paul made the most of the cheap drink offers and enjoyed a 'Hat Party', which our roomies lapped up.
Wanting to make the most of our last few days in Queensland, we did a tour up to Cape Tribulation and spent a bit of time on the wide expanse of beach, although we couldn't go in the sea due to the presence of stingers. Instead, we visited Mossman Gorge and went for a swim in the icy, but refreshing water of the rapids. Additionally, we took a trip down the Daintree River, spotting a croc in the mangroves, ending with a quick stop off at Port Douglas, which is apparently where most of the rich and famous come to holiday and you can see why, with its lovely little town and gorgeous beach.
Enthused by their swim at Mossman Gorge, Geen and Paul decided to try something a bit more adventurous and took a water rafting trip, riding the rapids at the Barron River. Unfortunately, there won't be any photos of this because the cd had to be sent home but I recommend anyone that knows the Blooms to have a look, if only to see Paul launching himself out of the raft at full pelt down the river! Gina finally got to get her photo taken with a koala called Harvey in Cairns too - with the zoo bizarrely situated on the top of the casino.
We really enjoyed Cairns and regretted only having a few days there but you know what they say, so much to do and so little time. So it was time to leave the state of Queensland behind and to venture into the Northern Territory.

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