We arrived at Cairns airport safe and sound, albeit exhausted, at about
9am and got the free shuttle to the hostel, called Asylum. It took about 20 minutes and the first thing we noticed is how calm and wide the roads are compared to Asia. It was incredible. Its also so much less humid which makes the heat so much more bearable, enjoyable even. Its roughly 32 degrees everyday still but feels much cooler.
We found a cafe for brunch and it was the same sort of price as at home, we were both relieved that it wasn't as expensive as we expected but gutted because it means that we will definitely have to start cooling for ourselves. Even though our budget for the month is double our monthly Asian budget, we still won't be able to afford to eat out all the time. We spent the first day booking tours and buying some stuff we need for Australia (like less hippy clothes, sorry Mum). In the evening we found a Nandos which was very exciting so we headed there for dinner. It wasn't quite the same, and I don't think it was quite as good as Nandos Basingstoke, but it was definitely Nandos nevertheless and the same sort of price as at home as well.
The next day we had planned to do a waterfall and rainforest tour with a company called Uncle Brians which had been recommended. However, when we went to book it at the travel agents he suggested that since theres four of us we could save a lot of money by renting a car and just driving to all the points on the tour ourselves. So that is what we did.
It cost us about $65 (£33ish) to rent a car with two drivers (Becki and Katie), a satnav and insurance whereas the tour was going to be $119 each. We also had to fill up the petrol tank at the end of the day which in the end came to $26. Not a bad saving at all. The car we had was a Hyundai Gez and it was cute and white.
We packed up our bags with our packed lunches and off we went. Our first stop was Josephine falls which was about 60km out of Cairns and was excellently driven by Becki. Josephine falls is this long, cascading ( I think thats the right word) waterfall with a natural waterslide. The water was freezing but the slide was so fun. Katie has a couple of videos so I'll have to show you when I get home. After that we went to Millaa Millaa waterfalls which was another 60kms away expertly driven by Katie. This was the waterfall that Peter Andre filmed mysterious girl at and is taller and the water is a bit grimier than at Josephine falls, having said that, it was still really beautiful. Next up was Eacham lake which is a really beautiful and quite large lake that people swim in near Yungaburra. The water there was lovely and it was a really nice spot to take a nice relaxing dip in. After that we visited a huge tree called the Cathedral Fig tree. Its in the rainforest and is roughly about 800 years old and it is huge and quite impressive. Its 48m tall and they think the tree canopy spans two olympic sized swimming pools. It also meant that we got to take a short walk into the rainforest (barely but still) which was cool.
Our second to last stop was at Heales lookout. It was along a windy mountainside drive and it was a really beautiful viewpoint. Last but not least we stopped at a town called white rock to spot some wild wallabies that come out at dusk. We spotted a few which was exciting but Amy was disappointed because she had assumed we were going to watch the sunset and the wallabies from a hill called white rock. She was pretty gutted. I'm so glad that we rented our own car in the end. It made the day so much more relaxed and we could do what we wanted. We were also at some of the waterfalls when the bus arrived and a truck load of people arriving kind of ruined it so we definitely made the right decision, we think we might do the same for some future trips.
When we got back we went to the supermarket to buy some dinner ( we cooked ourselves a stir fry) and headed to bed because we had to get up early to catch a boat the next day.
On Sunday we left
at 7ish to head down to the pier ready to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. We were all very excited and despite some delays, we headed off on our boat at about 8.30. The company we went with was called silver swift and the boat was pretty big, holding between 25 and 100 people each day. Because we are certified divers it also meant that we got our dives cheaper than others, but we actually managed to get the first one free from our travel agents which was good.
We had our briefing in the main section of the boat and it was the most thorough briefing we have ever been given. Unfortunately the sea was really choppy. So much so that there were a few waves where we left the seats and Kate and I were really quite sea sick which wasn't great. We finally arrived at the first dive site which was called coral gardens on Flynn reef and as soon as we got in the water we were fine. The dive was brilliant, photos don't really do it justice. We went down 21metres for about 46 minutes and the coral was brilliant. It was so good Becki and I decided to do another. The second dive only cost $20 (about £10) and it was probably the best £10 I've ever spent and by far the best dive we've done. We got so close to a turtle and we went through all these tunnels and out the other side and the coral was stunning. It was some of the most incredible and beautiful sights I've ever seen. We only went down 9m or so for about 43 minutes but it was brilliant. Again, Becki has some videos which I can't wait to show you. After that we felt like we'd seen the reef and wanted to also see it from above so we decided to join the others with a spot of snorkelling. I'm disappointed we never saw a shark or a stingray, but what we did see was worth it.
The way back was also pretty choppy but not half as bad. We'd also bought some sea sickness tablets from the bar so it may have helped. We had a brilliant day, which was only made more so by the food on board which was so tasty and there was so much of it.
When we got back we bought some stuff for dinner from the supermarket and went for a drink to celebrate.
We spent the
Monday morning at the Lagoon which is basically a lido in the town which is so cool and so pretty. Its fairly big and its free and always busy. Our bus for Mission beach left
at 1.45pm so we wandered over there after lunch and that is where I am right now, just watching a man eat his fourth apple in a row. What a mad mad! That is all for now, lots of love, Martha.
