The Great Barrier Reef (and More)

It's been a little while since I left Adelaide.  I've been in South Australia for about ten months now and decided it was time to do a little bit of holiday-ing on my working holiday visa. Where to? Cairns in northern Queensland, with my main priority to see the Great Barrier Reef.

Welcome to Cairns

I got into Cairns Monday afternoon. After quickly dropping off my stuff, I went on a little stroll around town. Although definitely a tourist hub, Cairns is beautiful.  There's a boardwalk that runs along the water, shops and restaurants everywhere, and at this time of year, the perfect temperature to be comfortably warm (but still quite humid).

This is a bit deceptive.  There wasn't really a beach and the small patch there was had signs warning of crocodile attacks.

The Lagoon.  Due to the lack of/deadly "beaches," the city built the lagoon slightly inland and immune from crocodiles.  Free to the public as well.

I had a very weird first impression at the hostel.  From every hostel I've ever stayed at, to claim a bed, you put something on it or make it look like someone has used the sheets.  I found a bed that had nothing on it and no sheets so I made the bed and headed off.  Later when I came back, a girl was in the room claiming the bed I had put my stuff on was hers. She was pretty calm about it but I got death glares from another guy in the room (who turned out to be just a *gem* of a temporary roommate), even after offering to find another bed.  Not quite sure what the hostility was about but alright.  All the Australian hostels I've stayed in have been a bit odd like that.  Besides the uptight people, the hostel was pretty basic but in a great location.

After waking up very early on Tuesday, I walked to the marina to catch my boat to the Great Barrier Reef. The company I went with was a last minute decision but I saw they capped their participants at 20 whereas most other companies could have upwards of 100+ people. They were also one of the cheapest, claimed their boat had the lowest carbon footprint among all the tour boats, and owner operated.  Apparently you can take the kid out of Portland but you can't entirely take Portland out of the kid.

There were only 8 of us on the catamaran along with 3 crew.  The ride out to the reef was a bit slow but no one was in a rush and it allowed the weather to clear up by the time we got there.  It was about a 2 hour ride to the reef.  Our first snorkel spot was at the Upolu Reef.  It was absolutely incredible! There were so many colorful fish, amazing designs in the reef, a few stingrays, and some massive giant clams.  After lunch we headed to another spot which I thought was even better than the first.  One of the crew went with us the first time to point out anything significant but we got to go on our own at the second location.  

The Great Barrier Reef

On the way back, we got the finest glass of goon, some fruit, and a delicious cheese platter. We briefly saw a whale in the distance shooting water from the surface. If you're ever in Cairns and want to see the reef, Reef Daytripper was awesome.

Wednesday morning, I made my way to the train station to catch a ride on the Kuranda Scenic Rail.  It's basically an old train that takes you through the rainforest up to the little town of Kuranda.  Along the way, you get an audio commentary about the construction of the track.  It was definitely overpriced but the views were stunning and the history of the track was interesting.  I got lucky in that I had the entire seating row to myself which allowed me to move side to side and spread out a bit.  If the train had been full, anyone not sitting by the windows would have been in for a bad time.

Choo Choo

Barron Falls

When we arrived in Kuranda, I walked around town a bit, dodging the masses of selfie sticks, and eventually decided to go on a little hike. The trail started through the rainforest, ran along a river, and finished back up in town.  It was beautiful and easy enough I could do the trail both ways in thongs (although my feet are absolutely destroyed with blisters now). The actual town was a little too much for me. Dozens of overpriced, tacky tourist shops/restaurants lined the streets.  There was a tightly packed market area filled with bohemian-esque stalls which was neat to explore but decided against getting my hair dreadlocked. Maybe next time.  

I eventually gave in to hunger and grabbed a sub par pie at the bakery. I overestimated how much I'd be able to do for free in Kuranda and after doing the same hike in reverse, ended up sitting around for a fair bit before I was able to head back to Cairns.

On the way down, I rode in a cable car suspended over the forest. Once again, the views were incredible. Queensland really is a beautiful state. There were a few stops along the way you could get out and look at viewpoints. The cable car was much faster than the train and only took about an hour, stops included. After waiting forever at the end of the sky rail for the shuttle, I headed back to the hostel.

With nothing planned for Thursday, I decided to head to the botanic gardens.  Botanic gardens seem to be in every city in Australia and they never disappoint.  The gardens were a fair trek from the city centre but it was worth it.  I probably ended up walking a little under 15km throughout the day.  

Start of the Red Arrow hike

Later that night I noticed an outdoor projector screen setup across the street from my hostel and saw there was a free showing at 7 so I grabbed a spot in the grass and enjoyed the film.

Checkout was at 10 Friday morning which left a fair amount of time to wander around the city.  There wasn't much else to do besides dodging the sun as much as possible since I have the fairest skin in all the land and didn't want to get sunscreen-ed up for a flight home.  One of the art galleries in town was doing free entry for the month of September so after an ice coffee, I took a peek inside.  A few hours later, it was time to head back to Adelaide.  

Now it would seem like a simple task for a shuttle to pick someone up and take them to the airport but apparently that's not the case for Sun Palm Transport.  I booked my pickup the day before and received a confirmation email minutes later.  At around 3:15 on return to Adelaide day, I decided to give them a ring seeing as they were 15 minutes late.  The wonderful girl on the other end of the line said I had booked the shuttle an hour prior and they called me when I wasn't there. Now that seems a bit odd seeing as my confirmation email says 3:00 and I had my phone on me the entire day with 0 missed calls.  Better yet she "didn't know" when the next shuttle was and wouldn't refund me [still working on getting it refunded].  I quickly found out Uber doesn't run in Cairns (boo) so had to call a cab.  Luckily the airport is close to the city and Australian airport security takes approximately 8 seconds to get through.  Not the best way to end the trip but it all worked out and I made my flight.

Bye bye Cairns

This was a fantastic little trip but I have come to the conclusion that I'm done doing solo trips, at least for a while.  It's great doing whatever you want whenever you want but once an activity finishes and there's nothing to do the rest of the day, it can get a little lonely. Although it's easier on the wallet, I'm also not one of those people who can grab a beer or sit down for food on their own, which, after a long day of activities, is a nice thing to do. From now on, someone's coming with me on trips.  That aside, Cairns was a great place to visit and I will for sure be back to see the reef again.

That's all for now.  Bye.