2nd stop, Carins!
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2009
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10
Trip End
Ongoing
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Cairns,
Queensland,
Australia
Monday, June 22, 2009
So ive just spent the last week in Cairns which is about 60 KM's or so south from Port Douglas. Had a good week and managed to get alot of stuff done really so been a busy bee!
Monday morning we arrived into Cairns city and got to our Hostel called 'NJoy!' Hostel seems a pretty friendly place but smaller than Dougies in Port Douglas and plus it has no bar which sucks but the plus side is that its a BYOB hostel (bring your own beer) so can work out cheaper. Me and Jamie made friends with the current roomy Jay whos been here a couple of weeks and planning on staying a while as he looking for work though every day we seen him he either been drinking the 'goon' (cheap box wine) or sun bathing down the lagoon and having a barbie! Our other room mate came on Tuesday, Ed.
Cairns is a pretty nice town. It seems to have alot of asian influence as every other shop is a chinese restaraunt and most shops have asian transalations! Its very much a tourist town as all shops sell tourist gifts or tours.
Most the week when we havent been out doing something we have been either window shopping down the Espalande or chilling out and sunbathing on the Lagoon which is just a big man made swimming pool right on sea front. Unfortunately there is no Beach in Cairns as the little beach area there is, is infested with crocs so a lagoon was made instead.
On Tuesday night me and Jamie went down the Cairns Casino which was amazing. Never seen so many flashing coloured lights and noises from the machines.
Me in my wet suit
For those who know me best i was in my element that night although as usual that means it can be dangerous when it comes to the money. I spent a fair bit of money that night before i discovered they had a poker table! This is where i made pretty much all my money back so i came out pretty evens in the end which i was happy with! Been down there a couple of times with Jamie and Ed and its pretty good atmosphere there, I was one card away from winning 10 grand and jamie was very close to winning 27 grand on one of the machines! but he came out with 90 bucks instead (still a nice profit though)On Wednesday me and Jamie had a day on the ocean travelling 60km off shore to the outer reef where the great barrier reef meets the continental shelf. (basically where the wall of coral stops and goes from 10-20 meters deep to 300-1000+ meters deep). The trip to get there took about an hour and a half and unfortunately my self along with half the boat felt a little uhhh sea sick. Lets just say that out of 3 toilets i managed to wreck 2 of them by chucking EVERYWHERE haha. of course i cleaned up after myself though...
After my stomach had finally emptied and nothing more could be thrown up we finally reached the outer reef! It made the last hour or so of being sick worth every moment to see the stunning views and clear waters. We had a total of 3 stops each with about an hour to an hour and a half free time to snorell around the area. it was amazing to think i was 60KM away from land and i was snorkelling in the ocean which was only 10 meters deeps where we were! Saw so many amazing things in the water including the Nemo and Doris fish! A turtle and a Shark!!! I tried to swim close enough to shark and got within about 15 foot of it and just about got a picture.
Lagoon
After spending an entire day at sea we headed back and this time i was prepared and had loads of travel sick pills so i was perfectly fine on the journey back but for the entire evening i had 'Sea Legs' and kept feeling as if i was swaing and rocking side to side and up and down, wierdest feeling...On Friday Me and Jamie headed to a day in a village called Kurranda which is located up in the middle of the rainforest in middle of no where. There is a road that can get you there but for tourists the best mode of transport is to take the Sky Rail up to it. This was a small cable cart which was over 7.5 KM long and took around an hour of going way above the rainforest to the village. It had a couple of stops on the way which were just to have a 10 minute walk around the rain forest and look at some view points. Managed to see a huge lizard about a meter and a half long!
We got to the village and spent the day there going through the markets and shops. They had some 'Attractions' as they called them such as a bird house, koala sanctuary and a 'Venom Zoo'. We went to the Venom Zoo which basically turned out to be some small old warehouse that had about 15 tanks in with some deadly snakes and spiders aand having a 14 year old kid who was taller than me and looked like 30 give us a tour and tell us about each species. At the end of this long 10 minute tour we had the opportunity to have our picture taken for free using our cameras with a black headed python! Something i couldnt say no as much as i hated touching a snake.
Me holding Black Headed Python!
It felt all slimy and rank and jamie took his time trying to take a picture from both mine and his camera and i was getting pretty close to crapping myself and throwing the bloody thing but i managed to keep my kool. u will notice in the pic i kept the snake WELL away from my face!The journey back down from the village was by the original Kurranda Railway which is over a hundred years old and was used to transport workers and goods up to the village. The train journey last about an hour and a half and went around the mountain edges of the rainforest and around the most amazing Dam which was the Barron Dam.
As i mentioned before when we had free time we spent alot of it sunbathing by the lagoon. One day me, jamie, Ed, Jay and Natalie (another fellow backpacker Jay in our room is mates with) chilled out together for a few hours on the lagoon front. We spent the time discussing the amount of aboriginals (abbo's) there were in Cairns and why they all seem to be so drunk all the time. Apparently they cant take the sugar in the alcohol as there bodies arent used to it so they get drunk really easily and stay drunk for days. At one point Natalie had a blonde moment and said they were a strange 'species' not thinking what she had said which put us all in to a laughing fit. (shes a teesider from up north so ill let her off).
Me and Jamie saw transformers 2 last night. Has to be the best movie i have seen in a longgggggg time. Definately worth the money to go and see!
Anyways its been another great week with a fair bit done. Still considering the whole Sky diving thing and nearly booked it the other day but i bottled it. If i have the courage i will do it at Mission Beach which is where me and Jamie are heading for the next 3 days from tomorrow (monday) morning.
We have now definately decided to do the west coast first so after going to Mission beach which is about 130KM south of Cairns we will spend a day or two in Townsville slightly further south then head in land working our way to Alice spring and Uluru (ayres rock) then we will head north and work our way down the west coast to Perth. After that we will work our way up the east coast to complete our journey!
A few of us are having a night at Casino again tonight as its mine and Jamies last night but ive promised myself to be good!!
Oh and one last thing. Barry the origami plate, bowl and cup have had thier use this week so thanks for that! and Lynda and Issy, i have used just about everything u got me including the sewing kit to sew up a rip in my new shirt :'( Also to Iss and Mike, the Hat has had good use so far and will have even better use when i head in land and up north!
I will update you all in a week or two's time.
Take care all!
Smoody
