Weekend in Cairns

So here goes post number 2...I'm writing this while I'm still on a high from my weekend and want to share it with you all. I was in Cairns this weekend (pronounced Cans....I learned the hard way that you don't pronounce the "r" when I was mocked at work for the way I say it...just saved you all some future embarrassment) which is in Northern Queensland. It's a really beautiful and interesting city since it's right on the ocean and close to the Great Barrier Reef, but also surrounded by the tropical rainforest (The Daintree Forest). It's the only city in the World that has 2 World UNESCO Heritage sites (the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics of Queensland).

I took Friday off work and had a very early morning flight to Cairns. I was meeting my cousin Rebecca and her best friend Bailey who are travelling around Australia and Asia for 5 weeks. They had a later flight and didn't get into Cairns until 9 that night so I had the whole day to explore the city. We were staying in a really nice hotel right on the marina called the Shangri-La Hotel. It was so luxurious! It made me really feel like I was in paradise...which was further exemplified by the tropical weather and palm trees everywhere.

 The walk-way in front of our hotel by the ocean, aka paradise :)

 

The Shangri-La Hotel as seen from my tour boat

I checked in and then made my way down to the tours desk to see what I could get up to for the day. I ended up going on an awesome Harbour Cruise  that afternoon. It was 2 hours and they took us along the harbour where the tour guide explained what a lot of the buildings were and taught us about the history of Cairns. We then went into some estuarine rivers and toured through the mangroves, looking for sunbathing crocodiles along the way. Unfortunately it is not the season to see crocodiles since they are nesting so the females are in the interior of the mangrove swamps and not along the rivers. It was still a really beautiful tour though and I learned a lot about the area.

Cruising along the mangrove estuarine rivers.

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and swimming at the hotel pool (since you shouldn't swim in the ocean right along the city because of the crocodiles that live there) and then exploring the city a bit. I walked along the esplanade for a while which is a boardwalk along the water. There is tons going on there...BBQs set up everywhere where people were having big dinners, a free outdoor pool, work-out areas, a stage for a concert, playgrounds...basically a very hip and happening place! I saw some cool parrot-like birds (unfortunately don't know what they were). They were so colourful and beautiful! But there had to be hundreds up in the trees and they were making the most awful noise! It was pretty cool because the tide had gone out at that point so I walked along the mud flats looking at cool shells and seaweed for a while. Becca and Bailey got to the hotel just after 9 and we walked to get some dinner.

 

Saturday morning we woke up early and went to the Reef Terminal where we got our tickets for the Great Barrier Reef tour and got on the boat. The price of the tour included snorkel gear, but we paid a little extra to get full lycra suits to protect us against jellyfish stings. We were informed that it is jellyfish season up at the Great Barrier Reef right now and it can be quite serious if they sting you so we thought the 8 dollars extra was probably worth it. The boat ride took 50 minutes to get out to Green Island, where we docked to check out the reef. It was very windy and the ocean was pretty rough. It was a little tough not to feel queasy and the boat crew were walking around every few minutes passing out barf bags. We had the choice of either snorkelling to see the reef or going on a glass-bottomed boat. We chose to snorkel so we could get up close and personal with it and man am I ever glad we did! It was amazing!!! The colours weren't as bright and vivid as I was expecting, but the coral and sea creatures down there were still incredible! Right when we were getting in the water a few people who were up on the pier told us they had just seen a shark swimming right where we were! It made us a little nervous to go in but they said it was only a reef shark which aren't dangerous. I was hoping to see it but it must have swam away before we got in. There were so many types of fish and they were so interesting! So many beautiful colours and shapes and they just swam right around us! The coral was incredible too. So many different kinds and you could see their little "mouths" opening and closing to take in water and particles. I saw some giant clams which were so cool! The most amazing thing for me though was seeing a huge sea turtle right underneath me. I think we both startled each other, and after seeing me it came out of the little crevice it had been sitting in. I swam alongside it for probably 5 min, only an arms length away! It didn't seem at all phased that I was there so I just stuck with it, not being able to take my eyes off of it! Becca and Bailey said they saw some sting rays too, which is so cool!

 

 All geared up and ready to go!

 The beach on Green Island where we snorkelled.

 

Covered in salt after the snorkel but so happy :)

 

 

We were only on Green Island for 2 hours before we got back on the boat and headed back to Cairns. It was a great experience and something I can check off the bucket list! Back in Cairns we grabbed lunch and a drink then went back to the hotel for a quick swim (and to rinse off all of that salt!). Becca and Bailey had to head back to the airport to return to Sydney around 4. We all wished it could have been a longer trip and that we could have spent more time together, but it was a ton of fun and so cool that we were able to meet up in Australia. Once they left I headed to my hostel to check in then wandered along the esplanade once more. I went back to the hostel for the FREE dinner at 7, which is a big deal in Australia and really the main reason that I chose that hostel haha. I met some nice girls in my room so I went and had dinner with them then hung out and had a drink with them that evening. Travelling by yourself is so easy when you're staying in hostels since people are so friendly and it's easy to find people to hang out with.

 

I had an amazing weekend but still got that "good to be home" feeling when I got back to Melbourne this morning. That was a nice feeling to have because it means I am so comfortable and settled in here now. And we now have a third roommate which is exciting! Her name is Samantha and she's from France (which is awesome because I can practice my french with her). She's starting her masters at RMIT (one of the unis here) and she's really nice and will show us around since she's been in Melbourne for a year now.

 

So there's this week's update! The job is still going well...going to be a bit stressful this week since there is a big diving trip at the Great Barrier Reef starting next week and I have a lot to organize for that still but I'm sure I'll get it all done. I'm still so pumped that I got to see the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest and swim with a sea turtle this weekend. Life is grand! Hope you're all doing well (and coping with the massive amounts of snow my Canadian friends). Miss you all and talk to you soon!!

xoxo

Kate 

The Adventure Begins

G’day mates! So here begins my blog…it will not be the next best seller or anything, but it will help me to remember what I’ve done while here and it will give me a chance to keep you all updated with my new Aussie life. I just got internet in my apartment today so this is very delayed but I'll start from the beginning (don't worry...I won't give you a play-by-play of my life for the last month...just the big stuff). I’ve had an amazing time here so far! It was a very smooth process to get everything set up. AIESEC (the organization that helped to send me on this internship) has been really helpful. They found a place for me to stay before I got here and have been great ever since. Someone from AIESEC picked me up at the airport when I arrived, then he brought me to the bank to set up my account and went to the realtor’s office for us to pick up our keys for our apartment. So I moved in the day I got here which was great! I’m living with the other intern at Earthwatch. His name is Kevin and he's from Wisconsin. We get along well  (which is good since we live AND work together) and he’s also new to Melbourne so it’s been nice to have someone to explore the city with. We're trying to find a third roommate...just had a few interviews this past weekend and will hopefully have someone move in this week.

The apartment we're staying in has to be the most luxurious place I’ve ever lived (sorry mom and dad). It feels like I’m staying in a fancy hotel, so it seems very unreal that this is where I’ll be living for the next year. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs and an open-concept arrangement with the kitchen, living room and dining room downstairs. There are big French doors along the entire wall that open to our patio on the first floor so we get tons of sunlight in the apartment during the day. There is a beautiful courtyard outside our apartment with tons of trees and a huge fountain in the centre! We have access to 2 outdoor in-ground pools and a pretty big gym! We’re in a great location too….only a few minutes from the Melbourne Cricket grounds, right beside a beautiful park (with the oldest building in Australia in it-James Cook’s cottage) and only a 10 minute walk from the main train station (Flinders Station) and the centre of town. I've bought a bike and can bike almost anywhere since we're living so central. It's really convenient!

This is the deck outside the apartment-gets tons of sun so it's nice to eat out here. Still need to buy a BBQ tho!! (can't live in Australia for long without one)

 The courtyard right outside my apartment-this is the only entrance to the apartment so I get to walk through here each day. They do lots of work on the gardens!

One of the pools...good for doing laps and sun-tanning on a nice day :)

The city is so beautiful! I’ve done lots of exploring but still have tons more to do. There is a river that flows through the city (the Yarra) with beautiful gardens all along it (amazing running, biking and walking trails) and tons of high rise business buildings. It’s a really cool mix of natural areas (as natural as man-made gardens can get) and a busy metropolitan hub. The architecture of the buildings is fascinating as well. Melbourne became a city back when there was lots of gold being mined here in the 1850s. The city was extremely rich because of this and many of the buildings were very expensive beautiful buildings. Many of these are still in the CBD (Central Business District), but there are also some really interesting modern buildings. I’m sure I’ve been an obvious tourist since I can’t help but look up while I’m walking around the city.

Flinders Street Station-basically the centre of the city-you can get almost anywhere in the city from here by tram. I live about a 10-min. walk away from it.

Southbank along the Yarra river-people sitting out and relaxing by the river. There are tons of nice places to sit and eat or drink a coffee along Southbank.

 

I’ve met some really nice people too. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. There are a lot of cool places to see outside of Melbourne but they’re hard to get to without a car so I’ve had lots of people offer to take me on adventures so I can explore J My first weekend here a few new friends took Kevin and I bush walking (their version of hiking) about 2 hours from Melbourne. We walked along the river and swam at the bottom of a waterfall. It was so beautiful and such a different terrain than I’m used to hiking in. And the highlight was that we saw 3 wild kangaroos! From pretty close up too! The Australians didn’t think it was quite as exciting as I did haha. I was also fortunate enough to be here for Australia day (January 26^th) which was a lot of fun. I watched a big parade in the morning then in the afternoon I met some friends in a park and we sat there and hung out for the day. It was a great way to meet new people.

The gang "bush-walking along the river"

 

There's a kangaroo in this one..to the right of the tree that looks like a "V" although I doubt you can really see it in the photo. Just trust me, it's there!

 

It was Chinese New Year my second weekend here so a few of us went to China town and watched the dragon dances and parades then went for all-you-can-eat Chinese food (which is very authentic since there’s such a big Chinese population here so it was delicious!). It was really hot (over 40 degrees!)  so I spent a lot of time swimming and hanging out at St. Kilda beach which is only a 25 minute tram ride from my apartment. They have a species of penguins called "little penguins" living at the breakwater there and I've gone to see them a few times. They're not in a zoo, they just hang out at the breakwater beach. They're so cool! Check 'em out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Penguin

Now for the real reason I came here...my internship. It's amazing! Earthwatch is such an incredible company….they organize research and conservation expeditions and people from all over the World volunteer to go on them. They’re doing some pretty important research so it feels cool to be a part of that. My job is to help organize and plan these trips so I get to talk to the scientists to help plan it. They’re all experts in their fields so it’s really neat that I’m communicating with them. It's mostly just office work, and I find it hard to work in an office all day since I've never done that. But I feel really passionate about the work that I do which makes it much easier.  The people in the office are so great too! There are only about 16 of us and I already feel really comfortable there. Everyone is so nice! They buy cakes anytime it's someone's birthday or whenever anyone new starts and there have been several of us new people and several birthdays since I've been here so I've had my fair share of cake haha (and there's another woman who's intolerant to gluten so they buy gluten-free cakes which is so nice!). We've been out for drinks and dinner after work a few times too so it's been really easy to get to know people. And the best part about the office is that we live close to a grocery store and the receptionist often walks there on her lunch break to grab chocolate then in the afternoon she walks around yelling "It's chocolate o'clock!" and gives us all a piece of chocolate (definitely my kind of place!) It's a good thing we have a gym in our apartment complex so I can have chocolate and cake at work :)

Here's the website for Earthwatch if anyone wants to read about the company or any of the Australian expeditions I'm organizing: http://au.earthwatch.org/expeditions (click "by region" then Australia on the left hand side to look at our expeditions).

 

There are a lot of really cool expeditions and I think I'll get to go on some because I'm in the Programs Department and we're the staff they send out as Earthwatch Representatives (there are only a few of us so I have a good chance of getting picked to go). Some examples of expeditions are looking at koala behaviour in the Otways for 10 days and going up to Northern Queensland (the North of Australia) to study the effects of climate change on mangrove forests. My fingers are crossed that I can go on those! I went on a one-day project last week where we went to two wetland sites close to Melbourne and were catching turtles. It was a lot of fun and I saw some wild  wallabies which was amazing!!

I have lots more to tell but I realize this is really long so I'll stop here. I'll post more regularly now that I have internet so they won't be so long...sorry about that but I'm just excited about everything and want you guys to know what I'm up to. Australia is amazing...so you should all try to come visit!

 

Miss everyone tons! Hope you're all doing well. xoxo

Kate