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
No comments:
Post a Comment