Cairns aka The Coral Reef Destination

Long time no blog…sorry about that. An entire month has went by already. No worries-Yes I am still alive and yes I am still abroad. Time kept running out which means that I have a lot to catch up on. Today is national “Letitia needs to catch up on her blog day because she is tired of the smart remarks from Andrea” Day.  I guess I’ll start from the beginning of that month and move along that way.

So first of all my mom and Fern came to visit me. That was very nice to see them. Six months without a face from home is too long. It was my first time hosting anyone and made me feel like very much of a big kid. They explored on their own and I tried to show them what I thought was neat around Sydney. 

The big trip we went on was to Cairns. Cairns is located in northern Queensland and is a vacation destination for many Australians and international visitors. This is because even in the winter it is warm and they also offer many tours to the Great Barrier Reef. We picked this destination because if you are going to Australia you might as well go to the Great Barrier Reef.

The weather in Cairns was perfect actually the whole time we were there. It was warm but not too hot. Hard to imagine that is the way some people spend their winters. Anyway I found the people there really friendly. Now I think the people in Sydney are also friendly but in Cairns they would approach you to speak with you. The prices seemed to be pretty on par with Sydney. I will say however that Cairns is a place that if you are a hardcore tourist and not a vacationer, it will only take you a few days. Some people go on vacation to relax and this destination would exceed their expectations but as far as wanting to be always on the go there are only a couple of things to do there. It was much more picturesque then I was thinking. I have never been to Hawaii but Cairns looked like what I pictured Hawaii to look like.

The first day we went on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. It was really GREAT!!!!!!!! First of all since we are super rich we upgraded to Gold Class. That was well worth it! Gold class meant that we were located in a better car- less people, lounge style chairs, dedicated servants (hehehe) and FOOD!!! Oh we also had special stickers to mark us from the normal peons…hehehe.  I know that was exciting. Okay apparently I am the only one who thought so… We had warm savory muffins, Anzac Biscuits, Mango ice cream, etc. Oh and pop which of course put a smile on my face. We also received a Railway commemorative pack which has a postcard, pin, and pen so all good things for me to hoard. Finally it also entitled us to a historical talk of the signal cabin which was pretty interesting. Signal cabins are apparently another victim of technology.

Haha I cant believe I am posting this picture. Let's take note of the Gold class sign and sticker...and the smug look. When I start my cult I might use this picture for the propaganda. 

 The train ride was beautiful. I think my favorite was when we were turning and we could see the other part of the train as it is pretty neat looking. The staff made sure to let us know when there was a photo op coming and which side to be on which was nice. We saw some gorgeous waterfalls as well. Once we arrived at the station and had taken the tour, we walked a little ways to where we caught the Skyrail. Basically gondolas which go over the Daintree Rainforest. It was beautiful up there and we also got to stop at two stations along the way. The first station offered some breathtaking views of waterfalls and the second was a rainforest walk.

Once we finished with the Skyrail, we went to Tjapukai which is an Aboriginal Culture Park. I wasn’t terribly impressed with this part as it seemed a little on the cheesy side but it was informative. We learned about the different types of boomerangs there are which was neat. Two I remember that I didn’t know about were the clapping stick ones and the hunting one. These were some pretty sophisticated tools. I mean from Tobruk, I realized that I would have starved if I needed to hit my next meal with a boomerang but these tools were made multipurposed. We watched some traditional dancing which was interesting and some members of the audience who I suspect were highly intoxicated participated as well. I didn’t want to outshine anyone so I didn’t participate in that, we just got our clap on. Then a lady talked to us about Aboriginal medicine and which food was edible and not. That seemed a bit tricky as some things off the rainforest floor are poisonous until they ripen. Again, I don’t see me faring well in those conditions. Also, the guy told us of Aboriginal punishment where the first offense is this saw like looking thing being run all the way through your thigh muscle on one leg. Second offense is the other leg. The third is death. I think I would ask for death first. Anyway, at the end we were able to participate in boomerang throwing and spear throwing. I opted out of both because my medical insurance here isn’t too good and people get really jealous of my Olympian Boomerang moves.

Saw blade one on bottom...told you death would be better

Day two brought our journey to the Great Barrier Reef. First of all we walked there which was funny (but not) because apparently we were entitled to a hotel pickup. Anyway it was a beautiful day and it took us along the shore, this gigantic outdoor free public pool, and the wharf. Once we found the ship, we had to pick our fins and snorkel gear up. People could snorkel or scuba on this boat. We had a hilarious safety talk where the guy mentioned that our lifejackets were made by Australians for New Zealanders (very simple to use). It really cracked me up. I like the sibling relationship the two countries share. As a matter of fact I cant imagine finding two countries more closely tied together. We also listened to  a marine biologist student’s presentation. The crew was made up of young people but things were professional yet still fun. The boat ride there was horrendous! I never get motion sick and I was about ready to toss my cookies along with the rest of the boat. I have seriously been on jet boats that were tamer.

Anyway once we made it there we went snorkeling. It was much harder than I anticipated even for a competent swimmer like me….hehe that was a total joke. Every time I needed to use the snorkel I would start breathing like I was hyperventilating:D So I will also cross snorkeling off my potential hobby list. Anyway, we stayed in the water for awhile then came aboard to get warm. They also offered a glass bottom boat ride over the reef which was super cool and a great way to see the stuff that you had missed while snorkeling. The marine biologist came on the boat and it was a small group so we learned more about the reef and its occupants. We saw a shark (just a small one, harmless), some Nemo clown fish which were much smaller than I thought, and lots of different coral. We were a bit disappointed as the reef isn’t as colorful as we had pictured it. Mostly blues and greens instead of bright pinks and oranges. I posted lots of pictures so you could see for yourself. The ride back was smoother thankfully. 

That night we went to the night markets where we loaded up on our souvenirs. The next day we hit some more markets. Rusty’s is a famous one they have there where we looked at the fruits as they had different ones from ours like breadfruit, custard apples, lychees, etc. There was also a more boutique market offering handmade creations by the public pool. We looked in at some op shops and toured the mall as well. See this is the thing after the railway and Great Barrier Reef there isn’t a whole lot going on there so it was the perfect amount of time. So overall, I really liked the people in Cairns. The weather would be too hot in the summer since you sweat in winter. The area is beautiful and not too busy. I wouldn't visit there again but it was certainly worth a visit. 

Once we arrived back in Sydney we went to the Blue Mountains and did a little impromptu bushwalk. Have I mentioned I am not an outdoorsy kind of girl? Anyway it was beautiful scenery but rather rough terrain. Even though we bought a trolley pass we found ourselves in need of a ride to Echo Point. Thankfully, in true Aussie fashion a lady stopped and offered us a ride. After that bushwalk no STRANGER DANGER thoughts passed through our heads. That was a nice experience and she was from New South Wales so score one for the friendly meter there.  We ate at the café mall there and then came back. Shortly after that adventure my two guests left with much heavier suitcases than they brought with them...and there was a loud silence in my room...

PICTURES HERE

Thanks Mom and Fern for travelling all the way here. I hope you enjoyed your stay as much as I enjoyed seeing you:)