The Great Barrier Spew

Flew over the Great Barrier Reef before we landed in Cairns airport and were picked up by the Tropic Days Hostel. We arrived just in time for their pizza night and all you can eat for $8 with a free drink….well what more can you ask for. The hostel also sold beer and wine so all we did was kick back and relax (the unpacking could wait ‘til later). We sat chatting to Tracey and Maria from England during the pizza. Then the owner’s daughters were brought out to sing, tell jokes and do some Irish dancing (in the full costume) for us. They passed round a hat as some of the money went to them and some of it was put to charity. We then had a quiz for which we had to read a brochure about On the Wallaby Tours describing several of their tours into the rainforest. The quiz was a mix of questions from the brochure and several trivial pursuits questions with a prize of 2 for 1 on a day tour into the rainforest. So out of about 30 to 40 people Chris and I were equal with another couple so the four of us were all put individually against each other and yet again that lucky Mr Reilly came on top with 6 out of 9 questions right...the rest of us only got two. So as he went up to collect his prize with another big grin on his face he managed to win us a day trip.

The following day we went into the centre of Cairns which was a 15 min walk from the hostel. There is a huge shopping centre where we managed to grab some breakfast before catching up with all our admin stuff for the next part of our trip. That night we caught the free bus into the centre and took our free dinner ticket which the hostel supplies for the Woolshed pub. In the Woolshed you can pick up Spaghetti Bolognaise and chilli for free or pay $5 to upgrade to another main course which we both did. The portions were huge and the food was good. Since we were up early the next day we headed back after dinner and chilled out with a few drinks before heading to the squeakiest bed we’ve ever slept in!!

It was Saturday and our Great Barrier Reef Day and both of us were down to have a dive although we weren‘t sure whether we would go through with it. We were sailing with a company called the Ocean Free, the boat was a sailing boat and we had to sit inside for a bit while they crew told us safety rules and a bit about the diving….by this point I was starting to feel a little rough so I went back outside. I was trying my best not to chuck up and then I was drenched from head to foot by a huge wave splashing over the deck of the boat. Chris sat beside me and at one point I thought he had gone over the side, unfortunately (oops! I mean fortunately) he hadn’t but the wave had knocked him off the seat and onto his knees. Shortly after this I really had no option and after checking the direction of the wind and timing the dips of the boat I managed to discretely part with my breakfast in full view of everyone on the boat. The crew were great and within 10 seconds Bones (a Canadian who was the spitting image of Drew, a guy Chris used to work with) gave me some water but shortly afterwards it was salt water as we were drenched again by another wave coming over the bough of the ship.


When we anchored near Green Island I couldn’t get off the boat quick enough but had to go on a small boat which was even more rougher. I had to sit in the shade on the island in the most expensive sun loungers ever for about 2 hours before I could eventually pull myself together. Strike 2 to the travel sickness. Our lunch was brought over and I managed to eat some of it without the seagulls stealing any. Then Chris was told he had to leave if he wanted to dive...so there I was left on my own on the beach feeling miserable whilst Bones took Chris down for a 1 to 1 scuba dive. When he came back off of the boat ‘Grinning Like a Cheshire Cat’ doesn’t even begin to describe the grin on his face. He had a great time and saw loads of different coral and supposedly found Nemo which made me feel much better.


When I eventually got back on the boat and I was in time to do a little bit of snorkelling….I managed to see a clam close over and ‘Nemo’ well it was a cousin of Nemo or something and several other fish. Definitely the highlight of my day!
The journey back home for me was much of the same since somebody nicked the last of the travel sickness pills so I sat outside only I was freezing this time as wave after wave hit us until eventually we drew up the sails and went without the motor. Meanwhile ‘living the life of Reilly’ Chris had wine, cheese, fruit and cake and boy did he eat it whilst I struggled hard and managed just to keep my lunch down. Despite feeling a bit rough we both really have to recommend this trip as the crew were excellent, from the start they remembered everyone’s name and were extremely attentive to everyone.


We arrived back at the hostel in time to remove at least 2 layers of salt from our bodies before heading down to the Woolshed with an Irish girl called Maria who we met on the boat trip for a well deserved steak and mash which was great. Chris had persuaded me to go and watch the footie since it was on in P J O’Brien’s (another classy Irish Pub not). This place was massive with one half of the pub showing English Premiership games and the other showing that’s night’s SPL games. Meanwhile in the centre the bar staff were doing Coyote Ugly dance routines on the bar!! A bit like trying to watch the football in the Ba Da Bing club in the Sopranos, there was also a live band from Rotoruro in New Zealand playing bad middle of the road rock music a bit like Bryan Adams. So after watching Hearts beat Rangers we sat and watched Celtic struggle to beat Inverness Caley I then managed to escape and head back to the hostel.

Sunday started off as a day of rest as we didn’t get back until 2.30 so it was up late for a quick brekkie before heading down to put in Chris’s underwater camera in and a few hours on the internet meant that our chance to chill in the sun was gone. We had heard about a really good restaurant from Elizabeth in Trinity Beach and it didn’t look too far from Cairns, so we got our glad rags on and headed out on the bus. After 45 minutes on the bus we were starting to get worried that by the time we got there the place would have shut but luckily the place was still open. The place was called L’Unico an Italian restaurant ran by Aldo (Elizabeth’s friend Maria’s brother), who managed to get us a great seat and slipped us a few free drinks and a great desert not bad for a Chelsea supporter. We both had such a delightful meal and managed to waddle to catch the bus back without any problem and got ourselves organised for another early start.

The following day was our freebie tour with On the Wallaby Tours. We were picked up by Bart who was to be our guide for the day. After everyone on the bus doing a bit of an introduction of themselves and what they were doing we soon arrived at our first stop overlooking a valley with a bluey grey haze over the landscape which was due to the Eucalyptus trees. We then went into the forest in the Atherton Tablelands to see the Cathedral Fig Tree which was thousands of years old....these trees actually grow from the top down on existing trees and sap all of the energy wrapping itself round it until eventually it dies and the fig tree has taken over. We had a walk through the rainforest where we saw a Water Dragon (a type of lizard) and the rear end of a kangaroo known as Muscurat so called as the explorers thought it was a rat.


We then had lunch at a lake and saw some turtles swimming in the water. Following this was the treat of the day we went to three waterfalls. The first one was Millaa Millaa falls where we went into the water for a swim underneath the falls....it certainly took your breath away as the water was absolutely freezing. We then went to the Zillie falls where we had some tropical fruits for a snack and then onto the Ellinjaa falls before heading home. The rainforest was so cool in comparison to the heat in Cairns.


We were dropped off just in time for the Aussie BBQ back at the hostel, which was to be a fitting end to our time Australia with our first Barbie. After a quick change we got ourselves sorted out for the BBQ sitting next to Maria and Tracey. The menu included crocodile and kangaroo along with your usual sausages and stuff, all of which was excellent. After this there was a didgeridoo competition with the owner showing us the white man‘s didgeridoo - a plastic pipe and funnel along with the more traditional ones. Several people were picked to have a go along with other members of the audience who had to jump and hop like a kangaroo.…..fortunately neither Chris nor I were picked for this. And so to bed to pack as we were travelling to Japan the next day.


To sum up we had a great time in Cairns and only wished we had extended our time there for a few days to see some more of the area and actually be able to have chilled by the beach. Our 4 weeks in Australia have been fantastic from the moment we got off the flight in Sydney until we got on our flight out from Cairns.