Xmas down under

Christmas is a time to come together with your family, sit around a Christmas tree, stuff your face with copious amounts of food and hope that it starts snowing so we can all have that magical white holiday every one is always raving about.

In Australia it is no different. Replace the snow with a golden beach and the pine tree for a palm tree and the Christmas spirit is all around you.

Although my ‘real’ family is on the other side of the world I feel very lucky to have found good friends here in Oz to call family too and they have made this Christmas the memorable success that is has been. I was lucky enough to have three dinners in the company of old and new friends.

The first one was an early one. On Saturday the 21^st of December I was invited to attend a dinner at Emily and Pierre their house. Two good friends I’ve met in Byron Bay 4 months ago. Maya, Hannah, Stephen, Megan and mixmeister Sam where also there. I helped Emily and Peirre prepare the food during the day before the others arrived. That was good fun. I had never prepared a full Christmas dinner before and neither had Pierre or Emily. So with each other’s help and that of google we slaved in the kitchen to make something beautiful. With a cold beer in hand and good music playing in the back ground Pierre and I focused on the mean course, while Emily was building an awesome 4 tier cake. And running around stressed out making sure that everything was ready and how she wanted it before the first guest arrived.

We made Turkey, oven baked stuffing balls, a glazed ham, sprouts with bacon, roast veggies, roast potatoes, cauliflower with a cheese sauce. We reduced red cabbage with red onions to make a deliciously sweet as a replacement for the cranberry sauce, Yorkshire puddings with gravy. And to top it off Emily presented her 4 tier, chocolate, cheese cake, banana cake cake. It all turned out amazing.

To quench our thirst mixmeister Sam, who is a bar tender and cocktail magician, made an amazing Christmas punch with rum and fresh fruit to wash down the feast.

The little ‘resort’ where Pierre and Emily lived was lit up completely. All the house where beautifully decorated. The one had more lights and propped up Santas than the other. That really topped of an amazing evening and made the Christmas feeling almost palpable. We ate and drank and laughed until we could eat and drink and laugh no more and went to sleep. An amazing kick off to the holiday season.

Two days later I had a Christmas eve’s eve dinner with some peeps from the dive shop. Colin, Becky, Matt Glenn and I where invited for dinner at Gemma’s place. I hadn’t seen most of them for 4 months and it was good to catch up. Gemma had made pigs in blankets, roast veggies and potatoes, Yorkshire pudding with beef and gravy and mince fruit pies with chocolate ice cream. Again a delicious meal. Instead of the punch we drank wine and listened to all the classic Christmas songs. Chris Rea, Mariah Carey, Wham!, the whole shebang. It was a lovely, low key dinner and a reminder to me how much I like hanging out with the people from the dive shop.

And then Christmas day came. The day of the big dinner at the dive shop with 13 people. Most of them new interns for their divemaster course from all over the world. By the time I arrived the preparation where in full swing. Colin was the chef and I the sous chef. Veggie where being cut, stuffing made, birds stuffed, salads prepared. It all ran very smoothly. Since we did not have an oven at the dive shop and we had two birds to cook, we used two ovens in two different houses spread across town. Christmas day is also about relaxing and having a few drinks during the day, so I sacrificed myself to be the designated driver and drive back and forth between ovens and dive shop to check on the turkeys. No drinks for me until the turkeys were done at the car safely parked back at the house. But Colin hooked me up and was waiting for me with a nice rum and coke so I could catch up with the rest.

We definitely had too much food. For some reason it always turns out like that when we make dinner at the dive shop. We had two stuffed turkeys, a honey glazed ham, roast potatoes, parsnips, pumpkin and carrots. Steamed broccoli, a spinach tomato feta cheese salad and pigs in blankets. To make it a real Aussie xmas, we had 3 kilos of shrimp for on the Barbie. It was nothing less then a feast. As desert there was pavlova topped with strawberries and blue berries. Becky had decorated the table and we had bonbons (crackers you pull apart with small toys and jokes inside).

After everyone was stuffed like the birds we just devoured, cleaned up and head upstairs for some good old drinking games. We drank and joked and laughed. It was an absolute success.

Since I am continuing my travels through Oz on the 27^th it was good to have these evenings and dinners with the people that are a travelers family. I’ll miss them, but I’ll be back in Byron Bay to have some more party and QT with these beautiful people I am pleased to call my friends.

Cairns Adventures

On the 25^th of August I arrived in Cairns to pursue a career in diving and escape the relative ‘cold’ winter in Byron Bay. It is the 17^th of December now and once again I’m on the move. This time to pursue my 2^nd year visa in the form of farm work and escape the hot, sticky and wet raining season of Far North Queensland. A new adventure lies ahead still to be experienced and written. This story tells the tale of my stay, adventures and shenanigans in Cairns.

When I first arrived in Cairns I had no job and little money. I stayed in a hostel named Globe trotters international for the first week. Apparently the hostel was popular amongst Germans, since they where coming out of the woodworks here and I decided not to linger there very long. I moved to Nomads Serpents bar in North Cairns and worked for my accommodation and meager meals as housekeeping at first and later as the shuttle bus driver. It was fun being in a hostel for a while. I’ve met many new people and had a few crazy nights out in town. But sharing your room with 3 others, sleeping in bunk beds and being kept awake by the noise at the bar outside my window grew quite dreary quick enough.

With only $70 in my bank account and not a real lead on a job I got a call from Seastar Cruises. A small (35pax max) boat that goes out to the reef every day. I did two trial days and became the new scuba instructor on Seastar. Every day I would go out to Michealmas Cay, a sandbar on steroids inhabited by 20.000 odd birds. They are noisy and with a strong easterly wind also very unpleasant on the nose. Luckily I spend most my time under water, leading introductory divers around in the magical world called Ocean. The magic did fade after a while. Doing the same little circuit around the same bommies for the 100 time gets a bit old. Check out the giant clam here, say hi to Nemo there, pet the sea cucumber behind this rock. You catch my drift.

The second location we would go however did not get old. Hastings reef is a mini wall formation just covered in corals. At this site I also did over a 100 dives, but there was always something new. Cool swim throughs, cuttle fish, colorful hard and soft corals, a black sea cucumber named Bob, reef sharks. Especially with good visibility the site was an absolute pleasure to dive. Even with retarded ‘I can’t swim but still sign up for scuba anyways’-intros on my tail.

Shortly after getting the job on Seastar I moved from the hostel into a share house. Ian the land lord is by far the most relaxed landlord I’ve ever met. The only two rules in the house where: pay rent (not necessarily on time) and find someone to take your room when you leave. Too easy. The people in the house where awesome too. Froya a gorgeous, super cool, half Norwegian/half English girl that also worked on Seastar. Ash and Shona, a crazy couple from New Zealand that worked for Mike Ball (the best and fanciest live aboard in Australia). Dave, an Aussie bloke who embodies the definition of chilled out. Rasmus, a bloke form Estonia who loved to complain about the weather. Bryce, a dude from Melbourne and the first and only assistant instructor I’ve ever met and Corrine, a young gullible German girl with a wicked fear of cockroaches. 

Since I’m naming the people I’ve met and lived with I feel compelled to try to name them all. I will drop the description although a few do deserve special mention.

My captain Anthony, a 20 year old Aussie bloke, who became my singing buddy over the radios we used on the boat. Vinnie, a Brazilian divemaster, who is nothing less than an absolute legend. And Ellen a cute Aussie girl which I had the pleasure of getting to know a little bit better.

And then the rest: Pieter, Kiana, Tina, David, Steve, Spencer, Tony, Siabhon, Emanuel, Molly, May, Danny, Leigh, Clem, Paul, Rens, Shane, Mel, Klaas, Chanti and I’m sure I’m still forgetting a few.

We had many fun evenings at the Pier Bar, which was located at the Marina and thus a perfect local watering hole for all the people who worked on the day boats. We would start the evening there with 2for1 drinks, $5 pizzas and bowls of Cajun wedges. Only to end up at PJ’s the Irish pub or the good old Woolshed where people dance on the tables and act a fool. Or we would have a BBQ or birthday party at some ones house and slay bottles of Captain Morgan and The Glenlivet.

I’m not saying we went out and got drunk every single night. We all had responsible jobs and worked 11 hour days so often enough I passed out on my bed before 9pm, but we had our fair share of party and laughs.

This story I’ve put a bit more emphasize on the people I’ve met. It is always the people that make travelling interesting or special, how beautiful or ugly the place where you are may be. In almost 4 months’ time I’ve done a lot of cool stuff and can’t remember as much details as I would like to write about it. I did get a bit lazy in that sense. So instead I’ll try to summarize some of the things I’ve done in Cairns and surroundings.

I did over a 100 dives on the Great Barrier Reef, went down to Ayr to dive the famous shipwreck Yongala. I did a road trip to Mossman Gorge with my good friend Maya, went four wheel driving through the mountains and got lost in the rainforest only to find our way a few hours later. I did 2 midnight Halloween bungie jumps. Visited the Atherton Tablelands where I chilled underneath a beautiful waterfall in the middle of the rainforest. I ate croc and Kangaroo, learned that Indian people should not sign up for scuba diving EVER. Swam in a crater lake, touched a seas snake, raced shopping trollies, won at beer pong, played pub golf, learned to ride a long board, got attacked by a bird while riding one, got introduced to amazing new music (katchafire, six60, spoonbill, hilltop hoods), burned 50% of my legs and left with a brand new octopus inked into my shoulder.

I will definitely go back to Cairns. I’m not done diving the GBR. I aspire to get a job with Mike Ball diving expeditions. That company goes to Coral Sea and ribbon reefs, the Codhole and osprey reef. All dive sites that will blow your and my mind. 4 of my (now former) house mates work on that boat and the landlord knows everyone in the Cairns diving circles, so I’m confident to get a job after I have secured my 2^nd year visa.

The tropical temperatures are also a big plus. At the moment I’m waiting at Coolangatta airport for a bus to take me to Byron Bay and for the first time in 4 months I’m wearing a jacket and shoes. It is that I hate rain more than cold or else I would jump on a plane back to where the warmth is (read: over 25 degrees).

I will spend the holidays with friends in Byron Bay and then I’m off to a yet to be determined location for some back breaking ‘regional work’ so I can stay and have more adventures. Life should be a big adventure and I’m definitely in one!

Diving the SS Yongala

 The SS Yongala is a 109 mtr long steam ship that sank under still mysterious circumstances in 1911. All 121 souls on board perished with the ship. In the late 1950’s the wreck was discovered of the coast of Ayr and is now one of the best dives to do in Australia.

The ride down

Me and my buddy Danny rented a car and drove down from Cairns to Ayr. Being from the Netherlands I still greatly underestimate the vastness of this country. On the map it looks quite close, but it turned out to be a 5 hour drive to cover the roughly 450 km stretch. Since the car was hired on my name and Danny doesn’t have a license I was the designated driver. There was not much to see since it was dark so we cranked up the radio and introducing each other to our favorite songs we kept ourselves occupied. After about 4 hours we passed Townsville. I remembered that that was quite close to Ayr and was looking forward to finally arrive. But again the size of the country caught me unawares and we still had another 110 km to go. During the last 50 km there were heaps of Wallabies grazing on the side of the road. ‘They are going to get themselves killed’, I thought by myself. The next day I would find out it was right or not.

I was getting tired and wasn’t paying as much attention as I should to road signs and speed limits. As we pulled into Ayr the flashing lights of a police car helped remind me. We got pulled over and the police officer informed me that I was doing a 103 km/h in an 80km/h zone. This would have been a hefty fine but since I hadn’t been drinking (I got breathalised) and we were just 15km from our destination they let us go with a warning. Awake from the adrenaline we continued and a short 10 minutes later we arrived at the dive shop and lodge. We found the key in a hidden spot as directed by the dive shop, went into our room, crawled into our bunk beds and passed out immediately. Dreaming of the wreck we would go visit the next morning.

The Dive 

We had set our alarms for 7am, since check in at the dive shop was due at 7.30am. Even before our alarms went off to announce a new day of adventure the ridiculously loud footsteps of an obese Canadian named Tom brought us back from our dream world. After freshening up we had breakfast served by divemaster Roberto from Italy. The dive shop (http://www.yongaladive.com.au) was an old Queenslander house surrounded by a tropical garden with the lodge, holding two dorm rooms, 1 private room 2 lounge areas and a kitchen on the top floor. Where the office, little shop, beach café and gear room were located on the ground floor. After checking in and setting up our equipment we listened to the dive briefing by Instructor Aeron, aka Aza. Who was cracking jokes like: “How do Aussies find Dugongs in the mangroves?” Anwser: “Really appealing”. That set the tone and we loaded up in the back of a truck to drive down to the beach.

The 10mtr long super Rhib (rigid bottom inflatable boat) was already waiting for us. With just 12 guests on board we had plenty room and the promise of a relaxed not crowded dive site. It took about half an hour of flying over the waves, which were very small since the conditions were superb, to get to the dive site. There was hardly any wind and the visibility on the wreck about 15 to 20 mtrs. Danny and I buddies up, back rolled into the blue and followed Divemaster Roberto, nicknamed Super Mario, down a line to the wreck to let the adventure begin. 

The wreck lies on its starboard side in about 30 mtrs of water with nothing but flat sandy bottom for miles in every direction. This makes the SS Yongala an artificial reef and an oasis to hundreds of fish. We started at the stern and slowly made our way to the bow. Big schools of thousands of silversides (little bait fish) swarm the wreck being bombarded with attacks from giant trevally, snappers and red and spangled emperors. Sixbanded angel fish forage inside the wreck and one big male maori wrasse swims around checking on the many females.

I was taking pictures of the many soft corals and sea whips that cover the wreck when Danny pointed out a tawny nurse shark on the bottom.

 Right after I swam down to take a picture an enormous marble ray with a span of at least 2 mtrs passed by. Flying graciously through the water followed by some fish waiting to pick up the scraps the ray would leave behind.

It is not allowed to enter the wreck since it is been classified as a grave site and to prevent the further deterioration of the structure by the bubbles of the scuba divers. Sometimes it was hard to look inside because of all the fish that are in the way, blocking your view. Half way down the wreck the chimney sticks out like the barrel of a cannon. You can hardly make out the shape anymore because of the corals that cover it and changed its appearance.

As Danny and I made it to the bow we looked back over the entire length of the ship. The sharps ‘knife’ like bow sticking out giving the front a sleek and slender look. Some of the portholes still had the glass in it. The name of the Yongala on the bow was all but gone. Worn away by time and coral growth.

Danny was running a bit low on air so we made our way back to the aft of the wreck. Underway we encountered a 2mtr long guitar shark.

I’d never seen a shark like this before and the weird looking creature was absolutely beautiful. Slowly swimming in the opposite direction just a few mtrs below us. Danny went back up with Super Mario and I buddied up with someone else to stay a bit longer. I cruised around the back of the wreck a bit enjoying a few big great barracudas as they passed by in the endless blue.

After a few minutes I decided to go back up too and spotted a sea snake going up for some air. Back on the boat I was smiling from ear to ear. What an amazing dive.

We enjoyed a simple lunch of sandwiches, tea and fruit provided by Yongala Dive while Aza enlightened us with the history of the wreck, who it supposedly sank and how it was found. You’ll have to go do the dive to hear that story for yourself. He is very knowledgeable about the Yongala and it was a most interesting surface interval before we went down to do the second dive.

On this second dive, Danny and I decided not to follow Super Mario and explore the wreck on our own. We found an iron bathtub and the toilets, which were visible through holes and cracks in the wreck. The current had picked up a bit and we slowly made our way to the bow along the bottom of the ship to let the current take us back while hovering on the other side over the deck. We did not see any big animals on the second dive. But the red bass and giant trevallies made for a good show hunting for the little bait fish. We spend a bit more time taking picture of ourselves doing silly stuff than on the first dive. Just before we decided to go up Danny pointed out a sea snake and I swam down to take a closer look. You could clearly see the green scales on the snake and it ‘accidentally’ swam into my hands before taking off onto the wreck. That was personal highlight on this second dive.

Back on the boat we talked about all the cool stuff we saw and both were very happy that we had taken the time and effort to drive down and visit this amazing place.

On the way back to the dive shop the skipper and operations manager Tony hinted, not too subtle, that they needed a new instructor in a few months and that I might be able to get the job. That definitely is some food for thought. Being able to work and only teach advanced courses or higher on one of the best dive sites in the country.

The ride home

 After a nice steak sandwich provided by the dive shop we hopped back into the car to drive back to Cairns. It was still light out and my suspicions about all those wallabies getting themselves killed on the side of the road turned out to be correct. On the way back we counted 41 road kills (wallabies, possums, rats and birds) of which 29 of them in the first 100 km between Ayr and Townsville. Quite as sad sight, but it made for a fun game on the way up. 

A few hours and about 250 km later we stopped in Caldwell for some food. We saw a big sign saying ‘Country Fried Chicken’ and we made a U-turn to check it out. It turned out to be a quite disappointing trucker café with not very appetizing food in a hot box. Instead we went to a restaurant 1 block down which had a giant mud crab on its roof.

We opted for the fresh catch, which was red emperor. Danny, being from Scotland, had its fair share of fish and chips and he rated this the best fish and chips he had in Australia so far. The freshly fried battered fish, the fries and a carton of chocolate milk had revived me and we smashed the last 200km back to Cairns. Definitely making sure I did not break the speed limit again because you’ll never get away with speeding twice in two days.

I dropped of Danny at his place and thanked him for an awesome trip and new adventure to add to my list. Coming home I passed out almost immediately, dreaming of guitar sharks and giant marble rays. What a trip, what a dive, what an exhausting yet exhilarating two days. Now off to find the motivation for towing around Asians in 5 mtrs of water over a sandy bottom. It might be time for a change.  

The life of a scuba instructor on the GBR

 In my job as scuba instructor on Seastar I get to go out to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) almost every day. Off course that is great and I’m enjoying every minute of it. And yes, you can already feel it coming there is a but. The only thing I do is introductory dives with first time divers. I’m especially fond of Chinese or Indian guests who can’t swim, but all sign up for scuba. They’re not comfortable on top of the water let alone under the water. And most Chinese guests can hardly understand me or have trouble following instructions. I absolutely love those days (these last sentences are covered with sarcasm if you haven’t understood that already). But sometimes the day is just perfect and I get reminded why I love this job and diving so much.

Last Thursday I had only one person sighed up for scuba. He was absolutely perfect in the water. It was like having a certified divers with me. To be honest, I’ve seen certified divers that weren’t even close to this guy’s skills in the water. We did the first dive at Mickelmas Cay, which was nice but nothing special. And a second dive at Hastings reef. This dive was off the hook. It is by far the most enjoyable and one of the best dives I’ve done in Australia.

It was a calm day and the visibility was endless. We slowly went down the mooring line to a sandy patch in around 8 meters of water. We swam by this huge anemone occupied by some orange anemone fish. I come her more often to show my students and then turn back to go a shallow area called the ‘fish bowl’. Not today. I spotted a narrow trench and decided to check it out. It turned out to be a wicked swim through. High walls on either side covered in lunar and plate corals. The soft elephant ear coral lined the edges at the top. It was so narrow I could barely fit through. My student swam through like a seasoned pro and absolutely loved it. The trench led to a wall an about 15 meter high wall which we followed for a while.
Once in a while I turned on my back to looked up to just marvel at the site of a big rock outcropping sticking out above us. The sun beating down on the clear light blue water, showing the silhouette of feather stars and sea fans.
The wall ran wasn’t straight. It ran in and out. Creating little grottos and dead end trenches. The ever colorful parrot fish, bird wrasse and angel fish patrolling there territories. Butterfly fish and foxface rabbit fish cruising the reef in pairs as couples in love strolling through a beautiful park. The bigger sweet lips and red bass hiding underneath big plate corals, looking at us wearily.

I can go on for pages and pages using adjective after adjective and still not capture the beauty and serenity that emits from the reef. You’re in wonderland and in that moment there is nothing else in the world but you and a weightless world of unparalleled diversity, ingenuity and wonder. It was a short dive but absolutely amazing. More please…

Diving the Great Barrier Reef

I arrived in Cairns 3 weeks before I got a job as a scuba instructor on one of the boats that go out to the reef. Australia is an expensive country and the money I had in my bank account evaporated as the little puddles of water on the Cairns Esplanade under the tropical North Queensland sun.

Since I had no income I had to prevent spending money and started working for my accommodation in one of the hostels. I got free breakfast (2 slices of toast), free dinner (a $3 crappy pasta) and a free room at Nomads Serpents bar hostel in exchange for 21 hours of work a week. 3 hours a day I cleaned rooms. “Housekeeping”, I would say before entering a room full of smelly backpackers, cursing me because 11 in the morning was still too early for them to be woken by a upbeat Dutchie.

I did have a good time in Nomads serpents. I met loads of new people and the facilities where not too bad. But I wouldn’t stay there again. The manager was horrible. Only 22 years old she was power tripping like crazy. Erin was super strict, rude and more often than not flat out unprofessional. You can’t be uptight if you run a backpackers hostel and 90% of your staff consists out of travelling youngsters.

Well enough about that. With only $75 dollars left in my bank account and despair reaching for my throat I got the call. At the time I was having an interview for some shitty job I didn’t want but needed urgently. It was Pete from Seastar Cruises, if I still needed a job and would come on a trail day. Finally going past all the dive shops and dive boats in town every other day paid off. He told me I needed a dive medical and an in Australia recognized first aid. The later pissed me off a bit since I am a First Aid instructor and the course I had to take and pay $225 for was the exact same one I am authorized to teach. There was no way around it so I got everything done in the 2 days after I got the call and went for my trail. I passed with flying colours and three days later I was part of the crew.
Seastar is a somewhat smaller boat compared to other operators in town. With a maximum of 35 people on board it is not too crowded and makes sure there is still that personal feel to the whole trip. We go out to Michaelmas Cay (http://www.seastarcruises.com.au/where-we-go/michaelmas-cay) and Hastings reef (http://www.seastarcruises.com.au/where-we-go/hastings-reef). Two beautiful sites which offer a completely different underwater experience. I am the only instructor on board and doing introductory dives is pretty much my job description. I get a decent day rate but also get a commission on every dive I sell on board. My very first day I made $275 dollars while having the time of my life discovering the Great Barrier Reef. Species of fish and corals I’ve never seen before. Coral heads almost as big as the boat I came on. (Toto where not in Curacao anymore).

Michealmas Cay is a relatively shallow (7 meters) sandy area with big ‘bommies’ covered in hard and soft corals. Blue spotted stingrays hide out under the sand, little ‘Nemo’ anemone fish look at you wearily when you point them out to the guests. Big bat fish and Giant Trevally hide underneath the boat as soon as we arrive. Sea plumes, spaghetti coral and other soft corals wave gently in the currents. Epaullete sharks hide underneath rock outcroppings and green and hawksbill turtles come say hello. It is an amazing world and a bit weird taking students under in a world where everything is as new to me as it is to them.

Hastings reef is on the ‘outer reef’. In the distance you can see waves breaking where the continental shelve drops down to 1000 meters+. This site is a bit deeper than Michaelmas and has a beautiful wall to dive along. Schools of Hump head parrot fish big enough to ride patrol the shallower parts, white tip reef sharks take of as soon as they catch a glimpse of you. Moorish Idols, unicorn fish and big Maori wrasse bring the colour to the reef. It is absolute delight to call this my office.

After the dive I start cleaning up, chat with customers or drive the glass bottom boat over the reef I just up close and personal.

I feel I still know too little about the marine life in the GBR and can’t wait to learn about these new species or just to learn the different names they use here for the same fish I know from the Caribbean. I plan on staying here for a few months so enough time to get educated.

Life is heading the right direction again. No more hostels infested with Germans, no more sharing rooms, no more shoes or jeans. I’ve got a cool job, live in a cool house filled with other divers, make good money and call the Great Barrier Reef my office. Good times!

Cairns at first glance

To fall with the door into the house, which is a poorly translatable Dutch saying meaning: to get to the point. Cairns is quite a boring town. There is enough to do if you have some money or your own transportation, but for a nearly flat broke backpacker with just flip-flops as mode of transport like me it can be a bit dull.

Daytrips are the entertainment of choice of you want to keep yourself busy. And there are loads of them. Come visit the Atherton tablelands, do a crocodile sighting tour, come deep sea fishing, bungy jumping, zoom the dome, skydiving. Just do it! Awesome deals right here! Reef trips, scuba diving, maxi yacht sailing, booze cruises, Green Island, Fitzroy Island, Lizard Island. Come do it now!! Touters try to lure you in, signs with the latest deals shout at you as you walk past, flyers seduce you with bright colors and Photoshop enhanced pictures. It is definitely tourism that reigns here in Cairns. And if tourism is king then capitalism is queen.

All the big car brands have a shop here. Big showrooms displaying cars polished to perfection. Every fast food chain is present. Souvenir shops which are mainly focused on the Asian tourists, selling the exact same stuff as their neighbor. Bright letters on the window in English and Japanese promote stuffed koala bears, boomerangs and knock off Uggs. Night stores with ridiculous prices run by Indians named Manjit or Leo, tattoo shops all over town. Yes, you have arrived in Cairns. Tourism Central of ‘far north’ Queensland.

All this, off course, is made possible by the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Cairns is ‘THE’ place to depart from in order to see this wonder of nature. Every morning a small fleet of tour operators set out to spend the day on the reef. Pristine blue waters, an abundance of marine life and hopefully the sun on your back make for a great experience. If you really want to experience the GBR there is the option to go on a live aboard trip. 3 days and 2 night will be spend on the reef. The destination will be the more untouched outer reef, which boasts clearer waters and bigger marine life. This is the trip of choice for the avid scuba diver or for people who would like to get their scuba certification on the most famous reef in the world.

All this you can do during the day. At night the souvenir shops and travel stores close their doors and the clubs and pubs open theirs. There is party pretty much every night. Pub crawls, karaoke nights, 2-4-1 deals, $7 jugs of beer, Wet T-shirt competition, Mr & Mrs Backpacker contest. Bring your friend, make a friend! Have a good time! Get drunk. Get laid. Get some kebab!

I realize that after reading this, it doesn’t seem a very accurate conclusion to call Cairns a boring town. But yet again it still is. The daytrips are quite expensive and going out every single night is too costly and wreaks havoc on your body. There is no beach to chill at during the day, just mud flats with crocodile warning signs. The place to go enjoy the day without spending anything is the Esplanade. It is a very well maintained park that stretches the length of the bay form North Cairns all the way down to the city center. Bright green laws dotted with palm trees, giant fig trees and other tropical shrubbery. It includes a lagoon where you can cool of and swim, a skate park, beach volleyball courts. Muddy’s, one of the coolest public children’s playground I’ve seen and public BBQs every 500 meters or so. 

It is also the place to go and exercise. The Esplanade is about 3km long and makes for a perfect morning run. There are public exercise stations which turns the area into a big green public gym.

For me it is the best thing about Cairns so far. Before it becomes too hot, I go for a run along the water’s edge while taking in the beauty of the with rainforest covered hills on the other side if the bay. The sun just peering through the clouds, a thin slither of mist drifting low past the hill side, lighting up silver where the sun touches it. A range of birds foraging on the mud flats during low tide, little crabs running around looking for their own grub but avoiding the lighting fast strike of the white herons.

It can be quite peaceful and serene during those early hours. But it doesn’t last. As soon as King Tourism and Queen Capitalism wake up and take over, Cairns turns into the expensive boring town again. But the fact that you are in the tropics watching the ocean underneath a palm tree makes up for a lot and can make life very enjoyable and rich.

 

Waterfalls at the Atherton Tablelands

When travelling alone and staying at hostels in Australia it is always very easy to meet new people. And so I did when staying at the Globetrotter hostel in Cairns. They asked me if I wanted to join them on a road trip to the surrounding country of Cairns. With ‘them’ I mean a girl from France named Lea, one from Scotland named Keri, one from the USA named Julie and an English bloke called Rory.

We departed the following day in a rental car to discover the Atherton Tablelands, which holds the two highest mountains in Queensland and is known for its beautiful waterfalls, endless green rolling hills and lush rainforest covering the mountainside. With 5 people crammed into a small Hyundai Getz we set off to our first stop, The Boulders.

The name more or less explains what we were about to see. Giant Boulders with clear water flowing around them. It was too dangerous to swim there and we followed a walking trail from look out to look out to take in the beauty of the site. It looked a bit surreal. The way the water had shaped the rocks over years and years to a smooth surface. Rounds boulders stocking out, dimples carved away by the ever flowing water. Different colored layers made up the surface of the rock. Ranging from dark red to light brown. I reminded me vaguely of the manmade wild water rapids found in an old tropical waterpark called Tropicana only much bigger and without the plastic tinge to it.

We could immediately feel that we were in the rainforest. Off course the tropical vegetation gave it away but it was the humidity that was prominently present. I absolutely loved it. Nothing like some heavy sticky air to remind you that you’re not in Kansas anymore.

Josephine falls

We continued to what turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip, Josephine Falls. Underway we found that Australians use some pretty weird and macabre names for creeks and places. We passed a ‘Murder house winery’, slaughter house creek and a Butchers creek. While we were laughing about it we noticed a little town on the map called ‘Bones Knob’. I imagined that to be a pretty sexy place to live in where ’70 porn star moustaches are the facial hair of choice.  

Anyways, back to Josephine Falls. This place was absolutely amazing. Apparently everybody thinks so since a manmade concrete path led us to it. The waterfall is fed by cold water coming down from Mt. Bartle Frere, the tallest mountain of Queensland with its 1622 meters. The fall cascades down over several levels. Grinding down the mainly marble and basalt surface to a slippery slope before plunging in pool at the bottom only to repeat this again until the incline drops and turn the river into a rapid littered with boulders that disappears into the forest. The last pool isn’t fed by the water falling down but rather by a slope that doubles as a waterslide for the people who dare to brave the cool water. Surrounded by impenetrable rainforest this clearing is breathtaking with the sun peering through the canopy, glistening on the crystal clear water. We had lunch on a giant boulder with a flat top in the middle of the stream looking out over the waterfall. Soothed by the sound of the falling and flowing water.

After lunch I decided to check what beauty was hiding behind the corner as the stream bend to the left into the forest. Jumping from boulder to boulder I made my way down. The stream broadened a bit and forced me to follow the water’s edge, but I didn’t make it that far. Using branches of the trees lining the river to balance myself on the slippery rocks I felt something brushing up against my shoulder. I turned out to be a web of the weirdest spider I have ever seen. The little critter was about the size of my fingernail with what looked like a shield of bright red and yellow which stuck out on either end of its body. This encounter cured me of any other adventures endeavors for the moment and reminded me that I was in a tropical rainforest in a country where everything is either poisonous or venomous. I made my way back to my travel companions to regroup and move to our next destination.   

We followed the road that led all around Wooroonooran National park. (Try and say that quickly 5 times) to Millaa Millaa Falls. It took about an hour since everything in Australia is far away, but it was a beautiful drive. Endless green rolling hills on either side. Grazing cows and horses as little spots in the hillsides. Mt. Bartle Frere as background with its summit hidden in the clouds. A wide range of the color green, the one shade even brighter than the other.

As we cruised along we were overtaken by Jeep Wrangler rented by some hipsters. They didn’t keep enough distance between them and a big truck in front. Due to road works the truck had to brake and the Jeep almost folded itself around the back fender. The smell of burning rubber and brake pads greeted us accompanied by a big puff of smoke. It was a very close call. After this ‘almost’ accident the driver of the jeep decided to continue in the same fashion and overtook the truck in a corner while climbing a hill. We were all dumbstruck by that and dubbed the Jeep, ‘work truck’ since it was obviously full of tools (slang for dumbasses).

Millaa Millaa

Not long after our front row seat show of faces of (near) death we arrived at the circuit that led past three waterfalls. Millaa Millaa being the biggest and most well-known. The waterfall was about 15 meters high. The water plummeting down into a calm pond that drained into a small stream. You could swim up to it and enjoy a nice massage of falling cold water. The back of the waterfall I found especially interesting. Through all kinds of ways, listed on a tourist information sign which I don’t remember, straight columns of basalt, black at jet formed the wall behind the thin curtain of water.

Ellinjaa

Although MIllaa Millaa was supposed to be best one, I favored Ellinjaa Falls. The water didn’t fall from hat high but rather cascaded down over formerly jagged rock now rounded by the water. A big tree trunk that came down the waterfall, probably during the raining season, was stuck a shallower part right in the middle in front of the waterfall. This off course made for a perfect picture opportunity and we all had our little ‘Kodak moment’. The third fall was called Zillie Falls, but not as easily accessible as the others.

Since it was close to 4pm we pushed on and headed for Lake Eacham. A crater lake of 65 meters deep which made for a unique habitat. I found it the (true) highlight of our trip. Rainforest lined the entire lake up to the edge save for the manmade clearing used for sunbathing and picnics. There was a certain calm about the place. A true serenity. It was quiet except for the birds and sounds of the rainforest. A single pelican swam across the lake as a silhouette while the reflection of the sun formed a golden dagger on the water’s surface. I just sat there taking it in, writing in my journal trying to find the words that did the place and the energy it emitted justice. I still haven’t found them.

The sun was slowly descending towards the horizon and we had one more thing on our list we wanted to see before heading back to Cairns. Lea had already seen it and promised us that it was quite special. We went to look at a tree. And not just a tree, but a curtain fig tree. The roots of fig trees grow down from the branches to form trunks of their own and support the ever widening ‘roof’. This tree however fell over onto a neighboring tree and the roots had grown down as a curtain, hence the name. It was an enormous tree around 500 years old and definitely something special.

We took about 20 minutes to marvel at the sight of the forest giant and got back in the car for the last leg of the trip back to Cairns. Most roads so far had been straight so we were not prepared for the type of road that laid ahead. A 2 lane road winding down the mountain. Steep rock cliffs on the left and a green valley on the right the road twisted and turned constantly. Turn after turn at a pretty steep decline. It was called Gillies Highway and it felt we were on a rollercoaster ride that lasted for over 30 minutes. I was loads of fun although not everyone in the car felt that way. But after half an hour of snaking down the mountain everyone was glad that it was over. The rest of the ride home was very smooth and we just chatted about what an amazing day it had been.

We had driven about 300 km that day, had seen some amazing places and all that for just $20. Being backpackers and always on a budget, that made the already successful trip taste just a little bit sweeter.