Cairns is a coastal city in North Queensland, Australia that exists solely to provide accommodations and attractions for people who want to visit the Great Barrier Reef, one of the most famous natural landmarks in the world. There were probably three dozen hotels and backpackers hostels in the tiny "city," and I can only assume they all do enough business to stay open. It's also Cancun, Daytona Beach, and Cabo all rolled into one when it comes to Spring Break destinations in Australia, so they have that going for them.
Our accommodation was a backpacker's "resort" called Gilligan's, and given some of the places I've stayed it actually qualifies. There was a pool in the courtyard and an outdoor bar that was never lacking business, and they served a free dinner for their guests. Can't say I could have asked for more. The city itself was as you'd expect (very touristy), with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants, and it was very well presented.
There was a lot to do in Cairns, including a beach-like lagoon right by the water because by the looks of it, you couldn't really swim in the bay. There was also a zoo-like Wildlife Dome that was kind of a rip-off, but we got to take a picture with a Koala bear. They aren't as soft as you'd imagine, but are very cool nonetheless.
Needless to say, the main attraction is the reef itself. There is an entire reef terminal for boats heading out there, and there were probably 200 people in there the morning we went. We had an adventure before our reef adventure even began because I misplaced our voucher (turns out it was in my bag all along) and we had to go from desk to desk trying to find which tour company we were in. Once that was settled, it was on to the boat ride. The ride out was pretty choppy and a lot of people got sick, which was to me more nauseating than the actual waves, but Meryl and I held it together and didn't spew. We signed up for an introductory scuba class, which was basically a free 10 minute crash course in the basics off the back of the boat at our first stop. I'm going to chalk it up to my mask not being tight enough, but I was having a lot of issues and give my first scuba diving experience two thumbs down.
Snorkeling, however, was a much different story. We got to snorkel at both stops and the reef was, as advertised, truly breathtaking. Where the reef itself lacked the majestic colors seen in some photographs, the fish made up for it and then some. While we didn't find Nemo, there were some incredible shades of blues and yellows, and my favorite, a genuine rainbow fish, on which you couldn't count all of the colors if you tried. Our second stop was out in the middle of the ocean, and as a result was a bit rougher, but that stop provided perhaps my favorite moment in Australia. At one point, I just floated in place for a couple minutes and was surrounded by hundreds of tiny, sparkling blue fish. They just swam around as if I wasn't there, and the harmony of the whole situation was just special. They didn't mind me, I didn't bother them, and we all got to go about our day. Such a harmony is much harder to find back home than in this part of the world.
Now as I study for finals here (which just got even less appealing with the arrival of two books from home that I can't wait to read), I'll try to get through Spring Break and the month of October, but before you know it, I'll be home recounting the same stories in person. 6 more days in Auckland. I can't believe it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment