It was not to last, however, and we had much to look forward to. Cairns was our next stop and a much anticipated one at that. As promised, the weather was getting warmer the further up the coast. (All things are relative, from the comparatively chilly high 20s of Brisbane Cairns felt scorching!) We also had the pleasure of finding we would be driven from Mission Beach to Cairns by an Aussie friend of ours, so the five of us piled into the rather small car and we set off. The journey it must be said did not pass without incident; the now infamous 'Hat' Incident, which left us all a little shaken. On the other hand, the rest of the journey was very pleasant and a hugely enjoyable change from the uncomfortable jolting of the Oz Experience Bus. So, we arrived a couple of hours later in Cairns, where the group split for the first extended period of time since we had left. Despite the increase in temperature, however, it was raining in Cairns when we arrived, so we parted ways with very little ceremony, not to mention the fact we would be seeing each other again in a few days. Ollie and I checked into the somewhat (in)famous Gilligan's and indulged ourselves by using some of our hard earned Base nights. We soon found ourselves checked into a room with a Norwegian, a Canadian and two other Englishmen and proceeded to see what delights Cairns had to offer us. They seemed largely to revolve around consuming many different kinds of alcohol and taking advantage of the various different night spots i.e. the Wool Shed or the Blue Sky Brewery with its many, many different beers. That or a 'party bus', which we managed to both win tickets to and get onto despite it being apparently sold out. Funny what you can wangle in a town full of backpackers.
To aid our socialising, we met up with various people we had run into all along the coast, not the least of whom was an old school friend I ran into as we walked into Gilligan's on that first raining evening. What a very, very small world it is. Cairns is the inevitable meeting point, starting point and departing point for almost all travellers that come to the East Coast of Australia. It's position as the last serious town, with a burgeoning night life and back packer scene, not to mention geographical location, makes it ideal for these sorts of rendez-vous. One can hardly turn a corner without tripping over someone you met in a hostel in Surfer's Paradise many weeks ago. Owing to the transient nature of the relationships one forms, however, they are always quickly and solidly bound, so the delight in seeing a new/old friend is always palpable.
So, having indulged our inner party animal extensively, we decided we wanted to do something else. So, we rounded up a few other travellers who were interested, hired a car and set off in search of the Innisfail Waterfall Circuit, which, though you may not realise it, is famous for the Millaa Millaa. They feature in Peter Andre's 'Mysterious Girl' video. (Two further points of information 1. he must have been absolutely bloody freezing under there as the water in the pool and waterfall was, well... bloody freezing and 2. in the aboriginal language, I am reliably informed, repetition is used for emphasis, so Millaa Millaa means plenty of water... surprisingly)
The Millaa Millaa Waterfalls, complete with idiots.
Aside from the Millaa Millaa Waterfalls, there are many others on the very pleasant Waterfalls Circuit and come the end of the day we had definitely been soaked through, gotten cold, warmed up in the car and then with the day winding down, driven back up to Cairns following the edge of the rainforest that covers the surrounding area.
Back in Cairns we decided to venture further up the coast, meet our missing two travellers and then head on up to Cape Tribulation, the first point that Captain Cook came across when he discovered Australia for Britain. We booked ourselves onto what turned out to be, essentially, a coach trip, complete with rather patronising guide and itinerary and a group of other, less adventurous, travellers. Regardless, we made the journey up to Cape Tribulation, through the indubitably tropical rainforest right along the very edge of the coast. This is in fact one of the very few places in the world where rainforest meets reef and within the space of quite literally metres, one can go from snorkelling along a reef to tramping through the undergrowth of the rainforest. While not the most adventurous or exciting of trips, it was interesting to have done it and to spend the night in a log cabin, in the heart of the rainforest before heading back to Cairns the following day.
Once back in Cairns, we once more hopped onto the Party Bus and had another night filled with ridiculous drinking games, excessive drinking and plenty more ridiculous antics, including a strip tease from one of our number, for the benefit of all the revellers at the Wool Shed, in failed pursuit of the much-coveted 'Mr. Backpacker' award. Having recovered the following day, we decided to book ourselves onto a trip out to Michaelmas Cay, which on the surface appears to be nothing more than a tiny sandy island used largely as a bird colony in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (alright, about 30km off the coast of Australia, if I'm honest), but bellow the surface hides some of the best snorkelling in the world, with coral of every possible colour imaginable and fishes in the same rage to boot. Not to mention the odd turtle, shark (the harmless kind) or stingray (again, harmless). Having had a thoroughly enjoyable and utterly relaxing journey out to Michaelmas Cay in the glorious sunshine and absolute tranquility of the Ocean, we arrived at Michaelmas Cay. Our boat came equipped with its own semi-submersible vehicle complete with submerged glass bottom, from which we were able to see even more of the beautiful aquamarine seas and the hugely varied life it held.
Michaelmas Cay in its entirety.
Having spent the entire day larking about on the boat, island or in the water we finally departed Michaelmas Cay, with a sense of really having seen and done something special. This insignificant spec in the middle of blue nowhere really had something special about it, even if it was a little overcrowded and as with much of the Antipodean part of the world makes one wonder what it must have been like to discover it.
That was pretty much the end of our Cairns adventure and so we bid farewell to our friends, new and old-ish and headed out to the airport, where we spent quite a few hours on the floor before boarding out flight for Adelaide, the Great Ocean Road and Melbourne. As well as everything along the way!
Much, much more to tell.
Joe
xxx
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