Upon arrival in Cairns we headed straight to our hostel Corona Backpackers. It was small but had a cool feel about it and had an outdoor staircase where everyone met up to chat before heading out (there were a few freaks on these stairs every night)! We were staying with a Dutch guy who didn’t say much and our room was the only room in the hostel that had a mirror so everyone came into use it. We really should have started charging them! By staying in the hostel we were rewarded every night with a “free” meal in The Woolshed. When we arrived at The Woolshed there was a massive queue coming out the door of backpackers wanting their free meals! The only problem was the free meals were awful looking chili-con carne and spaghetti bolognese. We were eating enough bolognese back in Sydney so we upgraded every night we were there to big steaks for only $8! Not a bad deal at all! The Woolshed had another good deal: buy one get one free drinks from 10pm-11pm which we happily abused that night!
Now it was time for the quad-biking! We were split into 4 groups and were taken along different routes after completing the introductory course. We were told to keep in 1st or 2nd gear until we hit straights and then we could move up to the fast gears. The quad bikes seemed a bit dodgy compared to the last time I was and turned off a few times on me and Kieran. It was mostly plain sailing until we were told to go into 1st gear for the next section. We travelled down a big hill and then hit a bit of a straight. I decided to move up to third and ploughed up a hill but then I realized I shouldn’t have moved up gears and slide down the hill a bit before the guide helped me back up!We were having the time of our lives although Kieran said he feared for his life at certain stages! The track had loads of different stages so it was cool mixing it up from sandy straight tracks to massive drops/climbs to slow tracks trying to keep in between trees. The track itself was very dusty so it was a good job we brought our sunglasses, would have been impossible to see otherwise! We came to a huge drop down a hill and then straight away a massive climb up another so we needed to be on our game. We both got through it but as I looked back a saw Kieran pulling a wheelie (accidently I think) when he reached the top of the hill and nearly killing the instructor who was walking back to check how everyone else was doing! We finished off the day with a massive straight in which we stayed in top gear the whole time and flew to the end of it, we were covered in dust and dirt at the end of it but it was worth it. Tea and cake awaited us when we got back and then it was time head back to Cairns and hit the Woolshed again!
The following day we had a day off so we decided to hit the lagoon (there’s no beach in Cairns either unfortunately) and chill out for the day. It was roasting as it is everyday, temperatures were in high 20’s low 30’s. While playing football we met a guy from County Cork whose was very impressed with our free-styling abilities! He joined in with us soon after we got a game of 3 vs. 3 going with an American girl we met, a Spanish guy and Tal from our Fraser trip! Me and Kieran dominated the game with nice one touch play but the American girl on our team was unbelievable. She scored four of our five goals and was the best player on the pitch. She should be playing professional! We ended up winning 5-3 and met up later for celebratory drinks!
We hit the road again and our next stop was Mossman Gorge in the Daintree National Park. It was crowded around the gorge with everyone taking photos of the boulders and the river but no one was in the water. We would soon changed that! We soon realized why we were the only ones in the water…. It was FREEZING!!!
The next day we set off to Blazing Saddles Adventures for some quad-biking and some less exciting horse riding! Blazing Saddles operates on 1,200 acres of Australian bush land, giant termite mounds, creeks and savannah plains which can be explored by a 250cc quad bike! We started off with horse-riding. It was the first time to the best of my memory I would ever get up on a horse so I was a little apprehensive! I got a big horse called Roxy and Kieran got one called Rasputin (I think) and we were on our way. It was mostly gentle strides to start off with but then we did some galloping and some exciting hill climbing. It was a lot better than we thought it was going to be!A crazy Chinese man, who’s horse went crazy at one stage stole the show and unknowingly had everyone in stitches with his mental antics.
As a break in between the two activities we were brought to a village called Kuranda. It’s most famous for its Rainforest Sky-rail which provides amazing views from a cable car. We visited the markets and explored a bit of the town but spent most of our time playing 20 questions and giving out about how bad the cherry ice-cream we got was! Never again!
Now it was time for the quad-biking! We were split into 4 groups and were taken along different routes after completing the introductory course. We were told to keep in 1st or 2nd gear until we hit straights and then we could move up to the fast gears. The quad bikes seemed a bit dodgy compared to the last time I was and turned off a few times on me and Kieran. It was mostly plain sailing until we were told to go into 1st gear for the next section. We travelled down a big hill and then hit a bit of a straight. I decided to move up to third and ploughed up a hill but then I realized I shouldn’t have moved up gears and slide down the hill a bit before the guide helped me back up!We were having the time of our lives although Kieran said he feared for his life at certain stages! The track had loads of different stages so it was cool mixing it up from sandy straight tracks to massive drops/climbs to slow tracks trying to keep in between trees. The track itself was very dusty so it was a good job we brought our sunglasses, would have been impossible to see otherwise! We came to a huge drop down a hill and then straight away a massive climb up another so we needed to be on our game. We both got through it but as I looked back a saw Kieran pulling a wheelie (accidently I think) when he reached the top of the hill and nearly killing the instructor who was walking back to check how everyone else was doing! We finished off the day with a massive straight in which we stayed in top gear the whole time and flew to the end of it, we were covered in dust and dirt at the end of it but it was worth it. Tea and cake awaited us when we got back and then it was time head back to Cairns and hit the Woolshed again!
The following day we had a day off so we decided to hit the lagoon (there’s no beach in Cairns either unfortunately) and chill out for the day. It was roasting as it is everyday, temperatures were in high 20’s low 30’s. While playing football we met a guy from County Cork whose was very impressed with our free-styling abilities! He joined in with us soon after we got a game of 3 vs. 3 going with an American girl we met, a Spanish guy and Tal from our Fraser trip! Me and Kieran dominated the game with nice one touch play but the American girl on our team was unbelievable. She scored four of our five goals and was the best player on the pitch. She should be playing professional! We ended up winning 5-3 and met up later for celebratory drinks!
We booked a special three day trip in our hostel for the next three days and it worked out a lot cheaper than doing things separately.
Our first day took us to Tully for a full five hour day of rafting on Grade 3, 4 and 5 rapids with Raging Thunder! To be up at six o clock was not an easy feat in itself! The mighty Tully River is about two hours south of Cairns and is considered one of the best locations for white water rafting around. It had gotten great reviews off one Charlie Corcoran!
We were split into four groups of six and assigned a guide each. Marty was our guide and he was in charge of selecting the groups so he obviously picked the best group for himself! We got acquainted with our raft mates and were assigned where we would be sitting. Of course he put the two Kiloughter lads up the front to do all the hard work! We weren’t complaining one bit, the best craic was to be had up the front and we were in charge of keeping our paddle stokes in identical to each other as Marty called out either forward stroke or backward stroke and leading the team safely down the rapids. The others did feck all really! Marty was a hero and explained all the instructions and positions. On Marty’s call, at certain stages we would all have to jump to the right or left hand side of the raft to assist him in steering or get down in the raft as we prepare for impact! We were having the time of our lives and after each section of the course we would celebrate by smashing our paddles together and slapping the water. Water fights between the rafts broke out on every occasion possible! After conquering a particular rapid Marty instructed us to leap out of the raft and go for a swim. The water was freezing but we didn’t care as the rapids carried us to the bottom of the stage. Marty met us at the bottom and we were soon back sitting in the raft. In a matter of minutes we were all out of it again! Marty told us to leave our paddles in the raft and form a huddle at the front of it as we approached a big drop. We all knew how this was going to turn out. We didn’t know how far we were from the edge as we were all looking down towards the rafting, when all of a sudden we went head over heels off the raft and right into the water! We drifted down to the river bank and it was time for lunch. A BBQ buffet was again on offer and we ate all around us!
Back into raft the first order of business for Marty was to knock someone out of the raft. We were his obvious targets! Pity we didn’t know this at the time. He lined up his attack by heading towards drop with a rock on one side. He made it seem like he was heading down it properly, then at the last second turned the boat as we were about to go down and flipped me straight over the edge of the raft, somehow I managed to hold on to the rope around the outside and Kieran pulled me back in. Marty was delighted! Then he brought us to a cliff edge where there was a waterfall, brought us right under the waterfall and we got soaked by the amount of water. It brought me back to the Iguassu Falls! Next order of business was to jump off a 6-8m high rock in the middle of the river. We all happily got out and leapt from the top! Immediately upon landing in the water we wished we had tried a flip instead of a normal cannonball but it was awesome none the less. All day Marty had been trying to flip the whole raft. He got really close once where he told everyone to jump to one side of the raft as we were going down a drop and we got almost half way flipped but then we countered it by moving back to our original sides! Our last event of the day was to go backwards down a steep slope. Marty shouted “What you can’t see, can’t hurt you”! I don’t know how we all stayed in the raft but somehow we did!
We said our goodbyes to everyone and we enjoyed it so much we even bought a Raging Thunder hat and polo shirt as a souvenir of our day!
We were split into four groups of six and assigned a guide each. Marty was our guide and he was in charge of selecting the groups so he obviously picked the best group for himself! We got acquainted with our raft mates and were assigned where we would be sitting. Of course he put the two Kiloughter lads up the front to do all the hard work! We weren’t complaining one bit, the best craic was to be had up the front and we were in charge of keeping our paddle stokes in identical to each other as Marty called out either forward stroke or backward stroke and leading the team safely down the rapids. The others did feck all really! Marty was a hero and explained all the instructions and positions. On Marty’s call, at certain stages we would all have to jump to the right or left hand side of the raft to assist him in steering or get down in the raft as we prepare for impact! We were having the time of our lives and after each section of the course we would celebrate by smashing our paddles together and slapping the water. Water fights between the rafts broke out on every occasion possible! After conquering a particular rapid Marty instructed us to leap out of the raft and go for a swim. The water was freezing but we didn’t care as the rapids carried us to the bottom of the stage. Marty met us at the bottom and we were soon back sitting in the raft. In a matter of minutes we were all out of it again! Marty told us to leave our paddles in the raft and form a huddle at the front of it as we approached a big drop. We all knew how this was going to turn out. We didn’t know how far we were from the edge as we were all looking down towards the rafting, when all of a sudden we went head over heels off the raft and right into the water! We drifted down to the river bank and it was time for lunch. A BBQ buffet was again on offer and we ate all around us!
Back into raft the first order of business for Marty was to knock someone out of the raft. We were his obvious targets! Pity we didn’t know this at the time. He lined up his attack by heading towards drop with a rock on one side. He made it seem like he was heading down it properly, then at the last second turned the boat as we were about to go down and flipped me straight over the edge of the raft, somehow I managed to hold on to the rope around the outside and Kieran pulled me back in. Marty was delighted! Then he brought us to a cliff edge where there was a waterfall, brought us right under the waterfall and we got soaked by the amount of water. It brought me back to the Iguassu Falls! Next order of business was to jump off a 6-8m high rock in the middle of the river. We all happily got out and leapt from the top! Immediately upon landing in the water we wished we had tried a flip instead of a normal cannonball but it was awesome none the less. All day Marty had been trying to flip the whole raft. He got really close once where he told everyone to jump to one side of the raft as we were going down a drop and we got almost half way flipped but then we countered it by moving back to our original sides! Our last event of the day was to go backwards down a steep slope. Marty shouted “What you can’t see, can’t hurt you”! I don’t know how we all stayed in the raft but somehow we did!
We said our goodbyes to everyone and we enjoyed it so much we even bought a Raging Thunder hat and polo shirt as a souvenir of our day!
For day two it was time to do a snorkeling trip in the Great Barrier Reef on the Osprey V! A very early start was needed for this as well but it was routine at this stage.We boarded our boat and noticed that it was going to be very cramped compared to our catamaran in the Whitsunday’s! We were told we would be snorkeling at different locations on the Great Barrier Reef, Hastings and Norman Reef.
The water was a lot clearer in the Reef than in the Whitsunday’s. It was even easier to see fish from miles away. The famous fish on the reef is called Wally-Wally. It’s hard to describe him other than to say he’s absolutely huge, scarily huge and we got to touch him as we entered/exited the water! The coral was full of life and we were sometimes afraid to touch anything in case something jumped out and bit our hand off! The two of us decided to go “Finding Nemo”. It didn’t take us too long to find him! On the way back to the boat one of the scariest things ever happened to me…I was making my way back, focusing on the fish below when I looked up and saw a giant swordfish like fish swim right in front of my eyes!
Back on the boat we were offered the chance to take a helicopter home for the right price. Kieran had never been in a helicopter before so he jumped at the chance of seeing the Reef from the air. I decided to wait on board and help myself to the food on offer while listening to one of the staff sing. Elvis was his name but he looked nothing like the real deal. He was from New Zealand and everyone loved him, especially the way he made fun of every different nationality on board, apart from New Zealand of course. I was disappointed there was no mention of Ireland but enjoyed his songs none the less.
The Great Barrier Reef really does have to be seen to be believed!
Our third day took us north of Cairns towards Cape Tribulation. Another early start was needed and this was definitely the hardest activity to get up for. We were collected by a coach at half 6 and headed for The Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary near Port Douglas. In here there was everything from snakes and crocodiles to kangaroos and spiders. First we headed to see the crocodiles. We were having trouble locating them but then we looked down! The biggest crocodile you’ve ever seen was below us looking up ready to attack! Next, we entered the main section of the zoo and were greeted by the funniest looking animal around: the pelican! I couldn’t stop laughing as the waddled around looking for food, next thing a big emu comes out of nowhere and starts charging around not stopping for one second. All the while, in the background there were at least a dozen kangaroo’s, birds flying overhead, tree kangaroo’s, frogs, ducks and parrots everywhere, it was crazy!
The water was a lot clearer in the Reef than in the Whitsunday’s. It was even easier to see fish from miles away. The famous fish on the reef is called Wally-Wally. It’s hard to describe him other than to say he’s absolutely huge, scarily huge and we got to touch him as we entered/exited the water! The coral was full of life and we were sometimes afraid to touch anything in case something jumped out and bit our hand off! The two of us decided to go “Finding Nemo”. It didn’t take us too long to find him! On the way back to the boat one of the scariest things ever happened to me…I was making my way back, focusing on the fish below when I looked up and saw a giant swordfish like fish swim right in front of my eyes!
Back on the boat we were offered the chance to take a helicopter home for the right price. Kieran had never been in a helicopter before so he jumped at the chance of seeing the Reef from the air. I decided to wait on board and help myself to the food on offer while listening to one of the staff sing. Elvis was his name but he looked nothing like the real deal. He was from New Zealand and everyone loved him, especially the way he made fun of every different nationality on board, apart from New Zealand of course. I was disappointed there was no mention of Ireland but enjoyed his songs none the less.
The Great Barrier Reef really does have to be seen to be believed!
Our third day took us north of Cairns towards Cape Tribulation. Another early start was needed and this was definitely the hardest activity to get up for. We were collected by a coach at half 6 and headed for The Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary near Port Douglas. In here there was everything from snakes and crocodiles to kangaroos and spiders. First we headed to see the crocodiles. We were having trouble locating them but then we looked down! The biggest crocodile you’ve ever seen was below us looking up ready to attack! Next, we entered the main section of the zoo and were greeted by the funniest looking animal around: the pelican! I couldn’t stop laughing as the waddled around looking for food, next thing a big emu comes out of nowhere and starts charging around not stopping for one second. All the while, in the background there were at least a dozen kangaroo’s, birds flying overhead, tree kangaroo’s, frogs, ducks and parrots everywhere, it was crazy!
We hit the road again and our next stop was Mossman Gorge in the Daintree National Park. It was crowded around the gorge with everyone taking photos of the boulders and the river but no one was in the water. We would soon changed that! We soon realized why we were the only ones in the water…. It was FREEZING!!!
We continued on up the coast and reached our destination of Cape Tribulation where a massive buffet was waiting for us. There was a massive iguana/lizard roaming around outside the door looking to cause trouble. We ate all around us and headed for the beach just out side the door and relaxed.
Next we headed back down the coast towards what would be our last stop of the day, the Daintree River. Here we were treated to a river cruise and some crocodile watching. We spotted Fat Albert and a few other crocodiles but none were as big or scary as the one in the Wildlife Sanctuary!
For our last day in Cairns we spent the whole day topping up the suntan, relaxing and eating Baskin Robbins ice-cream! We had one a day for the week, money well spent in our opinion!
Take it easy,
For our last day in Cairns we spent the whole day topping up the suntan, relaxing and eating Baskin Robbins ice-cream! We had one a day for the week, money well spent in our opinion!
Take it easy,
Mike
1 comment:
White Water Rafting was the best thing that we did in Cairns! We had a great time and the BBQ half way through was brilliant!
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