Immediately after Emily’s departure, the fall season ushered in ceaseless rain, shorter days, and cold(er) weather (think 50 degree mornings), making for an uneventful few weeks of catching up on work, unsuccessfully trying to find new recipes to replace my usual (and always delicious) shakshuka, and trying to stay dry.
During this period of time, I was so desperate for activities that weren’t studying that, one morning, I decided to bake a cake even while lacking measuring cups. Yes, that’s right, my kitchen has three fridges, two rice cookers, and at least 30 pairs of chopsticks, yet we have no measuring cups. Despite this, my chai coffee cake was absolutely scrumptious (a word that I had to teach to my foreign roommates :)).
Thankfully, Sydney is always bustling with activities, so I was able to find some fun outside of the house as well, including the Sydney Vegan Market, which bustled with more meat-substitute crazy people than I have ever seen in one place. I was joined by my new friends Namsu and Hudson (the only vegan of our trio), who were as avid as I was to try all of the free samples. I was happy to find that there exists vegan cheese that doesn’t taste like rubber, but, despite all of the vendors’ claims, I can’t say that any of them tasted at all like the real thing.
On another day, Emily and I visited Newtown, a trendy, “college town” suburb of Sydney. Surprisingly, despite all of the well-stocked thrift stores and cute market stalls, I escaped without spending a dime, saving up for my next big adventure: Cairns.
Off to the Reef!
Typically, when someone thinks of Australia, they picture one of two things: the Great Barrier Reef or the Outback. So, I knew that during my time abroad, I would need to explore both of these environments to have a true “Australian adventure.”
These two areas of Australia encompass wide areas, making them easy to access (if you have the time and transportation means), but also difficult to decide where to travel within their respective terrains for the most authentic and rewarding experience.
For the Great Barrier Reef, there are many outposts along the east coast that abut this natural wonder, from the northernmost Cape York to the southernmost Gladstone. Now why did I decide on Cairns as my personal destination? Honestly, it was because it was one of the furthest reef cities from Sydney and the only city that I recognized by name, so I thought that it must be worthwhile.
With an 8:30 AM boarding time, I was out of the house by 6, not wanting to take any risks with Sydney’s public transportation system. Despite some phleghming from a rather congested passenger behind me, the flight to Cairns was a quick three hours; however, upon arrival, only two had passed, because the state of Queensland is in a different time zone than New South Wales (ugh, the time is causing problems again!).
As I hopped into the airport shuttle with two friends from Denmark and a native Canberran, all of whom I befriended and spent the rest of the day with, I prepared myself to ease into my short vacation by finding the beach and plopping down for a picturesque afternoon read.
The problem was, there were no beaches to be found. After checking into the hostel, I followed signs to the ocean, only to find that there was no ocean at all: it was all mud. The small strip of beach above the soggy sand was deserted, but only figuratively, as the intense humidity would never allow for any moisture to evaporate from any surface. I later found out that swimming is not advised in Cairns, because the mudflats are populated by crocodiles when the tide comes in, but this did not lessen my disappointment about my now altered outlook of the weekend ahead.
Hoping to find other ways to bide my time, I decided to explore the “city,” which much smaller than the sizeable metropolis that I expected. Consisting of a grocery store, a few dive shops, an overwhelming amount of travel agencies, and a single casino, it clearly solely relied on tourism for its economy and provided little in the way of entertainment.
Fortunately, I was a member of the market that they were serving, and within less than an hour of my arrival, I had already booked an excursion for my one free day: a scuba diving tour of the outer reef. Before arriving in Cairns, I had been completely satisfied with my single kayak and snorkeling trip to Fitzroy Island, but a local travel agent convinced me that this brief view of the inner reef could not compare to what the outer reaches had to offer in terms of color and diversity. And, plus, why not explore the depths of the ocean while sea diving after reaching extreme altitudes during sky diving? Warily surrendering another small fortune from my savings, I could only hope that the experience would be worthwhile.
Kayaking and Snorkeling at Fitzroy Island
After a fitful sleep punctured by loud, booming dance music downstairs, I boarded my first boat of the week to travel to Fitzroy Island for a day of kayaking and snorkeling with Raging Thunder. The weather was rather cloudy, and the humidity in the air had only increased, hinting at the rain showers that would soon be overhead.
Once on the island, I was introduced to Keanu, my kayak tour guide, Nikki and Pak, a young Korean couple living a few towns away, and a middle-aged couple from northern California, who would also be joining me on the trip. We were given a quick briefing on how to recover from falling out of the boat, but everyone laughed, as no one could imagine needing to use these skills. Oh were we wrong.
With the tropical storms rolling in, the waves were becoming choppy, making it difficult to navigate along the coast, but Keanu’s interesting factoids and the bath-like warm water made the trip enjoyable. That is, until the Californian couple capsized. The first time…
The waves, combined with the extremely tall stature of the husband, were more than their boat could handle, tipping both of them, and all of their belongings, off of the side of the boat. Thirty minutes of scrambling for their oars and water bottles ensued, while Keanu emptied the kayak of water and tried to ease shocked wife back into her vessel.
With everyone in their proper places again, we continued up the coast, floating by the appropriately named Bird Poo Rock. Just as the trip was starting to gain momentum, the second capsize occurred. Once the Californians were back in the boat, I could not believe their willingness to continue on, but we did so, this time keeping their belongings in our own boats just in case they tipped again. And they did.
After this third time, however, the wife was unresponsive, and the husband decided that it was time to call it quits. An almost smoothly-executed rescue by a nearby diving boat (the boat flipped once more on the way in) ensured for them an easy return to shore and allowed the rest of us to continue on our journey.
And thank goodness we did, because the best parts had yet to come. In a short time, we reached Little Fitzroy Island, which was about the size of a large house. Keanu led on a short hike to the summit by way of slippery boulders and enclosed spaces, but the view at the top made every frightening step worth it.
On our way back to “big” Fitzroy, I learned a few fun tidbits about the local wildlife:
- The walking tree is a tree that stands on exposed roots. It grows in whichever direction has the most nutritious soil, causing it to, over time, “walk.” I couldn’t help comparing its lifestyle to the optimization problems I have been studying in my algorithms class.
- In clown fish communities, there exists one female fish that is dominant. When this fish dies, she is replaced by the subordinate male, who changes his sex to become the dominant female. This fish, then, mates with the next male in line to produce the next generation. So, if Finding Nemo had been scientifically correct, when Nemo’s mom, Coral, passed away, Marlin would have become Nemo’s wife. I’m not sure if that would have made for such a successful children’s movie.
- Crush, the surfer-esque turtle in Finding Nemo, is actually a proper characterization of many turtles in the ocean. Certain kinds of kelp cause turtles to get “high,” making them very relaxed.
- Cone snails have some of the most beautiful shells in the world, but are one of the most deadly species of snails. When threatened, they shoot a two meter long harpoon-like tooth out of their shell to poison their predator, killing a human in 10-15 minutes.
With all of this new information, I certainly had a greater appreciation for ocean life, but that was nothing compared to my amazement after diving the next day.
Deep(-ish) Diving with Divers’ Den
A restful sleep after a long day of water activities carried me over to Friday, another day filled with boats and ocean excitement.
At 8 AM, I was greeted by the staff of Divers’ Den, who quickly handed me all of my personal equipment for the day: two blue flippers, a snorkeling mask, and a thin wet suit to protect against jelly fish stingers. The journey to the outer reef took about 1.5 hours, but this time was easily filled with a safety debriefing and introductory course on diving for those new to the activity.
As we approached the dive location, my assigned group of four was instructed to put on our diving vests, which added the weight of a sofa to my back, and to follow our instructor to the edge of the boat. Then,
for about twenty minutes, we practiced the Valsalva Maneuver, pinching our noses and blowing gently to equalize the pressure in our heads, a necessary, but tedious, procedure.
Finally, we were each ordered, one-by-one, to lower into the water, and at this moment, I was ready to explore! But not so fast…
Upon registering for the trip, I had the option to sign up for two separate experiences: snorkeling, which was included in the price, or scuba diving, which was an extra chunk of money. Not wanting to have any regrets, I opted for the latter. Now that I have had the experience, however, I will absolutely recommend going on the trip, but save your money by sticking to snorkeling.
Instead of being allowed to swim freely through the corals, every group member was required to hold onto the instructor’s arms, greatly limiting our range of motion. Plus, with the restriction of the amount of air in our tanks, our dive was limited to about twenty minutes, in comparison to the 1.5 hours that the snorkeling customers were allotted.
Fortunately, after a tasty lunch buffet and some sunbathing, I had a chance to try out snorkeling myself at our second dive location. And if there was any point on this trip that I most regretted not bringing a Go Pro, now was the time.
Thanks to Pixar, I was able to recognize almost every fish that I saw, almost hoping that they would start speaking to me.
There were schools of fish with yellow tails that twinkled like stars; clams with purple mouths the size of my whole torso that would shrink away as I approached; and sea anemones (I had to look up how to spell that one) that would wave with a distant flick of my hand.
On three separate occasions, I was amazed by a large rainbow-colored Parrot fish that shimmered past me, only to be disgusted by the poop it left in its wake.
(Photo credits: fishesofaustralia.net.au)
A Napoleon wrasse fish followed me like a dog, gone in one moment, right beside my face in the next.
(Photo credits: fishesofaustralia.net.au)
I even saw a few harmless reef sharks that skimmed across the ocean floor like skateboards.
But, most frightening of all, I was greeted by a needlefish, whose teeth glistened across almost half of its extremely large body.
(Photo credits: mnn.com)
When the whistle was blown to return to the boat, I was disappointed that my time in the reef was over, but glad that I had acted on impulse to allow myself the experience in the first place.
Ciao Cairns!
On my last day in Cairns, I was limited by a 5 PM flight back to Sydney, so I decided to take the day easy. Using a free bike rental pass that I had received as a deal from my travel agency, I found my way over to the Cairns Botanical Gardens and the Mount Whitfield Conservation Park.
A quick 30 minute hike brought me up and around the Red Arrow Track, giving me a great overhead view of the airport and close encounters with thick spiders the size of my hand.
Afterwards, I explored the gardens, but with the Rainforest Boardwalk closed, I called it quits early and spent the rest of my day doing work by the beach in preparation for my return to classes on Monday.
If I could do everything over again, I may not have chosen Cairns as my getaway destination, and certainly not if I had planned to be there for longer than two full days and only stay on the land. From the stories of my hostel roommates, I may have been better off with the koalas on Magnetic Island or in the bustling city of Townsville.
Yet, as a major way station between the Australian mainland and the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns served its purpose, offering me an adventure that I surely would never forget.
Six Weeks to Go!
With the end coming quickly, I am trying to squeeze in as much as I can before I return to The States.
Tomorrow night, I will be making dinner for my Cairns hostel roommate, Asia from Switzerland, before she returns home to Europe from her own travels.
This weekend, I’ll be attending the MindBodySpirit Festival in Darling Harbour and visiting Cockatoo Island with a UNSW group for a tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site in the middle of Sydney Harbour.
Next weekend, roommate Emily Endicott and I are hopping over to Canberra, for a quick exploration of the nation’s capital.
Then, with the coming of Easter, I’ll be visited by a few more new hostel friends, then checking off my second and final Australian bucket list item with a backpacking trip in The Outback.
And this will all be happening while I’m getting ready for my last two weeks of finals! Yikes…
Study in Sydney 
Miss you!! You have to tell me all about your Outback journey when you get back to Hunt I 2004 🙂
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Love the photos! 🙂
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