We arrived in Cairns and had a while to wait before we got picked up by the shuttle bus man who was such a character that my anger at his tardiness slowly ebbed away. On the way to our new hostel he told us all sorts of random facts about Cairns. He told us not to go in sea at all, not due to sharks but due to the crocs! I really wanted to see them but didn't.
We arrived at our hostel and from the journey I gathered Cairns was definately 'small town' and was worlds apart from Sydney. The reception staff were rude and lazy so if you ever stay at Global Central Cairns, take note of the following: rude and lazy staff, kitchen with bags full of maggots, faulty a/c and fan, bad kitchen utensils, filthy bathrooms with.....ALL kinds of bodily fluids on the floor, charged internet etc etc etc.
We made the collasal mistake of booking 10 nights at this place as there are loads of trips and activities to do surrounding Cairns (not much to do in the center itself) but what we didn't take into account is yet again, the price. As we are away for a year we have to keep an eye on what we spend as we still have a way to go. Unfortunately this meant we could only do two activities in 10 days...weep!! However, they truly were amazing activities and I shall tell you about one of them in this post and one in the next.
This post is about our trip into the rainforest. What a great experience. We went with a tour bus that seemed a little less.....hmmmm.......pre-pubesent orientated (without sounding too old, however the amount of 'just finished school' 18 year old spoilt kids who think they are so adventurous for daring to head to....OMG>>>>AUSTRALIA are starting to do my head in!).
We started off by going on a wildlife cruise and having Devonshire tea at beautiful Lake Barrine - (a volcanic crater lake). The Devonshire tea consisted off warm, fresh out of the oven scones with dollops of light delicious cream with fruity sweet jam accompanied by a cup of tea where the tea had been sourced from the land around it. Sooooo delicious!!! Best I have ever had.
We arrived at our hostel and from the journey I gathered Cairns was definately 'small town' and was worlds apart from Sydney. The reception staff were rude and lazy so if you ever stay at Global Central Cairns, take note of the following: rude and lazy staff, kitchen with bags full of maggots, faulty a/c and fan, bad kitchen utensils, filthy bathrooms with.....ALL kinds of bodily fluids on the floor, charged internet etc etc etc.
We made the collasal mistake of booking 10 nights at this place as there are loads of trips and activities to do surrounding Cairns (not much to do in the center itself) but what we didn't take into account is yet again, the price. As we are away for a year we have to keep an eye on what we spend as we still have a way to go. Unfortunately this meant we could only do two activities in 10 days...weep!! However, they truly were amazing activities and I shall tell you about one of them in this post and one in the next.
This post is about our trip into the rainforest. What a great experience. We went with a tour bus that seemed a little less.....hmmmm.......pre-pubesent orientated (without sounding too old, however the amount of 'just finished school' 18 year old spoilt kids who think they are so adventurous for daring to head to....OMG>>>>AUSTRALIA are starting to do my head in!).
We started off by going on a wildlife cruise and having Devonshire tea at beautiful Lake Barrine - (a volcanic crater lake). The Devonshire tea consisted off warm, fresh out of the oven scones with dollops of light delicious cream with fruity sweet jam accompanied by a cup of tea where the tea had been sourced from the land around it. Sooooo delicious!!! Best I have ever had.
Mmmmm
The wildlife cruise along the lake was beautiful. The lady taking us round tried to point out animals that just weren't there though and she sounded thoroughly bored! It was a bit scary to think I was in a boat right on top of a volcanoe! We did manage to spot a python chilling on a branch on the way round.
After the lake we had a little walk into the rainforest to see the 1,100 year old twin Bull-Kauri pine trees. The thing that is amazing about these trees is that they do not grow near each other but these two did. The height of them were incredible also. They can continue to grow and survive for 5000 years! Crazy!
Bull- Kauri trees
Lake Barrine
The next part of the trip was to go and visit the Giant Curtain Fig Tree which is 600 years old and something quite unique. It actually formed due to a bird doing its dirt on the tree and the seeds in the droppings reacted with the tree to create it. The guide was a massive tree hugger. He was fantastic. His knowledge of all the wildlife and plants was unbelievable! He introduced us to a plant (I have forgotten its name) that looks completely innocent but if it touchs your skin you will be in severe pain for a few days. You won't be able to eat, sleep, rest or anything. No painkillers will numb the pain, not even morphine. Then he showed us another plant that had long vines that looked normal, but when you look closely they have hundreds of little hooks all along them and if it touches your skin and you move it will rip your skin as easily as tracing paper. He demonstrated on his clothes and had to spend a while carefully unhooking each hook aftr just lighlty brushing against it. 'Daaamn nature....you scary!!!! (Another 10 cool points if you get that reference.
Curtain Fig Tree
We also had an elevated rainforest walk to see the Milla Milla waterfall. Unfortunately it wasn't that good as there hadn't been much rainfall. That night however the heavens opened and the next day I am sure it would have looked great. So aswell as taking us to Milla Milla falls he took us to some other falls that I can't remember the name of.
The 'unamed' falls
The trickle at Milla Milla falls
Along the way to our next stop we paid a visit to a viewpoint called 'Crawford's Lookout' which offered wonderful views.
Next on our itinerary was to visit a Spanish castle hidden in the rainforest. It was a place called 'Paronella Park' and has quite the romantic story behind it. Rather than putting all the text here follow this link to read the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paronella_Park I know 'Wikipedia' isn't the best source but it is better than the official website.
Spanish Castle hidden in the rainforest
Spanish Castle hidden in the rainforest
Whilst walking around the extensive grounds I discovered this sign. I couldn't find the croc :(
After exploring the rainforest and grounds for 2 hours we headed to another set of falls called 'Mena Creek Falls' and they were pretty. Mike had a little swim but I was saving myself for the next part.
The last stop on our tour was a place called 'Babinda Boulders' which are apparently full of aboriginal myth and ledgend. It was here that I went into cystal clear water and had a swim about. I got freaked out and bailed as soon as I spotted a big fat eel though!
A snapshot of Mike swimming next to some of the boulders.
The day was nicely finished by a cup of tea that the tour guide provided from a flask and biscuit which was apparently 'Scottish' according to the print on it and was tring to pass off as shortbread. It was more like cardboard and was seriously neglected when they were adding the butter but the thought was there. Such a great day out. The next blog post will be about our second activity: swimming and snorkelling along the Great Barrier Reef!!!!
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