I am officially back in Sydney after a weeklong pre-semester
vacation to Cairns—a small coastal city about 3 hours north of
Sydney. The trip was without a doubt one of the most fun and adventurous
experiences I have had in my 21 years, and has made me even more thrilled and
grateful to be living in Australia.
The adventure began quicker than we anticipated with about 10 minutes (that felt like 10 hours) of stomach-turning turbulence on the plane ride up that actually made me question my life and
will forever make me terrified of flying. Upon arriving in Cairns we were
escorted to Gilligan’s, a popular hostel that is well known to backpackers and
locals for both its central location and the popular nightclub on the ground floor.
Because we were staying at the hostel, we got free access to the pool and club,
as well as getting food and drink discounts at surrounding restaurants and
bars… this may have been a perk we all took a bit too much advantage of, but I
can safely say we all had the time of our lives and all’s well that ends well!
Flying into Cairns!
While I initially thought that my access to a seemingly
unending supply of drink specials would be the most dangerous aspect of my trip, I quickly realized that Cairns is called the “Adventure Capital” of
Australia for a reason. Our first day was spent on a scenic boat cruise to the
Great Barrier Reef, on which I had my first personal encounter with an
Australian gentleman—a very cute tour guide who I not-so-cutely got seasick
next to for the entire 2-hour boat trip (...both ways). Despite my illness, I was determined to
enjoy the reef, and went on my first scuba dive! The beginning of the dive was
terrifying, but once I got over my irrational fear of drowning it was
absolutely amazing! The reef was massive and we got to swim between all the
coral and sea creatures for about 20 minutes before heading back to the boat
and returning to Cairns.
City lookout from the mountains
I also rented—and didn’t crash!—my first car. They drive
on the left side of the road here, which sounded like a challenge at first, but
was actually pretty easy once I got used to it! It probably helps that I am
left-handed and my mind basically works backwards anyways… The most difficult
part of the trip was adjusting to the fact that the turn signal is on the
opposite side of the wheel, which in fact was something I never actually
adjusted to so the windshield wipers were on for most of the trip but we
survived! Three of the girls and I spent the day adventuring through the
Queensland rainforests and exploring the waterfalls and countryside. The drive
made me realized the incredible diversity of the country’s landscape, as we
drove through rolling hills, tropical forests, and scenic beach towns all in a
matter of hours.
Curtain Fig Tree
Millaa Millaa Waterfalls- Australia's most photographed falls!
Other activities of the trip included white water rafting, exploring
the beaches and laying my the pool, my first bar crawl, and probably the most highly
anticipated event of the trip: the bungy jump. I will post the video below—don’t watch
mom!—and let me tell you it was actually as scary as it looked, but also totally
exhilarating and awesome and I’d definitely do it again! (although, I may need another
tequila shot or two to get the courage to do a higher one...)
Me and my mates hangin' by the pool
Our raft!
YOLO...
Overall, Cairns was a total blast and I’m so glad that I was
able to go on such a cool trip with such a wild and fun crew! It was sad to say
goodbye to all my friends at the airport, but we’re already planning reunion
trips to meet up and I can’t wait to explore more of Australia with everyone!
I’m still settling into my apartment in Sydney, but expect updates on my life
as a local soon!
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