So I haven’t been very well prepared for this trip. Working right the way up to the end and packing last minute has left me underwhelmed and (just a little) stressed. I managed to pack it all up get myself … Continue reading
Woke up after an amazing night in the rainforest. Had a quick box of cereal for breakfast and then chilled by the pool for a couple of hours. I said goodbye to Jordan and the rainforest and then got picked up by the bus to leave.
We headed to get some rainforest ice cream before going to a cultural centre and getting a talk about native plants and medicines. We then went for a swim in a river which involved cliff jumping and I was in my element. After this we had a whistle stop tour round Port Douglas before heading back down into Cairns. We arrived in Cairns quite late so I quickly showered and got changed to meet Danni, Josh and Tom. There was a French guy (Anton) in my room who was so happy to meet me. He said I was a ‘fun girl’ because I was listening to music which made me laugh cause he must be meeting some really boring people. So I took his number and said I’d give him a call when I was out. I went down to meet Danni and while in the reception bummed into Jack, T, Tom, Cath, Dorinne, two guys from Townsville so we made a big plan to meet up later.
The guys from Townsville, Cath, Dorinne, Danni and I headed to the Jack for a 3 dollar meal including a free drink. It wasn’t bad, pork chop and rice, I wasn’t complaining. A beer pong completion started so Dorinne and I made up a team and we were first up to play two Canadian girls. We obviously lost, Canadians national sport is beer pong. But it was fun nonetheless. Josh and Tom won their first match but were knocked out on the second round. It was Tom’s birthday so even though I wasn’t supposed to go out I ended up getting pretty hectic.
We headed to Gilligan’s and met up with Jack, Tom, Cherie and Anton and his friends. It was so nice cause I could flit between groups of people and just felt so much like I had made so many good friends in Cairns and this is now home. As this was my last night in Cairns I just had such a good time with everyone celebrating at the woodshed and then got proper emotional to leave at the end of the night. I actually had a little cry in bed after! But as they say, don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it ever happened.
I woke up this morning extremely hungover and had to pack a lot of my stuff all up. I properly struggled but I managed it and went down to check out. I spent a good half an hour chatting to people and stuff before someone told me I had my stamp from the night before on my face. How embarrassing but oh well. It was nice cause Bill, Tom and Josh were on my trip so I knew some people and they’re so nice to me and really funny so I felt like I was just travelling with a few mates. We headed up north to the Daintree rainforest to Cape Tribulation.
On the way up there was a beautiful jungle/coastal drive which was so bizarre to have jungle meeting the ocean. It felt pretty incredible and also pretty sad because I’m sure many places on earth were like this before humans destroyed the areas. We went on a boat trip to see crocs and saw two at least 2.5m long which was pretty cool. After that we took a little walk in the rainforest. We didn’t see too much but it was still nice and just good to stretch the legs and have a chat. We then got taken to our accommodation. I stayed at the Cape Tribulation Beach House which was a hostel on the beach with dorms in little beach houses. It was pretty cool. We hung out by the pool for a while and went to the beach playing balls games.
We had heard that there was a lookout near but that we should instead go for a wander up some rocks. So Bill, Nadja, Carly, Ash, Danni and I all took a little hike down the beaches, through the rainforest and up some cliffs. When we got up there I was exhausted and sweaty and the hangover was taking its toll so I felt a little disappointed. But suddenly out of the blue (literally) we look down and see two turtles swimming together and then two little sharks appear with a bigger “mummy” shark in tow. It was so incredible. We were about 30m high but the water was so clear and fresh we could just see these animals cruising around.
The sun started to set so we headed back. I showered and changed quickly and decided to buy dinner as the hangover was making my tired and hazy. It was nice to sit by myself and have time to myself. I actually realised that although I am travelling alone I haven’t really been alone too much and I needed it. I didn’t even think cause I was too tired I just sat and relaxed. At around 9pm the hostel put on a beach BBQ down on the waterfront. I took a few beers and headed down.
It was pretty amazing. First we watched the moonrise which was so beautiful and something I’ve rarely seen. Then we just sat and chatted. There were two guys from Manchester, Harry and Jordan who worked and lived in the hostel. I got chatting to one of them and it just sounded so amazing. They really are living the dream, just living so remote with an incredible outdoor playground at their feet. It’s so hard not to view the rainforest through romantic eyes. It was a pretty breathtaking night and something I will remember for a long time.
CHARLIE WATTS 