Cairns & Magnetic Island
Door: Myrthe
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Myrthe
10 Mei 2014 | Australië, Magnetic Island
Hi there!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted something up here, but in the meantime a lot has happened!
Last Sunday we left beautiful Perth and took a plane to Cairns. It was an overnight flight which meant we arrived in Cairns in the morning. We were picked up and brought to our hostel, Njoy, where we immediately stepped into the real backpackers life. We got the key to our 6 bed dorm, opened the door and were welcomed by a strange smell that I would describe as a combination of men sweat and alcohol, x10. Not the most pleasant thing when you’re massively tired and have a headache already, but I’m sure life could be worse (;
So, after the smelly start we headed to the Esplanade (long walkway along the beach, often with a park and/or pool, they have them in pretty much every city here) to get some rest. Laid down on the grass and enjoyed the warmth (29 degrees) and sun. And a frozen yoghurt, not to forget. We actually ended up buying a Froyo each day we were there, which sums up to 4 x)
Cairns itself wasn’t that special. It’s quite a standard centre but the esplanade and lagoon (public swimming pool) were always crowded with backpackers sunbathing, swimming and bbq’ing on the public bbq’s.
Second day we went up very early as we had booked a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Honestly, this is the most beautiful and impressive natural surrounding I have ever seen!
Our transport to the reef was a huge catamaran, with a nice big front deck to sunbathe on while sailing. It took us about 3 hours to get to our first stop, which was close to a small island, and gave you the perfect view over the reef. We were given wetsuits and snorkelling gear, and jumped in. What I saw next is almost indescribable. The most amazingly colourful reefs, all kinds of fishes you normally only see in either Nemo or documentaries on Animal Planet, even turtles and little sharks swam around (didn’t see one unfortunately).
We swam around in the perfectly clear blue water for about 2 hours before we were called back for lunch, which was way beyond my expectations. It was a full-on buffet, with lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, salads, dips, pretty awesome.
After lunch we made a second stop at a smaller reef, but just as beautiful. Got to swim around for an hour there, and actually ended up in the middle of a huge school of lots of different fishes, surrounding me on all sides. Unforgettable.
The way back was pretty windy and so the majority of people on the front deck were surprised by a huge wave of chilly ocean water flushing over them every now and then. Very entertaining! All in all it was an unforgettable day.
That night we didn’t exactly get a lot of sleep as a result of our roommates getting into a rather passionate discussion about world domination in the middle of the night (while one of them was drunk and therefore had no idea what he was talking about). Eventually I fell asleep around 7am and woke up at 10. Logically we decided to just take it easy that day and go to the lagoon, swim and relax. That evening we had our own version on going out, which was spend the evening in a children’s playground alongside the esplanade x) gotta love being a child sometimes.
The next day, pretty much the same. Unfortunately the trip to Cape Tribulation we wanted to do was 250 dollars and therefore way too expensive, but that means we have a good reason to come back right?
So we spent another day swimming, sunbathing, and eating Froyo’s. Oh and packing. And talking, lots of talking. We met some really awesome people who we practically talked to until it was about 2am and time to get some sleep. The next morning we had to wake up at 6, get our stuff together and catch our bus to Townsville. The bus ride itself was actually quite nice. We drove through beautiful rainforest hills, and had some time to snooze.
We arrived in Townsville around 1 and took the ferry to Magnetic Island, which is absolutely GORGEOUS! Really, its beautifully green, lots of hills, long beaches, and our hostel is tha BOMB. It’s situated directly on the beach, so from your dorm you can actually see the ocean. Only 25 steps down and you’re on the beach. Paradise is real (: Too bad we’re only staying here for 2 nights.. Today we’re going out for a long walk that covers the prettiest places and we might visit the wildlife sanctuary where you can hold koala’s!
Very excited about the day(s) to come! Stay tuned (:
It’s been a while since I’ve posted something up here, but in the meantime a lot has happened!
Last Sunday we left beautiful Perth and took a plane to Cairns. It was an overnight flight which meant we arrived in Cairns in the morning. We were picked up and brought to our hostel, Njoy, where we immediately stepped into the real backpackers life. We got the key to our 6 bed dorm, opened the door and were welcomed by a strange smell that I would describe as a combination of men sweat and alcohol, x10. Not the most pleasant thing when you’re massively tired and have a headache already, but I’m sure life could be worse (;
So, after the smelly start we headed to the Esplanade (long walkway along the beach, often with a park and/or pool, they have them in pretty much every city here) to get some rest. Laid down on the grass and enjoyed the warmth (29 degrees) and sun. And a frozen yoghurt, not to forget. We actually ended up buying a Froyo each day we were there, which sums up to 4 x)
Cairns itself wasn’t that special. It’s quite a standard centre but the esplanade and lagoon (public swimming pool) were always crowded with backpackers sunbathing, swimming and bbq’ing on the public bbq’s.
Second day we went up very early as we had booked a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Honestly, this is the most beautiful and impressive natural surrounding I have ever seen!
Our transport to the reef was a huge catamaran, with a nice big front deck to sunbathe on while sailing. It took us about 3 hours to get to our first stop, which was close to a small island, and gave you the perfect view over the reef. We were given wetsuits and snorkelling gear, and jumped in. What I saw next is almost indescribable. The most amazingly colourful reefs, all kinds of fishes you normally only see in either Nemo or documentaries on Animal Planet, even turtles and little sharks swam around (didn’t see one unfortunately).
We swam around in the perfectly clear blue water for about 2 hours before we were called back for lunch, which was way beyond my expectations. It was a full-on buffet, with lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, salads, dips, pretty awesome.
After lunch we made a second stop at a smaller reef, but just as beautiful. Got to swim around for an hour there, and actually ended up in the middle of a huge school of lots of different fishes, surrounding me on all sides. Unforgettable.
The way back was pretty windy and so the majority of people on the front deck were surprised by a huge wave of chilly ocean water flushing over them every now and then. Very entertaining! All in all it was an unforgettable day.
That night we didn’t exactly get a lot of sleep as a result of our roommates getting into a rather passionate discussion about world domination in the middle of the night (while one of them was drunk and therefore had no idea what he was talking about). Eventually I fell asleep around 7am and woke up at 10. Logically we decided to just take it easy that day and go to the lagoon, swim and relax. That evening we had our own version on going out, which was spend the evening in a children’s playground alongside the esplanade x) gotta love being a child sometimes.
The next day, pretty much the same. Unfortunately the trip to Cape Tribulation we wanted to do was 250 dollars and therefore way too expensive, but that means we have a good reason to come back right?
So we spent another day swimming, sunbathing, and eating Froyo’s. Oh and packing. And talking, lots of talking. We met some really awesome people who we practically talked to until it was about 2am and time to get some sleep. The next morning we had to wake up at 6, get our stuff together and catch our bus to Townsville. The bus ride itself was actually quite nice. We drove through beautiful rainforest hills, and had some time to snooze.
We arrived in Townsville around 1 and took the ferry to Magnetic Island, which is absolutely GORGEOUS! Really, its beautifully green, lots of hills, long beaches, and our hostel is tha BOMB. It’s situated directly on the beach, so from your dorm you can actually see the ocean. Only 25 steps down and you’re on the beach. Paradise is real (: Too bad we’re only staying here for 2 nights.. Today we’re going out for a long walk that covers the prettiest places and we might visit the wildlife sanctuary where you can hold koala’s!
Very excited about the day(s) to come! Stay tuned (:
-
10 Mei 2014 - 12:34
Maddi:
Sounds really great :D such a contrast to Perth! Wish you lots of fun the coming days of adventures and can't wait to hear about it (: -
11 Mei 2014 - 22:37
Marinka:
He Meis! Had al het nodige gehoord doordat we lekker konden skypen, maar eh, heb errug gelachen om je verslag:-) Humor jij.
Inmiddels al weer van Magnetic Island af en in Airlie beach. Ik heb foto's gezien van de Whitsunday Islands.. whaa!! Dat is paradijs zeg! Geniet, geniet, geniet!! -
11 Mei 2014 - 22:38
Jan:
Holy moly! Wat een geweldig verslag. I can almost smell what you smelled! Disgusting. But what a wonderfull trip you're having over their. Enjoy! -
11 Mei 2014 - 23:03
Ronald:
Hi Myrthe So much fun to read your stories. Can't wait till the next one. Enjoy and keep safe!! -
11 Mei 2014 - 23:39
Frans Le Fèvre :
Ha Myrthe, als ik het lees ben ik eer helemaal terug. Wat zul je genieten. Alle plekken die je noemt zijn ons bekend. Vooral blijven genieten, lieve groet van na 2 -
13 Mei 2014 - 14:44
Ester Timmers:
Lieve Myrthe, wat een schrijftalent heb jij! We genieten van al je verhalen. Als je t leest, is t net of je erbij bent. Geniet lekker daar, we zijn stiekem beetje jaloers. Liefs, Ester
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