The Great Barrier Reef
On my first day in Cairns I spent it snorkelling and scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. As Cairns is the last stop on the East Coast trip with arguably the best activities planned this was the perfect way to start off my week here. For as long as I can remember swimming in the Great Barrier Reef has been one of my lifelong dreams and I am so pleased to say I’ve done it now and ticked it off my bucket list. I know by the end of this post I am probably going to have over used the word amazing about a hundred times but it was AMAZING. There isn’t any other way to describe it. Any words I use don’t do it justice – being able to swim among all the tropical fish and be able to get up close to see the Reef for all its beauty is a once in a lifetime oppertunity.
Waterfall Tour
There are many beautiful waterfalls and parts of nature in Cairns and the surrounding areas which this tour allowed us to see. First stop was Josephine Falls which is a waterfall in the rainforest of Cairns. This was a really beautiful place to visit made even better by the good weather we had that morning. The way the rock was formed by the swimming pool and the way the water goes over it makes it like a small rock slide into the pool. This looked cool, but I missed out on the swimming here as I deemed myself too clumsy and the last thing I’d want is to ruin my whole day out.
Next stop was one of Australia’s most famous waterfalls – featured in the Herbal Essenses adverts and Peter Andre’s Mysterious Girl video, it is Millaa Millaa Falls. This was absolutely STUNNING, however at the same time it began torrential rain almost as soon as the wheels on the bus made it into the car park. You will be able to see in the photos I put up I am completely drenched and think I went swimming already, however, this was from the walk from the car park to the bottom of the Falls.
Those were the two big stops of the tour and the rest was little stops and activities. Once we picked up lunch we went to this place to stop and eat it where in the rainforest we could go and see baby turtles in the water. We all probably saw about 15 little baby ones and the cuteness was unreal. After that we stopped and went platypus spotting which was really cool. It was so rainy so we just stayed in the car but our tour guide took us to a pond where we kept seeing the same one come up for air. The last stop of the day and where the rain eventually stopped was the Crater Lakes National Park, this was a super pretty lake that a couple people went swimming in. I’m boring and because I’d literally just dried off from the rain I was not up for getting soaked again. There is apparently a little crocodile in this water, our tour guide didn’t believe it for a long time as there has been no attacks but some people with drones have been able to take photos of it. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the crocodile which is probably a good thing as it would have freaked everyone in the water out. After that, it was time to head back to the hostel and get some well needed rest.
Skydive Mission Beach
Before I even start to write about my skydive I cannot stress enough what an amazing experience this was. We got picked up around 6:30am for this, then after we collected everyone from Cairns we began the two hour drive to Mission Beach. Once we arrived we found out we were the 4th group of the day at around half 10. Once the guys came along and strapped us up in our harness they did a wee introduction for our video, it was a little cringey but this is when I started to get really excited because I knew it was happening soon. The aerodrome where we start flying from is about a half an hour drive from Mission Beach, this just adds to the excitement. Once we got in the plane I couldn’t stop looking out the windows, the views were INCREDIBLE. It finally felt like it was actually happening. I just kept thinking within the next 10 minutes I will have jamp out of a moving plane at 14,000ft. Looking back, it is amazing to think I wasn’t scared. I’m not a huge fearless adrenaline junkie. I thought by the moment I was sitting on the edge of the door to the plane, just hanging there I would be absolutely shitting it. There really isn’t a chance to get scared though, you’re on the edge of the plane for less than a second. The man jumping with me asked if I was ready, and as soon as I responded yes I was out of that plane before I could give it another moments thought. The free fall was nothing like I expected it to be because you don’t have a good perception of the height your falling from and the speed so the whole experience is just enjoyable. The whole time I had my mouth open or I was just smiling because I was so overwhelmed by how much I enjoyed it.
Cairns Bungee Jump
When I say this was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done, I’m not exaggerating. When I first booked this, I was like only 50 metres high, pfffft so easy. I was so so wrong. It felt like everything was fine until I got to the edge of the platform with my toes hanging over and I choked. I could hear the man counting down from five as an indicator to jump but once he counted to one, I took a step back holding onto the tower begging him to not make me jump. Not my most proud moment nearly crying at the top of a bungee tower. After about 30 minutes of being persuaded and calmed down I eventually got myself back to the edge of the platform. However I was still unable to jump. I was probably the most pathetic bungee jumper that day as I had my eyes closed and had to be pushed off the tower as I was still too scared. Nearly $200 later, I’ve learnt my lesson – I don’t like bungee jumping. At least I got a free t-shirt and some funny photos out of it.
Having completed all these activities marks the end of my east coast trip. I think overall I definitely saved the best things for last and ended the trip on a high note. Now onto the next chapter in Melbourne where it’s time to properly start the job hunt.
Hope you enjoyed reading this,
Siobhan x
siobhan Macdonald 