Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

What everyone's been waiting for since we got here, a weekend getaway to Cairns to go visit the Great Barrier Reef. We met the rest of the group that was coming with us the airport and failed to realize that the group was 4 other girls and only 2 guys, 6 girls and 2 guys, things were bound to be interesting. We arrived at the Cairns airport and were to be picked up by the hostel's shuttle. Unfortunately they were a no show and so we boarded the first maxi taxi we could find. We were told that the hostel was only 5 minutes away yet the driver had other stops to make in less than desirable spots in town. When we got to Gilligans it was 11:30pm and the line waiting outside to get into the bar was almost around the corner. We all rushed to get to our room so we could go out and check out the scenery. 8 people in one room with only one bath and shower is not an easy thing to do. I could tell from the start that it was going to be an interesting weekend, given the wide range of Aussie's that our hostel was attracting.

7:30 am Friday we boarded a large cruise ship to head to the Great Barrier Reef unfortunately we were accompanied by 62 other people, something I had not anticipated. It was cold and rainy and forced us to spend most of the morning sitting inside and staring out the window. By the time we had reached the reef the sun had come out and the rain had been chased away. We jumped into the ocean with our snorkel gear, putting our faces in the water to take  a look what was going on. Unfortunately it wasn't too much, the water, corals and plant life were very gray and dull, unlike what i had seen in pictures. And considering I hadn't been swimming in months i was so tired that I could only last in the water for 20-30 minutes. I did however see some different plant life and types of fish, luckily no sharks. We spent the rest of the first stop on the front of the both sun tanning and spotting the water for animals...we were lucky enough to see a giant turtle!

We headed out another 2 hours to another reef spot, a bunch of us were so exhausted from the boat and people getting sea sick that we decided to hang out inside and have a siesta! Those that did attempt to go diving were slapped with an extra 65 dollars for some complicated reason. One of them had ear problems like myself but decided to attempt the skills for diving anyway. He ended up only making it 2.5 meters before having to come to the surface and asking to no longer continue. Surprisingly he did receive a certificate for at least attempting the skills test. Which was quite impressive considering he was swimming directly next to a barracuda who had been attracted to the boat from the fish that the captain had been throwing over board. Ryan freaked out and jumped right back onto the boat. I tried to capture a photo of this, but unfortunately he was already back on board. 

We had a girls night out that night, yet there were a ton of rugby teams staying at our hostel so it was like walking into the lions den. On the other hand we didn't have to pay for a single drink all weekend...even our American boys who were with us. 6:40 the next morning we were picked up in front of the hostel. There were still people drinking in the bar...aussies are crazy!
We had to take 3 buses up to the rafting place. The first stop was the rafting company store 20 minutes away to sign away our lives and pay the surprise 30 dollar national park tax fees. We then had to drive an hr and a half up to a hostel where
we received our shoes and wet suits. Then the last half hour up the mountain to where the rafting began. It was the first time for most of us so we were all pretty excited. We lucked out with a really cool rafting guide who taught us all about the national park and told a ton of great jokes. Unfortunately this one was crazier than others that I had done so I was in for a big surprise. We swam in different parts of the stream, people jumped off cliffs and were even sucked down into different whirl pools where they were pulled under and then resurfaced further down the stream. Our guide even had us purposefully tip our boat, which I got completely stuck under and had to be pulled out. It even happened the second time when we were going over a huge rock and we all fell over board. Luckily we all survived our level 4 tour and made it out only with bruises and a few painful eardrums. Next would be a level 5 which our guide said is a 4 day camping trip in the mountains where the only way to get there is by helicopter!     

 

(Sam, Ryan, Jordan, Kelli, Ryan, Nicole, Corinna, Me)