After dropping off our bags at our hostel, Sarah and I began our exploration of Sydney. First, we found a pub that served relatively cheap breakfast, then we set off into the central business district. Once we made it to the CBD, we realised that we simply did not sleep enough on our way to the city. A nap was in order, but because we couldn't actually check into our hostel until 2PM we decided a nice soft spot on the grass in Hyde Park would do. After coming to, we ventured down College and Macquarie St to take photos of the historic buildings. These streets have iconic structures such as the St Mary's Cathedral, the Sydney Hospital, Parliament House, and the State Library of NSW. Once you reach the end of Macquarie St you are literally staring directly at the Sydney Opera House. We took our souvenir photos, then continued walking along the Harbour looking around at the sights.
Just before going back to our hostel, we decided that we'd stop by the Museum of Contemporary Art. At first, I was very excited to be at the museum, but that quickly changed towards the end. The first exhibit was saw was an extensive gallery of Australian aboriginal art. This, although repetitive, was very interesting. The next exhibit was the only non-free gallery, so we skipped it. The third was where things became unfortunate. Simple cardboard cutouts with pieces of printer paper glued to them, sketches, stained sheets, and abstract paintings filled the rooms. It was a disappointment to see such a low standard of art in such an interesting building along the Sydney waterfront.
The 26th of January is Australia Day. It's an excuse for everyone to come out, have a barbeque and celebrate their country. Sydney, as you would expect, had much in store for us on this day. We took the train from Kings Cross to Circle Quay, then entered what looked like a completely different looking harbour than the day before. The entire waterfront was swarming with people all waving little paper Aussie flags. There were public bars, things for the kids, and a market towards the eastern side of the harbour. After visiting the market and public bars we waiting around to see some Australian bands at one of the many free concerts going on that night. After Hungry Kids of Hungary and Cloud Control, we started making our way to the other side of town to see the fireworks. You'd think that a city like Sydney would have their fireworks directly over top of the Opera House, but that wasn't the case. We were about halfway to the other side of the CBD when we heard the fireworks start going off. At that point we gave up because the tall buildings in the downtown were blocking any chance of a view.
The next day we took the train once again from Kings Cross down to Circle Quay. From there were hopped on a ferry that took us to Manly where there is a long stretch of beach. The sun was shining and the surf was strong. We rotated our time between baking in the sun and being bowled over by waves. The waves were all in good fun until they eventually brought in a rogue group of Bluebottle Jellies (aka Portuguese Man o' War). After spending the day in the sun, we rushed to get a seat on the front of the ferry back to Sydney. We sailed into a picturesque view of the harbour just before it started to cloud over.
On the 28th we took the train to the airport where we set off for Cairns. We arrived at our hostel around 6PM. The Northern Greenhouse, our current hostel here in Cairns, is by far the best hostel we've been to yet. It's an old motel converted into a backpacker “resort.” There is a pool, a large open deck with a full kitchen, and free local tours. Our 6 person share room even has it's own bathroom and kitchenette. We packed it in early that Friday night because in the morning we would be heading out to the Great Barrier Reef.
On Saturday we woke up just before 7AM so we could get ready to be at the wharf for 8AM. The previous night we had walked down to the wharf so we knew how long it would take. We booked our day tour with Tusa, which is a company that specialises in taking tourists out the Great Barrier Reef to either snorkel or dive. When we arrived we had our photos taken, then were loaded onto their catamaran. At this point Sarah and I were separated momentarily so we could hear about our activities for the day. Because Sarah was diving, she had to be fitted for gear and go over safety procedures. After an hour long boat ride we arrived at Saxon Reef. The first part of the reef we got to see was called the Magic Wall. The reef is about 20 meters tall and forms a long crescent barrier.
The water was rather rough so I spent most of my time swimming against the current and watching the reef as I was pushed back towards the boat. Sarah, on the other hand, was able to avoid most of the rough seas because the water was nice and calm towards the bottom of the reef. On her first attempt at diving, Sarah used up too much air to complete her full 45 minutes in the water. That didn't seem to bother her though, because she still managed to see a sting ray, a 3 foot long turtle, and clown fish. John, Sarah's dive master, switched her to a larger tank of air for her next two dives so she could last the full 45 minutes.
Sarah's next two dives were much more successful. She dove one more time at the Magic Wall, then another at Twin Peaks. These dives featured a wide range of sea life. Among the tropical fish she saw, two of her favorites were the Blue Tang and the Clown Triggerfish. She saw large sea anenomes, sea cucumbers, crabs, and was excited to see many vibrantly coloured nudibranchs. Unfortunately there were no shark sightings. Her guide cracked a plastic water bottle throughout the dive to try and attract them but they were a no show.
The next morning, Sarah did not feel very well. Her jaw was extremely sore and she got an instant migraine when we walked into a mall to run some errands. After some googling, we determined that when she was diving she must have bitten down on her respirator too hard which caused her jaw to swell. Though she slept for most of the day, we still managed to go for a couple swims in our hostel's pool and were served a free BBQ supper, compliments of our hostel.
The diving may have been Sarah's highlight of our trip, but today was mine. A few days ago a noticed a sign for an aerobatic flight in a 1930's Tiger Moth bi-plane. I tried to book a session in advance, but was told that it would be best if I showed up on the day I wanted to fly because it was weather dependent. I was out the door just after 7:30AM and after an hour I had myself a flight time of 11:15AM. Although my driver from Tiger Moth Adventures was late picking me up, I still managed to make it to the hanger before noon. The flight only lasted 15 minutes, but it was all that I needed. After ascending to a reasonable altitude, my pilot, Peter, began the barrel rolling and back to back loops high in the sky. I was only concerned for my life twice during the flight. Once when the engine began to putter as we were upside down above what looked like some farms just outside of Cairns, and the other was when we made a rapid descent for our landing.
In the afternoon we took one of hostel's tours to Crystal Cascades. The climate quickly changed from sunny and hot to wet and humid as we drove into the rain forest. Our guide first led us up a dirt trail that ran along a narrow river. At the end was a slim but powerful waterfall. As we were walking up a long concrete road to the next series of waterfalls the rain started to come down in buckets. “Surprise, surprise, it's raining in the rain forest,” we were told. After snapping some photos of the second waterfall, we headed down to a swimming hole where tried to swim against the fast current of the river water passing through.
Tomorrow morning we leave for what will be the last leg of our trip. We'll be flying back to Sydney where we'll celebrate Sarah's birthday, take a tour of the Blue Mountains, and visit Bondi Beach before making the long journey back to Canada.
Cairns, Australia
Brad
Brad
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