Visiting the Great Barrier Reef and other adventures in Cairns

After spending four months living in the deceptively cold and capricious weather of Melbourne, arriving in Cairns was a bit of a shock to the system. Alighting the plane, I finally started to believe that maybe Australia being hot wasn’t a myth spread by the tourism industry after all. The extreme heat of Cairns was actually a (very warm) breath of fresh air and is exactly what we needed to get ourselves back to feeling like intrepid travellers again.

Me standing on our apartment balcony in the sweltering morning heat

Our first full day in Cairns was spent visiting the Kuranda Rainforest. As the village of Kuranda is 1,000 feet above Cairns, we had to take a cable car high above the World Heritage rainforest to get there. It was my first ever time riding a cable car and I was a little nervous, but it was definitely worth it.

In the cable car (Skyrail) up to Kuranda

On our way up to Kuranda Village, the cable cars let us off at two different parts of the rainforest. The first time we stopped, we were given a talk by a ranger about the different types of trees growing there. The second time, we got off at Barron Gorge National Park, where we got to see a beautiful waterfall called Barron Falls.

Barron Falls

After arriving at Kurranda Village, which is a mountain village set within the rainforest itself, we had some lunch before doing some exploring. There are a few different trails surrounding the village and we completed The Village Walk, the Jum Rum Creek Conservation Park walk, The Jungle Walk and The River Walk. 

It had been a really hot day but just as we were coming towards the end of The River Walk, out of nowhere, the heavens decided to open and we got caught up in a huge storm; complete with roaring thunder, bolts of lightning and pouring rain! Soaking wet and laughing, we ran through the trees and squelched up the muddy paths until, looking very much like drowned rats, we took shelter in the first pub we could find. We ordered a beer and a hot chocolate, which we drank whilst watching the storm outside and waiting for our train home.

Me and Nick after getting caught in the storm at Kuranda

To get back to Cairns, we boarded the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which felt like we were riding the Hogwarts Express. The train took us across forested hillside tracks and through tunnels, which were carved out by early settlers in the nineteenth century. We rode through the tropical rainforest with views of beautiful waterfalls and into the Barron Gorge; the heavy rainfall that poured down for most of the journey only adding to the picturesque and rustic feel of the experience.

Kuranda Scenic Railway

The following day, I was lucky enough to be able to tick something huge off my bucket list when we took a boat trip out to visit the Great Barrier Reef!

Visiting the Great Barrier Reef is one of the things I have been most looking forward to doing in Australia and (despite the sea sickness involved with getting there!) it was an absolutely amazing experience. 

Unfortunately, I am unable to dive due to medical reasons. However, Nick and his brother, Dan, both have diving certificates and were able to dive at the reef as soon as we arrived. They had a really great time and made friends with a big, affectionate fish called Frank (who thinks he is a puppy). This gave me enough time to recover from my sea sickness before jumping in myself.

Nick diving with Frank at the Great Barrier Reef

After Nick got back from his dive, we went snorkelling together. I have absolutely loved snorkelling ever since I did it for the first time in Thailand a couple of Christmases ago, but doing it at the Great Barrier Reef was another level of amazement. As well as the reef itself, we got to see and swim with lots of different types of fish, including giant blue ones with big, sharp teeth; lots of clown fish (I found Nemo!) and even a whitetip shark! 

Me and Nick snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef

Snorkelling right above the Great Barrier Reef, with the Australian sun beating down on us, making the water sparkle and illuminating the colours of the coral, was quite simply awe inspiring. Admiring the natural beauty and swimming with the creatures who live there, I had to take a moment to stop and remind myself how lucky I was to be there – within touching distance of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world. It is an experience that I will truly remember forever.

The tour company we went with for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef is called Reef Experience and they were great. The staff were all super friendly and helpful and made it a really enjoyable experience. On the boat journey out to the reef, we were given a talk by a marine biologist so as we could learn a bit more about what we were going to see. They provided us with a delicious lunch and, on the return journey, Nick and I had white wine with cheese and crackers before sunbathing and slumbering on the top deck after a long day of swimming.

All of this happened a few days ago now. Since then, we have flown to Brisbane, which is the next place we intend on settling and setting up home for a while. It is also the place we originally intended on spending our time living and working in Australia before we were sidetracked by my eye infection, and so we are both really excited to finally have made it here!

We have had four busy days spending time and exploring with Nick’s family, including a trip up to the Sunshine Coast, interspersed with doing some frantic, last minute flat hunting! Nick’s family have all left today and we are currently sat in a hotel room after a long day of trying to find somewhere to live. 

Brisbane is honestly so gorgeous and is definitely one of our favourite places in Australia. There is so much that we want to do now that we are living on the East Coast; we have a list as long as my arm and growing and I can’t wait to get started. It’s set to be a busy and exciting few months ahead!

Brisbane Bridge lit up on our first night in our new home