DAY 1
The itinerary was planned and we travelled with Small World Journeys. When we arrived at Cairns, we met our tour guide Maggie who drove us to The Northern Greenhouse, our place of stay for 2 days and 2 nights. After dumping our bags in our rooms, we ordered pizza for lunch and then went to a room within the hostel to have an educational talk about the Great Tropics and Great Barrier Reef which we were going to use as our case-studies for one of our topics. Following the talk, we had a little bit of chill time and then headed out to dinner in Outback Jacks! After finishing up dinner, we had a little stroll around the city, which was very nicely lit up for Christmas. The night atmosphere in Cairns is so lovely and lively, it'd be one of the reasons to visit. We also stopped for gelato and let me tell you there were HEAPS of gelato stores around Cairns.
DAY 2
Day 2 arrived and this was the day we were to head out to Green Island, to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef -- super exciting! Now the boat ride to Green Island was at minimum 40 minutes, and the entire time I felt sea sick. Especially when I was sat inside with the boat rocking side to side and some funny smell coming from the kitchen. But felt a lot more better after going to to top of the boat, with the fresh air and looking out into the horizon.
After getting off at Green Island we changed into our snorkel gear and had a practice run. The water here was super clear, and you could see the corals in the shallow end, which are a lot more duller than stock images and probably coral that are in deeper waters. The aquatic animals though were really great, there was this one fish that keep trying to swim into my goggles. I unfortunately didn't get to see things other than fish like my classmates who saw turtles, octopuses and baby sharks. After the trial run we went back to the boat for a buffet lunch and an explore of the Island. We then returned back into the water, but this time it was more cloudy and of course this was the time my friends and I decided to use our disposable camera!
Fast forward to the night, we were allowed to explore the city ourselves, with my friends and I stopping for gelato and walking around the esplanade and taking in the fireworks.
 |
| Some developed pictures from Green Island |
Day 3 saw us pack our suitcases for a drive to our next location, the Daintree Rainforest which is included in the Great Tropics. On our way there we made a few stops, firstly at Atherton Tablelands where we saw the Curtain Fig Tree, a unique tree in which its aerial roots fall to the forest fall like a curtain.
Next stop was Lake Eacham. Lake Eacham is essentially a crater filled with water that today is continuously fed by underwater springs. Unfortunately we didn't have our swimwear in our backpack so we couldn't take a dip in the water. However, we took a walk around the lake and examined the waters and could definitely see turtles!
 |
| Lake Eacham |
 |
| Curtain Fig Tree |
After this, we continued our drive to Daintree Rainforest, which required the van to drive onto a platform which would move us to the other side of the Daintree River. When we finally reached our destination, Crocodylus Village, we dumped our bags in our cabins which had quite a campy feel. Now the whole class wasn't entirely sure about our new residence for the night, which was essentially insect mania. Me being so susceptible to insect bites ended up having multiple bites and swells within 30 minutes of arriving.
The bathrooms, which were located as a separate block to the bedrooms (imagine a toilet block in a swimming pool) was also filled with bugs. Let me tell you, many screams happened in the girls bathroom throughout the night. Also the insects here were ridiculously sized, the beetles were about 4 cm in length *shudder*.
Our stay was also powered by a generator which switches off at night, and you could see our class furiously charging our phones so as to last the night. The night for me was basically board games until 1am with a visit from a furry friend, attempting to stay awake in our cabin with the lights on and 4 hours of sleep.
DAY 4
Last day of the trip, Day 4 we started our day with an educational presentation where we were grouped and had to imagine we were different stakeholders and what the construction of a road in the Daintree would mean for us. After this, we packed our suitcases into our van. Maggie drove us to our final activity, Jungle Surfing. This involved us being harnessed and zip lining to platforms, whilst being immersed in the beauty of Cape Tribulation. Each platform also featured an eco-talk by the staff. The thing that is different with this zip line experience is that it entirely works through human power. At station 5-6 is where they encourage you to zip line upside down which at first I was hesitant but it was super exhilarating. The whole process was a bit lengthly but the staff were very friendly and made the experience really good.
More information:
Where did you go for your first interstate trip?
- Jenny
No comments:
Post a Comment