Arriving in north Queensland was a mighty far cry from the hustle and bustle synonymous with living in big cities such as Sydney. Cairns proved to be a great contrast to what we had been used to since arriving in the land down under 4 months previous. Surrounded by vast rainforests and expansive mountains accompanied by a slight breeze and a quiet atmosphere in the air made me feel as though I was now in what I can only describe as 'real' Australia. By 'real' what comes to mind is the outdoors; trees, wallabies, dirt, blistering heat, landscape, mosquitoes, crocodiles, remoteness and isolation, crazy Australians dressed in cameo clothing and wearing sunglasses. In a nutshell; Steve Irwin, may rest in peace. Believe it or not, one of the day trips Chloe and I went on happened to drive not far from where the crocodile hunter was savagely stung by a sting ray, a slice of history for us there. This particular day trip was one of the two we pursued during our three night stay in Cairns, and despite the early starts, the trips were well worth it.

To be truthful, I had little knowledge of Australian Geography until a couple of months into my arrival here, and had no idea what incredible experiences you can have up in Cairns. If anyone reading this is ever planning on going on holiday to Australia, or alternatively backpacking as I have done I urge you not to go down the standard route of seeing Sydney and the gold coast, there is so much more and some of the best bits are up in Cairns. You only need to spend a few days there but at the very least ensure you see Daintree. Day one took us to this spectacular rainforest, proclaimed by none other than David Attenborough as 'better than the Amazon' that's right, and you can be sure that Dickey knows a thing or two when it comes to nature. The boardwalk through the rainforest, river cruise to see crocodiles and walk down Cape Tribulation beach is made all the better if you have a near Steve Irwin clone as your tour guide who additionally loves to wind up the Germans. Wiley, his name, was cracking jokes all day as well as telling us a lot of interesting information about the wildlife around the area and Cairns in general too.

The second day was also thoroughly absorbing, providing a number of incredible spots for spectacular views and even opportunities to swim. You will see the picture above showing me standing there like a camel in the arctic at Milla Milla falls, in case you're wondering yes it was cold!!! but just like any water your body get used to it and I did actually go for a swim soon after that photo was taken. The day was unfortunately spoiled slightly by a group of young ladies at the back of the bus for our trip who simply would not shut up the whole time, behaving like 12 year olds when they were all above the age of 18 and some in their early-mid twenties. Its not that they were just loud but they were also extremely vile in their actions and dialect. You would associate them more with a a teenage lads rugby team on tour to Southport than a group of young travelling girls. Their behaviour was actually astounding to be honest, I don't think I have witnessed such antic since being at school. The most embarrassing aspect was that 4 out of 5 of them were English which prompted me to ask our tour guide whether he had a lot of rude English tourists. His reply was a simply 'oh yes' as if it was an everyday occurrence. Hanging my head in shame I replied, 'just so you know, we aren't all like that.' Brits abroad always seem to bring the country a bad reputation and that day made me really despise a lot British people.

Nonetheless, the St Trinians clan could do little to spoil the overall atmosphere of the day and of Cairns in general. In addition to the exploration of incredible wildlife and scenery which surrounds the city, Cairns boast a nice little town centre with a number of bars and restaurants. It plays hosts to a beautiful esplanade which stretches a good mile and is wonderful to take a stroll down at day or night, where I the distance you can behold the great landscapes. Finally, there is a lovely lagoon pool at one end of this esplanade, where passers by can go for a swim, completely free of charge. With accompanying showers at this pool, Chloe and I took a swim on two of the nights we were there, to avoid having to shower in the run down hostel we stayed at!