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Woweee! What an awesome start to the visit to Queensland! I arrived in Cairns on Saturday and wasted no time in getting out to explore. It is a very cool town where lots of young, hip, and chilled out tourists like to post up for indefinite amounts of time. I took a lap to explore town and scope out some of the things to check out over the next few days. That evening I met some hostel friends, including a guy from Saskatoon who indulged me in a big conversation about the fires in Alberta. I finished off the night meeting locals and making friends at the pub around the corner.
Sunday was a pretty relaxed day. After a call home for Mother's Day, my travel posse arrived late in the morning and we spent the afternoon chilling out at the Esplanade. The town is on the water but it's not a beach front so they have a huge park with a wading pool and splash pad. It is easily one of the coolest public spaces I've ever seen. We also spent some time perusing the shops in the downtown and trying out the local coffee shops.
For dinner we did a sushi train place and then booked our exciting tourist activities for the next few days. We spent the evening checking out the night market (and adding to my bracelet collection) and then sampling beers at a few local pubs.
Monday was a big and exciting day. Steph and I did a rainforest tour around Wooroonooran National Park, just south of Cairns. Our first stop was at Babinda boulders for a little hike and a quick dip before breakfast. Next stop was a super cool river and Josephine falls where there was a cool rock slide. I was the only once who braved the strong current to slip and slide on the rocks. The third stop was easily the most beautiful. It was at Millaa Millaa Falls. It was a huge waterfall over old volcanic rock. Apparently it is where they shoot herbal essences shampoo commercials so everyone tries their hand at the the perfect hair flip (watch for my attempt coming soon).
For lunch we stopped at Malanda where there was a picnic spot, a small swimming hole, a couple walking trails, and an interpretive centre. We did a little walk to see a bunch of turtles in in a pond along one trail and then checked out the interpretive centre. Our afternoon consisted of a visit to the Carpet Fig Tree - a giant tree that has spread out to be big enough to build a boardwalk around - and then to Lake Eachem. This lake was super cool because it is actually the mouth of an old volcano that has filled with water. The lake is all pebbles and super clear because of the rock from the volcano. We had a lot of fun swimming and taking pictures here before our twisty ride home on the minibus.
Overall the first half of the stay in Queensland was pretty phenomenal. Next up is the Great Barrier Reef and some scuba diving!
Stay tuned...and weird.
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