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Adrenaline Junky

I have spent almost a week in Cairns, Queensland in the mighty Australia. In this time I have explored rainforests, swam with turtles, lazed on deserted beaches, experienced true terror followed by pure adrenalin and even picked up some Australian lingo.

I arrived in the small town of Cairns exhausted after a overnight flight from Singapore with a killer four hour stop over quarantined at Darwin (probably the most boring airport in the world). On the bus from the airport I met Steffi and Kristian from SE London. Kristian had been working in Bangkok for the last 4 months and his younger sister Steffi had flew out for a month long holiday on the other side of the world. I had nowhere booked to stay (as usual) and in fact I was feeling rather disorientated and un-prepared for Australia, and even had mixed feelings about going at all. This was due to several factors; feeling sad about leaving Asia, having to say goodbye to Stu in Malaysia and having my SIM card stolen and having almost 2000 pounds ran up on my account which I had no choice but to pay. I was also missing my friends and family a lot and almost wishing I could be back home with everyone for Christmas. However, Kristian and Steffi were so friendly that I soon forgot about feeling down and started to concentrate on getting back into the travelling groove.

We got dropped off in the centre of town, right on the Esplanade, a gorgeous strip running along the coast connecting the huge harbour and the fresh water Laguna with scenic boardwalks. I was pleased to have people to consult as I wasn’t really in the right mind frame to make sensible decisions on accommodation. We wandered around looking for a hostel recommended by Lonely Planet but soon got tired with our big rucksacks so asked at one of the many travel agents. The women in the travel agent was so friendly it was almost comical. She was the epitiome of Australian hospitality, all good humoured jokes and motherly concern about us walking in the heat with our bags. I felt better almost immediately and I realised how easy travelling in Australia was going to be compared with the chaos of some places in Asia. She recommended a hostel near by and even phoned them to make the reservations. Minutes later we were dumping our bags in the dorm room and heading straight to the famous Laguna, a man-made fresh water swimming pool overlooking the sea and the boardwalk surrounded by sandy and grassy sunbathing areas. It provides the Cairn’s population with a great place to cool off when the North East coastal waters are off limits in jellyfish season (November – March).

Cairns Laguna

The weather was gorgeous, blue skies and clear sky – a far cry from the stifiling humidity of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. All around us were families playing sports and setting up BBQ’s at the custom made cooking stations dotted around, and groups of travellers relaxing in the late morning sun. At first I was constantly surprised by hearing so many people speaking English. It took a while for my brain to adjust to the fact that local people speak the same language as me, even if the accent is sometimes so strong its hard to understand. The majority of people living in Cairns are either from Aboriginal descent or white Australian. It is not hugely multi-cultural due to its distance from the major cities but it is a travellers mecca and absolutely packed with backpackers mostly from England, Germany, China and Japan. It exudes a vibe so happy and laid-back its hard not to get swept along. That day was spent swimming, sunbathing and napping and by the evening I’d forgotten I ever felt sad. I had booked a trip on the Great Barrier Reef for the following day and was extremely excited about this as I’d been looking forward to it for months. That evening we sampled some of the local nightlife and tried to get a relatively early night before our respective trips the next day.

Couresty of Google (no underwater camera)
The next morning I woke up bright and early and made my way to the harbour where my boat was departing for a day on the Great Barrier Reef. It is hard to comprehend the sheer size of the reef; it stretches for over 1600 miles over an area of around 133,000 miles. It is also one of the seven wonders of the natural world and the biggest draw for tourists to Cairns and the North-east coast. The boat held about 60 people but was at half capacity so there was lots of space up on the deck. We travelled out into the ocean for about two hours before arriving at the Saxon dive site on the Outer reef. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I thought that the reef would be pretty busy, being the most popular tourist attraction in Australia. However, when we finally moored the boat we were surrounded by empty ocean and blue sky as far as the eye could see. I couldn’t see one other boat or form of human life, it was truly breathtaking. I jumped in as soon as possible, wearing my ‘stinger-suit’ to protect from jellyfish, and my snorkel and fins. I was immediately transported to a different world where colours are so vivid your eyes can hardly process them and strange creatures swim around you apparently unaware of your exsistence. We spent around four hours in the water but I could have floated around all day exploring nooks and crannys in the beautiful living coral and watching its strange inhabitants feast on it. Unfortunately I don’t posses a waterproof camera but the sights I saw were as incredible as any image you will find on the promotional posters. The absolute highlight was seeing a huge turtle and following it around for what seemed like hours. It was an absolutely unbelievable experience and absolutely knocks the socks off any other snorkelling experiences I’ve had. That evening I fell into bed exhausted and happy, dreaming of an underwater paradise.

My next adventure was a two day trip around the Daintree Cape Tribulation area, 2 hours North of Cairns which contains the oldest continuously surviving rainforest on earth, home to some species which have changed very little since ancient times, such as the musky rat-kangaroo and the southern cassowary (a large bird similar to an emu). Only in this country of extremes could you snorkel in the world’s largest reef one day, get up in the morning and in a few hours be surrounded by the worlds largest rainforest. Australia has been critised for its lack of culture but it certainly beats any other country hands down on pure natural wonder and diversity. As a born and bred nature fanatic it is hard not to fall in love with the wilderness. Queensland has a population of around 4 million people and a land mass of 670,000 square miles. Around 85% of the population live in the urban costal areas so you are left with great expanses of land, completely free from human inhabitants.

Not having my own transport or any knowledege of the area the only way to explore the Daintree area was with a guided tour. The quality of tours in Australia is extremely high and all the guides I have had the pleasure of meeting have been knowledgable and enthusiastic and clearly love their job. As we drove to Cape Tribulation we were given a short history of the area. It was named by the British navigator Captain James Cook, after his boat hit a reef north east of the coast. Cook recorded ‘the north point was named Cape Tribulation because here began all our troubles’. He clearly didn’t have a great time here, other landmarks are named Mount Sorrow, Hope Island and Desperation Creek.

Our tour began with a boat trip down the Daintree river, the objective being crocodile spotting. Because of the heat they were mainly hiding out on the banks beneath the mangroves and were incredibly difficult to make out but we did see a couple. It was my first time seeing crocs in the wild and was pretty exhilarating, even if I did only see a snout and a tail. After this we were taken on a guided tour around the board walked area of the rainforest. Admittedly this was ‘rainforest light’ but it was still fascinating and the guide pointed out various species hiding in the forest. I almost walked straight into a huge cobweb across the path, complete with a red and black spider about half the size of my palm. Luckily I quite like spiders, unlike some of the other trip participants who screamed and ran in the other direction.

Lizard hanging out

Beautiful tree in Daintree



Emmerson Creek, worth the walk!



About midday we were dropped at our accommodation for that night, a charming collection of wooden huts containing bunk beds, right on the deserted Cape Tribulation beach and surounded by forest. In my room were 3 German travellers, Nick, Karin and Bettina. I was keen to explore the area and make the most of my stay so Nick and I went off in the mid-day heat in search of fresh-water swimming holes at the edge of the rain-forest. After walking along a dusty track in the blistering heat for a good hour the sound of running water was like music to our ears. The water in the creek was the clearest fresh-water I have seen, even in 5 foot depth you could still make out every stone on the creek bed. We dived in and swam in the cool water, along with a local family who were picnicing on the grassy banks. The Aboriginal population of the Cape Tribulation area are seriously isolated and dont have the benefits of Government run electricity and running water. The climate is also very extreme, wet and humid; living conditions are very tough by our standards. The family were very friendly and chatted to us as we swam, recommended other great swimming spots and asking us questions. When surrounded by such beauty, it must be hard to be miserable.


The next day we got up early in the morning and ran to the beach to write our Christmas greeting in the sand to send to our families before embarking on another long walk, this time walking south along the coast. The views were incredible and we saw about 4 other people on the entire three hour trip. That afternoon we were re-united with our tour guide who took us to the mighty Moussman gorge. On the way he told us a story of Aboriginal legend about a female spirit who lives in one of the pools, dragging young males to their death. In the last 5 years, 8 young men have drowned in this pool so the legend lives on and many people believe it is haunted. However as the guide pointed out, a more plausible explanation is that young men tend to show off and would jump in the pool to impress their peers and get dragged into the vortex and crushed beneath the rocks. On the way back we stopped off at several other view-points, each one more spectacular than the next until we got down to the miles of sugar-cane farms that dominate the flat-land towards Cairns.

Bettina, Karin, me and Nick
View of Cape Tribulation



Happiness!



I didn’t think I’d had enough adventure for one week so after a day off relaxing by the Laguna, Steffi, Kristian and I headed out to the Tully River for some extreme white water rafting. We got into a large rubber dingy with our life jackets and crash helmets firmly in place and after a quick safety and paddling briefing, started our trip down the river, over 44 rapids, mainly at level 3 and 4, but with a couple of 5′. In rapid terms, level 1 is a splash in the bath, and 6 is so dangerous that the adrenaline junkie tour guides wont even entertain them. We basically had to paddle as hard as we could at the instruction of our charismatic guide before holding on as tight as we could as we bounced over the rocks and rapids and our raft was span around like a pin-ball. I cant even begin to describe the amount of fun it is to be flung down the river, and it makes it so much better than you are in control of your own destiny. A wrong paddle stroke can result in going the wrong way down the rapids and capsising in the rushing torrent of water. A few times we went over-board but these were mainly planned by our guide Freddy, and when we didn’t fall in he would chuck us over-board for good measure and let us be dragged by the rapids to the safe area. We also did some great cliff jumping and even tried our hand at slaloming, professional raft team style, through the rocks. By the end of the day I was convinced I wanted to stay in Cairns forever and become a raft instructor. Those guys seriously have the best job in the world!


Today is my last day in Cairns, thankfully, as I can’t keep up this pace for much longer. I decided to finish my trip here in style and go and do the one adrenalin sport that scares me most – bungy jumping.

Me in the Pendulum position, just as I’m dropped

As we arrived at the bungy site, just north of Cairns my heart was beating fast and I was almost regretting my decision to test my nerves to the limit. However, this apprehension was nothing to the terror I experienced when standing on the ledge, 100 metres up, looking down into the deep pool below, surrounded by trees. My feet were bound and connected to the bungy rope which didn’t look capable of saving my life as I plunged down. As the guide lead me onto the platform, taking penguin steps as couldn’t move my feet, I really felt like if I jumped that would be it. There is nothing holding your body like in most scary rides so you really feel like you’re just jumping to your death. As I was standing there the guide told me to edge forward until my toes were hanging off the edge. I was terrified and almost crying but didn’t want to embarrass myself on camera as they were filming everything! I said I didn’t think I could do it, but he was really great and just told me to relax and look out to the sea, take a big breath and jump. It took all the courage I have to let go of the railing and launch myself off. I can’t explain the sensation of free-falling in the air, it was incredible, unlike anything I’d ever experienced. As I got near the pool, the bungy jerked me back up and I bounced a few more times before being grabbed by the member of staff in the pool with her dingy. As I got out I felt shaky and adrenaline was coursing through my body. I got out, went straight back up and did another jump, this time adopting the ‘pendulum’ pose; being held backwards over the drop and dropped all the way into the water.

Tomorrow I fly to the Gold Coast for a traditional Aussie Christmas and a break from adrenaline sports. However I dont think it will be long before I’m back…. next on the list, skydive!

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