Thunder Down Under – Cairns, Australia

Landed at Cairns airport around 1 pm and boarded a vehicle run by Gilligan’s backpackers to pick up all its guest from the airport. The airport is just 10 mins away from the main area of Cairns. Cairns is the adventure capital of Australia.

Day 1

Gilligan’s Backpackers

We checked in at Gilligan’s backpackers. I would highly recommend this hostel, it is the biggest hostel in cairns and its guest get free entry to all the parties organised at its club. One can book all the tours at its reception at a discounted rate.

Cairns Esplanade Swimming Pool

Enjoyed swimming in the pool with a beautiful view of the ocean. The best thing about the pool is that entry is absolutely free. Some of my friends joined free water aerobics class that was going on in the pool. We spent approximately 2 hours at the pool in the evening.

Cairns market

Cairns market is full of tour operators. We spent our time exploring the night market where we purchased jackets at a very cheap rate, the same jackets cost much more in Gold Coast/Sydney.

Woolshed Club

If you are in Cairns you just can’t afford to miss this place. This is the most happening club in Cairns. It organises a lot of events where participants can win free tickets for many adventure activities hence people participate in large numbers.

Day 2

Great Barrier Reef

It was a dream come true, my first scuba dive and that too in GBR, I couldn’t have asked for more. It took us 1.5 hours to reach GBR from Cairns marina. I booked two dives for myself and dived at two different locations in GBR. We snorkelled for 20 mins to get the feel of the equipment before our first dive. One dived lasted for 25-30 mins. The water has stunning clarity.

I would never forget the moment when I first dipped my head inside the water, what I saw was incredible. I could see colourful corals on a submerged mountain range with amazing marine life. We went all the way to the bottom of the submerged mountain. It was an unbelievable experience to explore a different world that exists under the sea. We returned back to Cairns by 5 pm.

Day 3

Green Island

The shallow water and abundance of marine life makes Green Island a dream location for snorkelling. We found two turtles and varieties of fishes as soon as we entered the water near the coast. We also boarded a glass bottom boat which took us to places around the island where we saw amazing underwater sea creatures through the glass bottom of the boat.

Day 4

Tully River Rafting

This is considered as best for rafting in Australia-New Zealand region. It took us two hours to reach Tully village from Cairns. Pick-up and drop facilities are provided by the tour operator. The scenery along the river is picturesque as the Tully River flows between the two huge mountains with rainforest. At some of the rapids the powerful waves toppled our raft completely, which was part of the fun, throwing us down to the river. Apart from rafting, we got to jump off cliff and swim down the river. The whole fun lasted for 4 hours including a BBQ lunch. The thrill was just amazing.

We left for Sydney the next morning.