Surfing the East Coast

After Christmas I had a change in plans. I had spent just under a month in Perth and originally was suppose to go back home with a weeks trip in Bali after that. I didn’t think a month and a half was enough time in Australia and therefore decided to cancel my flights to Bali and London and instead book a trip down the East Coast. Cairns is an important place for Australia tourism- home to the Great Barrier Reef and the oldest rainforest in the world. There is lots to do around the area but Cairns town is a bit empty until the evening when the nightlife comes alive. I spent a week in Cairns and found it was a perfect amount of time to experience the main attractions of the area. Therefore, In this week’s post I wanted to share with you some of the activities I got up to during my time in Cairns and what I would recommend to keep busy during your visit. 

One piece of advice before starting your travels on the East Coast would definitely be to go to a travel agent before to book the main trips. The East Coast is a very popular trip for travellers and therefore there is a lot of opportunity to meet people along the way and then bump into them in other areas since everyone is doing a similar course. 

First of all, I would recommend staying at Gilligans hostel. It’s the main location for travellers in Cairns to stay and therefore means there’s more chance of you meeting people. To be aware- the hostel is also a club which means that it is a party hostel and can get loud. This can be great for solo travellers as you meet people without travelling far but it does mean you probably won’t have a good night sleep! 

Another club I would recommend is dirty laundry on a Friday night! It’s a hidden club- look out for a laundry service with a bouncer outside because once you enter through on of the washing machines it becomes an exclusive club. 

I would also highly recommend doing the Uncle Brian’s Tours. It’s interactive and a fun way of looking around Cairns with other like minded young travellers. At the start of the week I did the Forest, Falls and Fun tour, they took us around several waterfalls and swimming holes which were in remote and incredible locations, including the Herbal Essence waterfall. This tour wasn’t a main feature of the area but was still so much fun and a great day out.

The other tour I did was the Cape tribulation tour which is a very important tourist attraction for Cairns because it’s the oldest rainforest in the world and is the only location where two heritage sites emerge; the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reaf. At lunch time you go to a secret location to have lunch made by a local restaurant where we had burgers. I had the jackfruit burger which was made from the jackfruit tree on site and then we also stopped off to have locally made ice cream- using all fresh ingredients grown in the area. It was an amazing day and filled with activities and a quick swim too so there is something there for everyone. 

Another trip is definitely making sure you have planned to visit the Great Barrier Reef. I did my tour with Passion for Paradise and I’m so glad I did! They were a great company, and as well as being well organised, it also is one of the only locally owned tour boats left in Cairns which means it’s important to support to keep local businesses going. I did the suba dive section which also included a snorkel as well. The experience was definitely worth it and I wish I could do it all again.  The company also supports education on the Reef and puts 10% of its profits into supporting the Reef. This is important as with the effects of climate change we are not sure how much longer the Reef will be able to survive with the increase in temperature. 

Finally, if you are taking a day away from all the tours I would take your friends to the Lagoon for a BBQ. The town has free BBQs placed around the area and it’s such a fun experience to take advantage off. All you have to do is go past the supermarket and buy some ingredients and you have yourself a cheap and easy dinner!  

I hope this gives you some ideas for planning your trip to Cairns and that you can experience the two wonders of the world all in one week! 

Love, 

Aria XO