The top two semester break destinations for American students studying in Eastern Australia tends to be Cairns or New Zealand. Cairns, home to the Great Barrier Reef, is located in northern Queensland and is a 3-hour flight from Sydney. While I’m sure New Zealand is beautiful and just as amazing as everyone says it, I was hoping to jam in as many uniquely Australian adventures as I could into my semester so Cairns was my destination of choice. Cairns is extremely popular for its endless amount of activities: snorkeling, rafting, skydiving, bungee jumping, and rainforest trekking, to name a few. I’d say it’s hard to beat just how “Australian” my trip was, and though I’d have a lot of recommendations for someone making a trip to the area (feel free to contact me if you’re reading this and headed to Cairns!), overall I definitely had a memorable and successful trip.

Day 1: The Lagoon. Cairns does not have a beach, so the city created “The Lagoon” located on The Esplanade (boardwalk) that is a large, shallow pool with a small stretch of makeshift beach and lots of picnic areas. The weather in Cairns was a hot and sunny 85 degrees, perfect pool and sun-baking weather. We also strolled around the shops of Cairns (mostly tourist gift shops) before returning to our hostel for a BBQ dinner.

Day 2: The Reef. I could not have asked for a more perfect day for snorkeling. The trip out to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns takes about 2 hours and the sea was completely flat. One day later and our trip would have been bumpy seas and partly cloudy skies, factors that would have changed the experience entirely. I could have spent all day lying out on the front of our big catamaran. We were on the Passions of Paradise boat. There are a million different reef tour operators in Cairns, some of which have HUGE boats with elevator lifts that drop you straight into the water (no jumping in or climbing up a ladder required), but this just seemed a little too commercialized for my taste. The first reef we snorkelled was actually surrounding a sandbar that doubled as a bird sanctuary. I was extremely impressed with the health of the reef here and I loved getting to see new reef creatures (like the guitarfish pictured below) as well as some of my Florida Keys favorites like the parrot fish. The second reef we visited was not near as healthy and a little bit deeper. As an ocean lover and lifelong snorkeler, I was disappointed with the lack of care shown by the tour operators for the reef – not once did they tell people to not stand on the reef or inform them of the threats currently jeopardizing the existence of coral reefs. However, with the amount of visitors the Great Barrier Reef sees every year, I suppose the damage to the reefs could be even greater. 

Day 3: Driving on the Left & Platypus Spotting. Since Cairns does not have any beaches, my friends and I rented a car to take us to the beaches north of Cairns. You could also take a $5 bus, but I wanted the experience of driving on the “wrong” side of the road, as well as the freedom to travel between beaches. We chose to go to Palm Cove and Trinity Beach, both of which were beautiful and lined with Palm Trees. I’d recommend Palm Cove for anyone taking the bus up to the beaches, but if you’re renting a car, go a little further up the Captain Cook Highway and explore some of the beaches right of the road that have amazing views. They aren’t lifeguarded or protected from jellyfish, so don’t go to these if you want to swim! After spending time at the beaches, we drove an hour to Yungaburra, a tiny town known for its platypuses. At dusk and dawn, you can sometimes see them swimming in the creek. We stopped in the visitor’s center before it closed at 5 to find out where was the best place for a sighting. We then spent an hour sitting in silence, not moving, slightly freezing, waiting to see an elusive platypus. Thankfully, we finally saw one (they’re SO small!) swimming in the creek. Spotting a platypus is not too common, so we definitely got lucky. The drive home was through the windiest and darkest roads I’ve ever driven (definitely frightening when you’re on the wrong side of the road) but halfway home we pulled over to look at the stars and it was truly incredible. Never have I seen so many stars in the sky – you could even see the Milky Way! While renting a car and going to Yungaburra aren’t two things you need to do in Cairns, they were two of the highlights of my trip.

Day 4: Go Wild! Tour. The Go Wild! jungle tour can be done as a day tour or overnight tour. If you’re interested in snorkeling in Port Douglas (less visited than the reefs off Cairns), horseback riding, or zip lining, look into the overnight tours! This day felt very “Australian” as we started off at the Wildlife Habitat where I got to HOLD A KOALA. It was so soft and cuddly, but boy did it have sharp claws! Koala “cuddling” is only legal in Queensland and will set you back about $16, but it was one of my top 3 Australian experiences. Our bus drove us along the beautiful and scenic Captain Cook Highway (known as one of the best drives in Australia) to the Daintree River. Here we took a river cruise to spot some wild crocodiles. The river reminded me of home in Florida with so many mangroves. Afterwards, we took a stroll through the Daintree Rainforest to see big spiders and poisonous plants, all while trying to avoid getting drenched. The last stop before our drive back to Cairns was Cape Tribulation where Cook first landed in Australia. It was too rainy and cloudy for sun baking which was quite a bummer.

Day 5/6: Just Chillen. The last two days we were in Cairns, we wandered around the town some more, spent what little sunshine time there was at the Lagoon, and ate the best fajitas any of us had ever tasted. A restaurant called Cactus Jacks has a $20 fajita and margarita deal on Thursday nights and if you’re reading this and ever find yourself in Cairns on a Thursday, you MUST go. The fajitas were cooked with a little bit of BBQ sauce which made them so amazingly delicious. It would have been great to add in another day trip or some fun activity, but with the not so great weather, I don’t think rafting/bungee jumping/more snorkelling would have been as enjoyable. 

Crocodiles, platypus, and koalas… snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef… getting rained on in a rainforest… driving on the left side of the road… sunbaking… Could I have had a more “Aussie” Easter Break experience??

A few recommendations:

• Njoy is a fine hostel but a little far away from town and with a very unreliable shuttle bus.
• Gilligan’s is the most popular hostel in the area and a non stop party… seriously people who stay there said the place was never quiet. If you’re looking for no sleep and lots of fun, it’s probably the place for you.
• Don’t be afraid to wait until you’re in Cairns to book trips – you aren’t going to get amazing last minute deals, but there are a million travel agencies in town with unending tour options.
• Ask your hostel where the cheapest traveler meals are – it’s possible to have dinner for $5!
• Look into Port Douglas and other reef towns – many places have shuttles from the airport.
• Cactus Jack’s on for Thursday night fajitas!!
• Rent a high quality digital camera in town for $40 (includes all your pictures put on a DVD) instead of buying a $20 disposable camera that only let’s you take 20 pictures and then costs $15 to get developed (and they’re crappy pictures!!)
  

Location: Cairns, Australia