Australia: Part 1 - Cairns, Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation

Following my stopover in French Polynesia, I headed for Australia. The sheer size of Australia was a little overwhelming to me. I had only planned three weeks to explore before my flight to New Zealand, so I chose to focus on Australia's east coast. Also, I had decided that joining a group tour seemed like the best way to see the most in a short amount of time.

When it came to choosing a company, I immediately went to the Contiki website. Years earlier, as a college graduation present from each of our parents, my buddy Kristie and I received a trip to western Europe. It was a whirlwind; we visited 8 countries in just over two weeks. For that trip, our parents chose to use Contiki. They are a company that focuses on providing trips for 18-35s. They allow for a relatively low-budget travel experience where you get to see a lot of the highlights and still have free time to wander on your own. Since I had such a great experience with them the first time, I selected Contiki's "Reefs and Rainforests" trip for my Australian walkabout. I would start in Cairns on February 1st and end in Sydney 18 days later. A new country, a new continent, and oh that Australian accent... I was excited!

I got off the plane in Cairns and felt the heat and humidity straight away. I made my way to downtown and checked into a hotel. I changed into clothes more appropriate for the weather and spent the afternoon strolling along the esplanade. And as much as I wanted to go swimming, I had good reason to refrain!

The next morning, I woke up and walked to the botanical gardens.

In the afternoon, I made my way to the Rydges Hotel to start the tour with Contiki. I walked into the room and met my roommates for the night; Jen (Canada), Rebecca (Australia), and Nicole (USA). We got to know each other a little and then went downstairs to meet the rest of our group. Our tour guide, Carolyn, introduced herself and gave a quick rundown of the upcoming days. We met five more people who would be joining us for the two-day jaunt up to Cape Tribulation; Brett (USA), Michael (Canada), Georgie (UK), Travis (Australia), and Krystin (Australia). We all went out for pizza that night.

More people joined our group in the morning; Lewis and Eve (France), Angela and Margaux (Switzerland), Devon (Canada), and Kaitlyn (Canada). We hopped on the bus, Carolyn played our day song for the first time ("I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas), and our driver, Mick, started the drive to Port Douglas.

Port Douglas is a cute, resort town just north of Cairns. We walked along the main street down to the beach (I didn't swim here either), window-shopped, grabbed some lunch, and finally back to the bus.

We stopped at a swimming hole at Mossman Gorge. It started raining on us so it was cut short.

We took the ferry across the Daintree River to Cape Tribulation and stopped at a lookout to see the view.

Then, we continued down the road towards our lodge. Watch out for cassawaries!

That night, we had dinner at the lodge among some gigantic spiders.

Then, most of us walked down to the only restaurant/bar in town and danced the night away!

Devon, Jen, Carolyn (guide), Mick (driver)

Georgie and Kaitlyn

Rebecca, Krystin, Mike, Brett, Nicole

By about 12:30am, we were ready to head back to the lodge. Walking in complete darkness and trying to avoid the poisonous cane toads was a difficult task.

In the morning, we drove to the Daintree Rainforest. It is by far the oldest rainforest on Earth; 16 times older than the Amazon. And another fun fact: Cape Tribulatin is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Sites touch each other (the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef). Pretty cool!

Next up was a crocodile cruise on the Daintree River. In preparing for the cruise, I saw this guy clinging on to the leaves of a plant.

The cruise was really beautiful and peaceful. And we did see a few crocs which was great.

I spent some of the afternoon at the beach. The great thing I found about many of the beaches is that they are empty, making them a great place for walking and reflecting. However, the reason they are so empty is because it's too dangerous to swim in the water. That's somewhat disappointing for me. So, I went back to the lodge and swam in the pool instead.

Before leaving the cape the following morning, we made a short stop at Blue Hole to do some swimming.

I know what you are thinking... this is the perfect setting for crocs. Believe me, I was thinking it too, but we were assured there were no crocodiles here.

Cape Tribulation was a beautiful add-on to the beginning of my Australian adventure. We made our way back to Cairns where we would add a lot more people to our group and have the official start to the Reefs and Rainforest tour.

Moorea, French Polynesia

I made plans to see Australia and New Zealand in the beginning of 2012. The cheapest flight I could find went through Tahiti and instead of just passing through I decided to use that to my advantage and took a 5 day stopover on the French Polynesian island of Moorea. I jumped on the ferry from Tahiti to Moorea and then caught a ride to my hotel. I checked in, then wandered around, walked to the nearby town of Marahepa, snorkeled off the hotel dock (a little too much because my whole backside got fried!), lounged in the beach chairs, and took in the view. I also made plans for the next several days.

Since my stay was short, I wanted to get as much out of it as I could. On my second day, I took a half day 4x4 island safari tour to see the highlights; pineapple fields, tropical gardens, a fruit juice factory... But the best part was the views from Belvedere Lookout and Magic Mountain.

On day three, I rented a scooter and took my own circle tour of the island. I'm not going to lie... I started off pretty shaky on the scooter, but quickly realized that the faster I went the easier it was. So, off I sped, full throttle, at a whopping 35 mph! Starting from the north side of the island and traveling clockwise from the hotel, I stopped at Temae Beach.

Next, I took a bumpy, dirt road (not easy on a scooter by the way) to a path that led to this cascade and freshwater pool.

I continued around the island, stopping to take photos along the way. The flowers and over-water bungalows were especially interesting subjects for me.

I stopped at the Intercontinental Hotel to see exactly what $300+ a night could have gotten me on the island. Don't get me wrong, the grounds, pools, amenities, and overall ambiance was spectacular, but not something I needed to waste my money on.

I cooled off and snorkeled for a while on the northwest side of the island waiting for the sunset. I wanted to catch it before I headed back to my hotel for the night. I found a nice patio at the Hibiscus hotel and had a club sandwich from the restaurant (Note: adding a fried egg to a club sandwich vastly improves it. Why don't we do that here?). It started to rain, then it poured, and then it cleared just in time to get a sunset view.

I returned to my hotel on the scooter... in the dark with a crappy headlight... keeping my mouth closed as to not swallow all the bugs splattering all over my face... fun times!

I woke up the next day eager for my lagoon tour. I was ready to get out on the water. We cruised through Cook's Bay and then on to Opunahu Bay. We came across a large pod of dolphins who playfully put on a show for us.

The boat stopped offshore of the Intercontinental Hotel and dropped some food in the water to attract the stingrays and sharks in the area. When they arrived, the crew gave us the option to jump in and swim with them. Of course, I was one of the first people in the water. And I tried to take some photos with a cheap, underwater camera I had brought with me. So cool!

The boat moved us closer to the reef and I continued to snorkel. There were lots of beautiful fish as well as a couple moray eels.

The tour ended with a delicious, but rainy, barbeque on a motu (small island) where we were treated to rice, chicken, grilled tuna, and fresh pineapple.

My last day on Moorea was a very lazy one. I walked in to Marahepa again and bought some postcards. I explored the Moorea Pearl Resort. I read my book on the beach and did yet more snorkeling at the hotel. Did I mention I love the water?!

When my time in Moorea was over, I got on the ferry back to Tahiti and then boarded a plane to Australia.

Click here to see more photos of Moorea, French Polynesia.

Machu Picchu and Rapa Nui

Once again I am diving into the archives...
Several years ago my mom, dad, and I went to South America on a two-week trip; the goal being to see the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu in Peru and the Moai on Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island). Both are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their "outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity." Also, both are places that my dad had long-wanted to see and experience. So, we boarded a plane to Peru.

Our home base in Peru was Cusco - a town that sits at an elevation of over 11,000 feet and a perfect place to taste alpaca and drink coca tea (regardless of whether you are feeling altitude sickness or not).

We first learned about Incan architecture at Saqsayhuaman

and then explored the Andes of Peru,

the Sacred Valley,

the Urubamba River,

and Ollantaytambo.

We took the train to Aguas Calientes (on which I danced with this guy).

We ended with the magnificent Machu Picchu.

From Peru, we took a flight to Santiago, Chile and then on to Rapa Nui. We were guided around the entirety of the island by Matu'a who taught us about the island itself, the culture, and the famous Moai.

Click here to see more photos of Machu Picchu and Peru.
Click here to see more photos of Rapa Nui.