We arrived at Mission Beach at 4am and were feeling tired as the buses are hard to sleep well on plus we had just come off the Whitsunday Sailing trip and not got a great deal of sleep on that. Unfortunately for us the bus stop is located seven kilometers outside the centre so we had to walk in the pitch black with all our rucksacks on down a road to the centre! After just over an hour we were feeling really beat and as we had at last found civilisation we decided to kip on some benches by the side of the road. When we woke up a couple of hours later feeling cold and stiff all over from the metal bench we found that a hostel was about fifty metres down the road! Luckily it was ran by some really sweet grandparents who let us check straight in at 7am and we went straight to bed for a couple of hours comfortable sleep!
When we got up we walked about the town which was tiny, we sat on the beach for a short while and then booked ourselves on a bus for the next morning as there was not a lot to do there unless you wanted to spend loads of money doing adventure sport stuff or diving which we had either done or would do in Asia for a fraction of the price.
We got into Cairns midmorning and after sorting a hostel we went for a wonder and it wasn't long before we bumped into a few familiar faces. Cairns is crammed full of backpackers either about to leave Australia after travelling up the East coast or just about to embark on the trip South. We caught up with people from both Fraser Island and Whitsundays and pretty much spent our time here partying with everyone! We had looked in the guide book at things to do and it said the best thing about Cairns was the man made lagoon which is a great place to chill out and catch up with everyone.... unfortunately it was under reconstruction and wouldn't open until two days after we left! I cannot think of much else to say about Cairns, there are some good places nearby but trips are costly and we wanted to save pennies for our travels in Asia. We sent loads of stuff back home and now our backpacks are half full in preparation for lots of cheap shopping in Asia!
I had not expected a lot from Australia before we headed off on our travels and would of happily spent more time somewhere else more interesting to me. However, the cities Melbourne and Sydney, although very expensive, were really cool places and I could spend more time in both. Once north of Sydney though, most of the places (that we visited) are very similar; sleepy beach towns with not a great deal to see. It was good to do some surfing but I needed more time to stay and practice! I am glad we did both the Fraser Island and Whitsunday trips though, they really were worth the money. There was beautiful scenery on both, we met great people and had a great laugh. So when I look back I have actually ended up really enjoying my time in the Oz. I would like to visit the West though for some different scenery and to escape the crowds. Next stop Singapore!
