Backpacker Hell

self portrait while koala seeking
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I write from the Cairns airport, trying to kill 6 hours before by flight back to Sydney, after an 11 hour overnight bus ride. If I sound a little wacky it is because I am! These last couple of weeks have been a little bit of everything. My Queensland trip started off a bit rough- being thrown into backpacker hell after a long comfortable stay at  Suji's wasn't fun. I flew to Cairns and stayed at the Cairns Girl's hostel which was quite nice actually but still a hostel- people in and out of the room all night, no privacy, no space. Great for a hostel, though- no smelly boys but I learned there that girls can be pretty amazingly loud snorers too.

see that tiny blob on the left? that's a koala- and her baby
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Anyway, my first day in Cairns I took a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef. I was really excited about seeing the reef but  after 2 1/2 hours rolling and tossing in the boat, nowhere to sit and no shade, I was not exactly feeling lively when we arrived at our first snorkeling spot.  I did, however make it into the water for a snorkel and despite feeling totally nauseous I was completely blown away by what I saw- it's a whole other world down there, just like in the pictures and movies- believe it or not I have never snorkeled before and those little fishes just made me smile- they were all so sweet and happy looking- pretty cute. I survived the boat ride back and spent the rest of the evening feeling like I was still rocking.

i love these pine trees
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The next day I made my way down to Townsville and from there headed out to Magnetic Island where I spent a few more days in backpacker hell. Let me just tell you about traveling in Australia on  budget: I'm too old for it! the first night I was there I paid $25 Australian to sleep in a 6 person dorm, no clean sheets, the room smelling like sewage and dirty feet. Now, back when I was in my early twenties and drinking all night long anyway, it didn't really matter where I slept but it's just not like that anymore. If I am staying somewhere I expect the place to at least be clean, and yes, clean linens don't seem like too much to ask for. A quiet place is nice too but I know that is totally out of the question around here.

the base- it was a pretty sweet spot, really
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Australia is far different from any other place I have traveled- I think because it is so easy and safe kids travel here a lot. There are tons of British- many countries have a relationship with Australia where people can come here and easily find work. Something I found most interesting is that where at home we mostly use Mexican and central American people to work in the fields in Australia they use backpackers! Australia doesn't have the influx of people coming in from poorer countries looking for work- it's a hard country to get in to but they have to have some sort of laborers so they use young kids who are traveling around. And it works for everyone- people are able stay here for long periods of time, working on and off, traveling in between. But what that means is that at the hostels there are just hordes of kids in their late teens/early twenties, on their own for probably the first time, going wild. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that- they look like they are having a great time but I just don't fit in at all. My up all night drinking days are over and while I'm glad I had them I'm on to something different now, something not to be found in the hostels of Australia as far as I can tell.

the GBR from the air
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You might ask, then, why did I insist on staying at hostels? Absolutely no choice on my budget! Australia is so expensive, I can hardly believe it. The exchange rate is about $1 US= $1.20 Australian, not so great. And check out what things cost , on Average:

Each hour on the Greyhound bus: $10

Night in a Hostel: $25

Meal: $10

more GBR
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Tea: $3.50

Peanut M&Ms: $2.20

1.5 L Bottled Water: $3

Books from a bookstore: About twice the marked US dollar price

It's crazy!I honestly don't know how people live here, I think it is even more expensive than home. Granted, I have been in very touristy places but still...

Anyway, back to Magnetic Island-I wanted to stay on the island for a couple of days- it was a really beautiful place with snorkeling to do and koalas to see so I went to the Base backpackers, which I originally ignored because my Lonely Planet called it something like the "raise the roof" type of party place. Despite the fact that the kids were partying till dawn, the place was much better than the first-  I had an all girls room, fresh linen with a duvet and down pillow-amazing. And I had good karma at the base- my first night sleeping there one of my roommates had her 23rd birthday. At about 11 o'clock she stumbled into the room, sputtering and spitting, assisted by friends who put her to bed. After a long, drunken debate on whether they should lay her on her back or on her side they finally left her, trash bin by her side to do her thing.  However, the second night I had the whole room to myself.

I rented a bike on the island and rode around and saw my first wallabies in the wild as well as a koala! well, too koalas actually- a mom and tiny baby in her pouch. She was sleeping as they do, something like 20 hours a day since they have such a nutrient poor diet, and I couldn't see her face but I could see her little baby squirming around in her pouch and it was pretty cute. They are hard animals to spot in the wild and I was really lucky to see one. It definitely made my day.

The next day I went snorkeling but after the Great Barrier Reef it was a bit disappointing, I must say. Townsville has a huge river that dumps massive amounts of sediment into the ocean, causing low visibility and the whole place to be just pretty brown. I guess that some of the brown is from naturally occurring algae but you are never going to find the healthiest underwater ecosystem so close to a big river. Although the reef is pretty far offshore (about 20 miles), it is in extreme danger too, more on that here:

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/water_quality/principal_influences.html

And then I was on my way to the Spank Me...