The Wet Tropics and the Big City

I arrived in Cairns largely to do three things: go diving, go to the rainforest, and experience the town's infamous nightlife.  I arrived at the Cairns Beach House at 1:15am with a voucher for 3 nights stay.  After the first night, how I wished I hadn't already paid for the other two.  This hostel ranks right up there with the white bread-butter-mayo-raw bacon sandwich I had on Fraser Island.  The first room I was assigned had every bed occupied.  The desk clerk had to "verify" this before assigning me another, crappier one.  This one had no air con in it, and in 32 degC heat with over 85% humidity, this is not a good thing for me.  I tried my best to lay still on top of the covers with all three fans pointed at me just hoping that hibernation may trigger some yogi-like resting heart rate.  The next morning I switched rooms into one with air con, however the unit's vent was broken and could not be directed anywhere but up into the ceiling.  It also happened to leak down the painted brick walls pooling little bubbles on the way to the floor where it ran across the first row of beds.  Nice.  Trying to ignore this, I began to change clothes when I realized the room had no blinds on the large sliding glass doors.  Excuse me?  This seems like an easy thing to fix.  I told reception about both of these things and got a typical, "Oh, yes, we know.  We are working on that.  Thank you."  Finally, when I asked about getting into town, the reception agent said, "We have a shuttle that runs every hour into the city centre."  "Great," I said, "so the next one leaves in 15 minutes?"  Her reply: "Well, ours is broken right now, but I'm sure I can get another one to come some time soon."  Holy moly.  For your own sanity, do not stay at the Cairns Beach House.

Cairns itself did not impress me a whole lot.  It is a good place to situate oneself to do other activities such as scuba diving or skydiving.  And its nightlife is notable, but you wouldn't want to be there more than a week for fear of stagnation.  However, I think its real value is its proximity to Cape Tribulation, Australia's second largest world heritage area.  In fact, it is the only spot in the world where two WH areas, the Great Barrier Reef being the other, come together.  Because they meet, there are many forms of life shared between the two ecosystems depending on the other.  Therefore, it is actually classified as one ecosystem at this location.  Because of this fact, it is the richest area of life anywhere on the planet:  A rainforest with plants that have not evolved in 300 million years and a reef more diverse than any other on earth.  I think it fair to say that everyone should see such a spectacle if they are nearby.

There was no one thing about Cape Trib that stands out as the apex of the two-day trip.  Just spending time in the rainforest is bizarre and wonderful enough.  However, I was treated to a few rarities.  One of the activities I did was a cruise down the Daintree River, a water system heavily patrolled by crocodiles.  Even though it was the beginning of the wet season, which usually means crocs are inland rather than in the water, our boat was treated to viewing of Scarface, a 4m croc known for charging tour boats.  This beast was not part of the Australia zoo nor someone's pet.  This fellow was the apex predator of a 2km stretch of rainforest river and had matching scars on each side of his snout to show how hard he fought to get there.  Our other special wildlife viewing came on our bus ride back to Cairns.  Our driver spotted three young cassowaries crossing the road.  Mind you there are only 1200 or so left in the wild, so to see 3, and babies no less, was very special.  The driver himself was very excited and he had done this journey several dozen times.  We weren't aloud to leave the bus for picture taking however, because the father is never far from the young ones, and they have been known to charge, headbutt, and slash anything resembling a threat.  The rest of my time on the cape was spent doing random things like finding "safe" swimming holes, enjoying the beaches (but only from the sand due to the number of crocs and jellies in the sea), and taking pictures of the incredibly odd forms of life in the area.  I think the perfect follow up for a trip to the Trib would be a journey to Uluru.  I would imagine this would really give a traveler a good impression of the vastness and variety the country-continent has to offer.

After Cape Trib, I left the wet tropics to return to big city life.  I did not see Sydney on my way up the east coast because I knew I'd ultimately be departing from there.  Weather-wise I could not have been happier upon arrival.  Back to the mid to high 20s with normal humidity levels.  Definitely my kind of weather.  And in preparation for Bali, Thailand, and other extremely humid areas, I chose to cut my hair.  Cape Trib told me quickly that I would not have been happy for long with my shaggy do.

Like other big cities, I spent the majority of time in Syd exploring the city rather than partaking in tourist activities.  Unlike the other cities in which I'd done this, I had a partner this time around.  Stu, the guy I met in Fiji and one of the two friends with whom I spent Christmas, was in Sydney for a few more days before heading inland for work.  He had already seen many big sites with his friends from the UK but was quite happy to repeat with someone who had yet to see them.  We walked from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach along the boardwalk.  We wandered around Darling Harbour and Star City.  And we took the train out to Olympic Park for a morning.  After Stu left I found myself wandering through the botanical gardens, Kings Cross, and Hyde Park.  The overwhelming joy of the city had to be its most iconic building, the Sydney Opera House.

I first saw this marvel after a dinner with Stu and his two friends from home who were returning there the next day.  They had already seen it but knew I had not.  By the time we finished the 20-minute walk, it was past midnight and my legs were beat from the day's walkabout.  I was mid-sentence with one of Stu's friends when I first saw the house.  Without realizing it, I simply opened my mouth and "wow" popped out.  "It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Stu.  "She's perfect," I said.  Until that moment, I hadn't realized how much I wanted to see that building.  Wrapped up in a single moment, this was why I was traveling.  I've known of this architectural wonder for years.  I've seen it in movies, magazines, and on posters in friends' living rooms.  But for the first time, I heard the echoes bouncing off of it.  I felt the same wind across my face that graced its rooftops.  I was here.  I was seeing it for myself with my own eyes and no computer screen or photograph on paper could duplicate it.  I paced leisurely over the Harbour Bridge trying to capture different angles of the building knowing none of them would come close to match what I now felt, but they'd remind me of it nonetheless.

On my last day here in Sydney, I returned to the house to take some pictures in the daytime.  Like most subject matter I truly enjoy, I shot far too many.  If I bore you with them in the album, forgive me.  I knew no other way to honor the feeling I had for the moments I was in its presence.  I imagine, hope, and anticipate similar excitement from expected and unexpected treasures as I venture into Asia.