Good-bye Sydney, Hello Cairns

WAY too early for a Sunday morning, Wally picked me up and I was headed to the airport headed to Cairns! Cairns is an unusual little place. I love it though! It's definitely a back packers destination with a different hostel every 5 feet. Which in turn means tons of bars and young travelers through out town. It’s also known for being the best access too the Great Barrier reef, so I was picturing it as a beachy diving town, but the entire town doesn’t even have a beach, the nearest one is about 30 minutes away! To make up for it the city built a lagoon on there water front (and by waterfront its more of mud field.) And as a result of all the backpackers, the lagoon is usually filled with hungover 20 something year olds  sleeping in the sun. There’s a ridiculous amount of things to do in the area. I stayed for a week and could have easily stay another or two and never have been bored.  Another friend of mine from Colorado, Lindsay (not the same Lindsey from Sydney….I know….VERY confusing) is doing her exchange at a uni right outside of the town so I was going to staying with her.

I also had 2 days until Alexa got to Cairns! She studying at a university in Brisbane but has never been to Cairns so she was going to fly up and see me. In the mean time I had to get scuba diving certified. So the day I arrived my first stop was the 24 hour cairns medical clinic to get a scuba diving form filled out. Then I went to the dive shop to sort out my certification. I decided to do a 2 day 1 night deal on the reef and by the end of it I would be certified! I was a little hesitant because 1) I have never been diving in the sea and 2) I would be on a boat for 2 days and a night where I don’t know anybody. Regardless it was an awesome experience!