Texans Down Under (Week 2: Cairns and Melbourne)

So Caitlin and I have been makin' moves. We started in New South Wales, flew to the Northern Territory and now we were headed to Queensland (Cairns) and Victoria (Melbourne)...here's a bit how our last week of traveling looked :)

Day 9 (02/05) - Our hostel was offering free pancakes from 7am - 9am, and not knowing how crowded it would be, Caitlin and I decided to be

early birds to make sure we got in on the free food. Let's just say we were the ONLY early birds...I guess the norm here is to stay out late and wake up late; we obviously didn't get the memo. After breakfast the first thing on our list to do today was buy groceries for the week. The receptionist at the hostel pointed us in the direction of Rusty's Markets for what she said was the best market in Cairns. She wasn't lyin'. Holy deliciousness. Why do I not shop at local markets more often?! Caitlin and I were overwhelmed with the amount of fruit and vegetables all the vendors had out to sell. There's just so much goodness! What we didn't find at the Rusty's Market, things like peanut butter, chicken, turkey, honey, hummus, and granola bars, we bought at Woolworths. By noon we were all set with food for the next five days of living at the YHA hostel.

Our next thing to do was book our snorkel tour. I had looked over five different brochures trying to compare what each tour offered while still trying to find the best deal. Well, the best deal looked like the most expensive one, and our hostel receptionist only confirmed our thoughts. So we booked it for the next day! Once that was squared away, we decided to stay local and check out the Esplanade Lagoon, which was only a short ten minute walk away. We laid out in the lawn of the lagoon from 11am to 2pm then went back to the hostel to shower. It was still early, and we weren't tired, so we decided to walk back down to the water and and find a waterfront bar with a good happy hour menu. The Pier Bar was the obvious choice. Caitlin and I each had one drink, watched some footy (AFL...I prefer NRL), then took a long walk around the water to watch the sunset.

Day 10 (03/05) - I slept terrible last night because in our hostel room there's six people and Caitlin and I are the only two who generally go to sleep (fairly) early. The other four people though, would come in and out constantly, or were getting ready for a late night out...either way, the lights didn't get shut off ''til 2am! And I can't sleep with lights on. So yeah, then I couldn't sleep past 5:30am because I couldn't get comfortable in my bunk all night either. But none of that could ruin this day...today was the day we were going snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef!

When I finally got out of bed, I got dressed and then went down to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Caitlin woke up about 6:40am and by 7am we were out the door headed to check in to Siverswift Tours for our grand adventure. We boarded the boat at 8am, signed all our waivers saying we were healthy and fit (enough), and Caitlin even added a scuba dive onto her snorkeling plans. Once we had all that done Caitlin and I went our separate ways: her to an into to diving video and me to get my fins, mask, and snorkel. 

During this tour we visited one particular reef, Flynn's Reef, in a string of reefs making up the a Great Barrier Reef itself. Then within Flynn's Reef we snorkeled at three different sites: Tracy's, Gordon's, and  the Coral Gardens. At our first stop, Tracy's, I snorkeled while Caitlin scuba dived (dove? whatever). Because I was now a single, and you're supposed to swim in at least pairs, I was grouped with two other singles, one guy from China and a girl, Isabella, from Sweden. As it turned out, the Chinese guy really couldn't swim very well...like, was swallowing water as soon as he got in. Isabella and I tried to wait for him but he was slowing us down, big 
time, and we only got a certain allotted amount time at each spot...so we left him to fend for himself.

Backtrack real quick...before we took off on each new snorkel adventure, our guide would tell us what to expect to see while swimming out there, the best spots for certain fish, where giant clams were located, if any turtles (or ((non-aggressive)) sharks) were likely to be seen, etcetera, etcetera. Mine and Isabella's mission became finding the giant clam that "Nemo" (the clown fish) lived next to. It took us AGES to find the giant clam and when we did, Nemo was nowhere to be found! It wasn't until our underwater photographer came around to take pictures that he pointed us right to Nemo and his twin friend. When it was time to board the boat everyone was comparing what they saw; not many found Nemo (but we did), lots of people (but not us) saw a sea turtle, and one couple saw a shark! 

After hearing everyone else's fish tales, my mission at second spot, Gordon's, was to spot a sea turtle. Caitlin joined in on the snorkeling this time and after swimming all around the reef, like three times, we still hadn't seen a turtle. Cue the underwater photographer again...this guy was gold :) Just after he took our pictures he spotted a turtle on the ocean floor; he pointed it out to us then threw some food at it so it swam up just high enough for us to swim down and snap a quick pic! There was another group of three snorkelers hovering near us, so we never got, what I felt like was, a really good picture. And to top it off, as the other three snorkelers were by it, it swam all the way up to the surface for air and those three people got inches away and what I'm sure we're some sweet pics! So after that, once everyone lost interest in the turtle, I was still determined to get good GoPro footage; so I stalked that sucker! I tread water over it, and dove down multiple times, for probably thirty minutes trying to get good pictures and videos. I was just waiting for it to come up for its next breath, that's all I wanted. Not knowing how long a sea turtle can hold it's breath I was ready to give up. BUT THEN IT

STARTED SWIMMING UP! Caitlin had long ago gone back to the boat because her GoPro had died, so I was by myself at this point. So I swam towards it, and we swam side by side for about three minutes(!) completely forgetting to turn my a GoPro on...just kidding. I got some good stuff :) 

Satisfied with swimming next to a sea turtle, and my GoPro ready to die as well, I swam back to the boat to recharge and warm up. I plugged my GoPro into my portable charger, got some tea, and then an announcement for a "snorkel debrief" said to come up to the upper deck for a quick chat. After the chat I went back down to get more tea, and as I crossed my stuff I noticed my GoPro was no longer on the charger; the cord, charger, and outer/waterproof case were still there, but the GoPro itself was out of site. My heart sank. It's the worst feeling thinking someone stole your stuff. It especially infuriated me knowing I had only just bought my GoPro six months ago AND all my footage from Ayer's Rock and Darwin hadn't been downloaded to my computer yet! I looked in my bag, in Caitlin's bag, under my clothes, and all around the seats we were sitting in...nothing. The photographer (God bless him) came by to ask if I was alright, and I told him I had either misplaced my GoPro or someone had stolen it. He went to get the man in charge, and just before an announcement was made I checked my bag again and there it was! By some miracle I either overlooked it in my bag, or someone decided to return it. Either way, I had it back and I was so thankful and relieved! 

Our third and final snorkel dive was in the Coral Gardens. The only thing I hadn't seen at this point was a shark; and even though I'm terrified of them, I wanted to see one so badly! But I didn't...Caitlin did, but we had separated right at the end and I was out of earshot when she swam across it :( The Coral Gardens did, however, have the most vibrant coral of all the three locations, and lots of clams to swim up to. So it was enjoyable nonetheless. Once all the dives were over we headed back to shore and made friends with all our guides (and the photographer) who had been giving me a hard time all day. They were cool, and we laughed a lot on the way home. 

When Caitlin and I got back to the hostel we showered and realized how burnt we had actually gotten throughout the day. We caked on the moisturizer, hoping to prevent future peeling (doubtful) and then headed to the kitchen to make dinner. We didn't last long after dinner, tired from all the sun and swimming, plus we had yoga planned for 7am tomorrow morning. As I laid in bed to go to sleep I still had the sensation that I was on a boat...I could feel the waves beneath me. Is it possible to get seas sick four hours AFTER being home from the sea?! 

Day 11 (04/05) - There was a free yoga session this morning at the lagoon. At 6am Caitlin and I woke up, got ready, ate breakfast, then walked to the Esplanade lawn where our "class" was meeting at 7am. Yoga's always been a bit difficult for me; I prefer the kind of yoga where you're stretching and posing, but this one was all about chanting and meditation. For one, I can't take all the chanting seriously (it works for some people, but not me), but I get the giggles every time. Second, I can't seem to turn my mind off long enough to just sit there for an hour (which would do me some good, but just doesn't happen). At the very end, as we were sitting there meditating (and by meditating I mean I was peeking out one eye to see what was going on), our teacher went around to each individual person and took energy from the earth, or something, and dumped it onto our heads...for most people she dumped the energies once, maybe twice, but for Caitlin it was three times! She must've needed extra energy for today, I guess; too much exertion from yesterday's scuba diving and snorkeling trip :) 

After yoga we took a walk along the water, then went back to our hostel for breakfast. We decided today would be spent at Palm Cove Beach trying to even out or tans (burns) from yesterday's snorkeling. We looked at the bus timetable and found a bus leaving at 10:34am. Fifteen minutes early from departure, I went in the nearest store to ask for change for the bus fare. The guy told me no! So I told him I wouldn't be buying batteries from him anytime soon, and walked to the chemist next door who GLADLY gave me change for a $20. Caitlin and I both sat down to read while we were waiting, and at 10:34am a bus came and went so fast that we didn't even know if it was ours or not because we didn't look up from our books in time. Luckily thirty seconds later Bus 110 (the one we needed) turned the corner, and we hopped right on, not wanting to have to wait for the next one at 11:04am. 

We arrived to Palm Cove at 11:30am and spent the next three and a half hours bumming it up on the beach. Palm Cove was one of the northern beaches listed at our hostel, and also known for its quiet seclusion. There wasn't a soul around us except for the few passerby's taking a stroll on the beach with either their significant other or their dog (I'd obviously be in the category with the dog...haha). Anyways, Caitlin read most the time, and I napped mostly. Besides the first hour, the majority of our time was spent under a sparsely shaded tree trying not to sunburn our sunburns. It was nice though, just the relaxing type of day we needed before playing some volleyball tonight. 

The bus returned us back to the hostel by four; we had found a sand volleyball group meeting at 5:30pm in one of the brochures for free fitness activities. We showed up expecting to join in on games of six or challenge in doubles. Having not touched a volleyball in probably three years, I had also told Caitlin that we shouldn't tell anyone we used to play in college; we thought there might be some stiff competition. We were sadly mistaken. Apparently it was an introductory course to sand volleyball where the first forty minutes were spent learning the fundamentals of passing...(yawn). But we sucked it up, and met a few regulars who said the "real competition" met up on Tuesdays at 5:30pm to play, and asked us to come back tomorrow. 

Once back at the hostel we showered, made dinner, and then went to sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. This was probably our latest night getting "home" since the trip started, and it was only 9pm...

Day 12 (05/05) - Having decided last night to go back and play beach volleyball again, we opted out of traveling up to Port Douglas for the day and instead went back to our spot at Palm Cove Beach. But before that we woke up early for another free fitness activity: box fit. Yep, it was a circuit based boxing class...running poles, jump roping, burped, jumping jacks, squats, and of course boxing. It was much more intensive than our "yoga" yesterday; we came out sweating more than we expected. 

After boxing we had breakfast (free pancakes, compliments of the hostel) then caught a bus to Palm Cove. There's a nice little string of upscale boutiques and cafes in Palm Cove, so planned on stopping for coffee first, before the beach. When we passed by a cafe called Jack and Shanan's coffee turned into a juice for Caitlin and this delicious smoothie type thing for me. It was called "Pitaya Paradise" and consisted of locally grown pitaya tropical blend + organic chia seed pudding + crunchy gluten free granola + locally grown organic banana. It was SO GOOD. 

Caitlin and I laid out on the beach from 10:30am to 3pm. Around two o'clock, I was in the middle of taking a nap when all of a sudden I felt something large touch my leg! Now keep in mind, that up here in Cairns, you always have to be on the lookout for crocodiles. There are signs posted everywhere waning swimmers to stay out of the water, and Caitlin and I were in a pretty secluded area of the beach, so you can only imagine how startled I was to feel something walking over me. Fortunately, to my great relief, it was just a dog! 

Once we'd had enough of the sun, we walked up to a nearby bar to chat and wait for the bus. When we got back to Cairns we stopped off to buy a bottle of wine, then showered and made our final meal at the hostel (the same thing we'd been eating the past four nights...haha). We didn't make it to beach volleyball...

Day 13 (06/05) - Our flight to Melbourne left at 6:15am; to ensure we got there in time and still had plenty of time to stuff our clothes with our extra baggage (once again to avoid the $50 overweight baggage fee) we booked a shuttle for 4:50am. Having already packed our bags the previous night, Caitlin and I literally rolled straight out of bed around 4:30am, grabbed our bags, and waited outside the hostel for the shuttle. At 5am the shuttle still wasn't there and we started to worry that we were going to be late checking in. So I made a phone call to the driver who said he was on his way...so long as he didn't forget us I was fine! 

Now having already gone through two other flights where we had to lighten our backpacks to get them under 7kg (14lbs), Caitlin and I were professionals...we knew all the tricks to avoid the $50 fee...1) wear as many layers as possible 2) stuff as much as you can into your pockets and waistband 3) separate things into two bags, if possible 4) DO NOT hang out near the gate you board at, but do keep an eye on your boarding time 5) when passing the attendants who are weighing everyone's bags, don't make eye contact and keep your backpack on the opposite side of their line of vision...in other words, hanging off the one shoulder furthest from them 6) board at the last possible minute so that even if they do question you there might not be time to actually weigh it without delaying the flight. Then, once you've scanned your ticket and entered the ...stuff all your things back into the one bag after you've turned the corner and they can no longer see you! Voila. That's how it's done :)

It was a three hour flight from Cairns to Melbourne. Our flight arrived at 9:25am, but we couldn't meet our "host" Kirsten (a friend of a friend of Caitlin's) until she finished uni at 1pm. So after catching the SkyBus into the city, we went for brunch at a place called Manchester Press; it was so good. Kirsten met up with us after her class then we took the train to her house in Blackburn. Lemme just say that Kirsten and her family were the absolute best hosts ever. Not even knowing us they opened their home to two strangers, gave us comfortable beds to sleep in, multiple HOME-COOKED meals (which were especially nice after living off PB&J and apples
for the last twelve days), and the best "to do/see list" for our time spent around the city. After Caitlin and I unpacked, we spent the rest of the day and night with Kirsten and her family talking and laughing (making fun of each other's accents), eating a steak dinner, and planning out everything we should do over the next three days. 

Day 14 (07/05) - We had a full day ahead so we decided to wake up early and catch the 8am train into the city with Kirsten who was on her way to uni. Our first stop was Federation Square. We didn't actually go into Federation Square because, from the sound of it, the outside architecture was the main attraction. It reminded me of something that would be out of the movie Transformers, or anything to do with robots...ha. We headed to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) next, but it didn't open 'til 10am so we walked across the street and meandered through the Queen Victoria Gardens until it was time to go back. The NGV was really cool; we walked through all the different exhibits and even spent some time in one of the interactive exhibits: a contraption hanging from the ceiling consisting of knotted rope and what felt like stress-reliever balls (to walk on). 

After the NGV, Caitlin and I started exploring the city streets on foot. Kirsten and her family told us which streets offered the best coffee/food/views/shopping, etc. We walked to Lygon Street, which was like a "Little Italy" but then decided we weren't really in the mood for Italian and instead kept exploring. We came across a Colombian cafe called Sondido and decided to stop there. Holy moly, I need to start eating more Colombian food!! From there we went to grab coffee at a cool little cafe called Industry Beans; it had a nice little vibe and happen to be connected to a Crossfit gym (so of course I thought that was awesome). 

Melbourne Museum was up next on our list of things to see. We opted out of walking around inside because we didn't want to pay for a ticket, and instead enjoyed the architecture and art surrounding the building. We then made our way back to Lygon Street for a double scoop of gelato which we had been salivating over since we passed it the first time around. I got a mixed berry and Ferraro chocolate cup...wow, it was amazing; even though it was freezing outside and  I was shivering as I ate it. By the time we got back to Kirsten's house it was almost time for dinner: homemade spaghetti bolognaise (good thing we didn't eat Italian for lunch). Kirsten suggested we checkout the city nightlife, and even though Caitlin and I could've fallen right asleep then, we agreed that we shouldn't waste any time, and because, you know, "when in Melbourne..."

At this point, still being our first day in Melbourne, Caitlin and I were pretty inexperienced using the tram system. When we arrived at Flinders Station and started looking for the right tram to get us to Brunswick Street, we literally crossed the same cross walk back and forth six times (with the same 50+ people watching us) before finally figuring out the map and getting on the right tram. SIX TIMES!!! We were like hamsters on a wheel going 'round and 'round in the same circle (or line, technically). By 10pm we had made it to the bar called Naked with Satan. We had one drink and we're ready for bed, so we went home. It was a loooonnnggg day!

Day 15 (08/05) - After a "late night" last night, today was supposed to be a late start...but somehow we still couldn't sleep in and left the house by 8:30am to head to the city. Our first stop was to a cafe called Affogato Espresso Bar for coffee and breakfast. We had a short list of things to do today, our only big plans penciled in were Eureka Skydeck and the Australian Football League (AFL) game at 7:30pm. 

We spent about thirty minutes at the Eureka Skydeck. It gave us a 360* view of Melbourne from eighty eight stories up...it.was.magnificent. I can only imagine how stunning the view is at sunrise and sunset. It was neat being able to see everywhere we'd already been and all the places we still had yet to visit; we could even see the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) where we'd be watching the footy game later tonight. From the Eureka Skydeck Caitlin and I went back to Brunswick Street for lunch at a restaurant called Ethos, vegan and vegetarian dishes were their specialty so I, of course, opted for the veggie burger (the biggest and messiest of all them). I swear it was bigger than my face! After lunch we headed back to Kirsten's house to get ready for the game. On the train ride back one of the policemen came up to Caitlin and asked to see her train pass. It was typical to see officers patrolling the trains making sure people had valid tickets and concession cards, so we didn't think anything of it when the woman came up to Caitlin. I had even started to get my card out so that she could scan it, too. Then the officer said to Caitlin, "Do you know why I've asked for your ID?" Caitlin said no, and the woman says, "It's because feet are resting on the opposite seat. Have you not read the sign posted around the train? It's a $200 fine for putting your feet up like that." We were dumbfounded; Caitlin said she had no idea (I hadn't read the signs either), then the officer asked where she was from, and when Caitlin said America, she asked if they let you put your feet up on the seats in the trains in America. Caitlin said she didn't know because she didn't use public transport back home. That didn't seem to make the officer very happy, but she asked how much longer she was here and Caitlin said only four days, so she let her off with a warning! Shwew. 

We get back to the house, change clothes into our nicest outfits (leggings, t-shirt, and a flannel...haha) for a night out, and hop on the train to Richmond with Kirsten. We stopped to eat dinner at "an authentic Mexican food place" called Fonda's. *Authentic Mexican food to an Australian is NOTHING like authentic Mexican food to a Texan* I had been craving a margarita, and when I ordered the house special for $16 I was expecting a big fishbowl type of margarita that you would get back home at any mexincan/TexMex place in America. I was wrong...this glass was smaller than my hand! It was basically classified as a shot of margarita, in my opinion. 

When we got to the MCG we found our seats and Kirsten started doing her best to explain all the rules to Caitlin and I. Now when I first came to Australia and lived in Brisbane, it was all about National Rugby League (NRL) there, and I really came to enjoy watching NRL. Australian Football League (AFL) is a completely different game. When you first watch it on tv it looks like one massive game of hot potato or keep away...it's a bit silly; nothing at all like NRL which is very aggressive and fast paced. But, when you finally learn the rules, and go to an actual game, AFL isn't so bad. We actually really enjoyed ourselves. The Geelong Cats beat the Collingwood Magpies 100 to 59; it was quite the blow out! When the game was over we met up with Kirsten's friend Tom at a bar called The Precinct. Had a few drinks, enjoyed the nightlife of Melbourne, then headed home for a good night's sleep before our flight back to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. 

Day 16 (09/05) - Caitlin and I woke up, got coffee at a little organic cafe near the train station called Nuts about Coffee, then headed to St. Kilda Beach. Caitlin and I had both read the book The Wish List which was based in Melbourne and mentioned St. Kilda Beach quite often; so we thought it would be cool to go visit the place we enjoyed reading so much about in that hilarious book. When we got there we took a long walk around the water, taking in the gorgeous views, then found a tram back to the city. The last thing on our list to do while in Melbourne was visit the infamous Queen Victoria Market...it.was.massive. It was like no other market I've seen before; it wasn't your typical market that's set up only friday through sunday and basically made up of a lot of stands and tents...no, this was an actual building with stores, and I'm pretty sure it was open every day of the week. And everything sold was still cheap as! It was so good.

We went back to Kirsten's house at 3pm to finalize our packing and say our goodbyes. Her mom dropped us off at at 4:05pm to catch the train to Southern Cross Station by 5pm, which allowed us to catch the SkyBus to the airport by 5:20pm (an hour before our plane left). Caitlin and I geared up for one last "lightening of our backpacks to pass the 7kg weight limit rule." As we were layering on our clothes and stuffing our pockets we had two foreign, non-English speaking, women staring at us and smiling/laughing to one another as we did our little routine. Didn't bother us one bit, we were laughing at ourselves even harder! We were flying TigerAir on our last flight and instead of the usual go through security THEN have your bags weighed by the attendants before boarding, they did it opposite...weigh your bags, then go through security. So I went up to weigh my bag, and mind you it weighed 12ish-kg on the very first flight we took and had to pay a $50 overweight fee for, and IT ONLY WEIGHED 5KG. That's about a fourteen pound difference, people! That's insane is what it is. I had fourteen extra pounds of clothes and junk on my body and out of my bag. Ha! So we weigh our bags (Caitlin's are 1.3kg over the limit but they allow it) and as soon as we turn the corner we take everything off and stuff it right back into our bags before going through security. We.Are.Professionals. 

We board the plane, the flight goes smoothly, and then all that was left was a train ride back to Maitland. Unfortunately there weren't any direct trains from the airport to Maitland, and we just missed the train we needed to make it back by a decent hour because the guy giving us our tickets took ages! So we waited an hour to catch the train from Central to Hamilton, then had a two hour "layover" waiting in the freezing cold for our Hamilton to Maitland train. We didn't get home until 3am...longest train ride home ever; it took five hours total! 

All in all the trip was amazing, and we had an absolute blast over the past two weeks. People have been asking what my favorite part of the trip was, and I honestly can't give and answer. There was something good about every spot that we visited and they were all so different. I can't wait to see the rest of Australia over the next three years!

XO - Cristin