Cairns chatter

Arrived at the hostel and met up with Flo again, fresh from Darwin and Kakadu (guys on reception roundly taking the piss at my yelling 'FLO!!!' the second we saw her!). The hostel is great - lovely pool and outside area, good bar with cheap food etc. The room is basic but clean which is all that matters. And it was just the 3 of us in a 6 bed dorm. Score! It took us a little while to work out the aircon situation, after which the room went from hot, sweaty and smelling of feet, to a haven of blissful breeziness. Drifted off happily. Woke up feeling like I had accidentally gone to sleep in a fridge...

The others were off the next morning to their PADI Open water course, while I had a day free to wander the city. Opted to walk in to town, despite the protestations of the guys here that it took an hour. Hmm, half an hour later I was there, but hey, maybe they walk reeeeally slowly. Lovely stroll along the esplanade - beach on one side and grass and trees on the other. Lots of water fountains (the heat and humidity are pretty extreme) and less understandably lots of workout stations. Which I bypassed. Naturally.

Initial opinions of Cairns were that its not the prettiest place. Hints of Miami beach, but without the amazing art deco buildings, flash cars and pristine shoreline. Instead, the beach extends into mud flats, with wader birds darting about inbetween the palm sized crabs. The birds are pretty awesome. From yellow faces, with yellow cheek flaps extending down the neck and long spindly legs, to tiny grey dovelike creatures with bright blue faces and a hilarious mating bellow/dance! Big signs proclaim the presence of crocodiles in the water - tourists and local residents flock to the 'Lagoon' instead, a waterfront swimming complex. Despite the image that description usually produces, its not too bad actually.

The purpose of my walk was to visit the dive company with whom I had booked my overnight dive trip. Amazingly, they had offered me free underwater camera rental for the two days, in exchange for use of my photos and a review. I had the address, and it was still before the midday heat, so nothing could go wrong, right?

An hour later, having walked around the whole central area of Cairns, I looked up to find I was standing outside KPMG. Hmmm, some bizarre homing instinct? Due to the heat/general confusion, I asked the nearest person for help with directions. Unfortunately, she was aged 60 at a conservative estimate, and wearing a bright yellow 'party all night, sleep all day' t-shirt as a dress. Not surprisingly, she wasnt that helpful.

I did eventually make it though, and was presented with an amazing camera, with a great flash/diffuser combo. Essential as colour often appears different underwater, hence most underwater pics are that bluey/green colour. I got the giggles as it came housed in a black lock box. So I left the shop looking deeply dodgy, like those men you see leaving banks wearing visors and handcuffed to suitcases.

On return to the hostel, our room had been invaded by 'outsiders', so retreated downstairs to collapse on a sofa and surreptitiously eavesdrop on the other backpackers. God these people talk some shit...!

Evening spent wandering round the night market. Nabbed a 40 minute massage for $15! The walk into town was amazing - the light was falling and all the bats were coming out, swooping just over your head.

The market sold the usual tourist tat. With the odd gem!