Australia - The Rarrier Beef

We arrived safely into Australia after a relatively painless flight and I was happy. I wouldn’t have to see another plane or another currency for eight heavenly weeks. We were in Cairns, North Queensland and had a couple of days to kill before we were due to meet our new Contiki crew, with whom we would travel down the east coast.

Cairns is a holiday spot for Australians and foreigners alike. The weather is great pretty much year-round and there are loads of restaurants, beaches and bars. We spent most of our time chilling on the esplanade and enjoying Coffee Club, watching the world go by.

One of the main reasons why Cairns attracts travellers in their droves, though, is because it is the doorway to the Great Barrier Reef.

We met the Contiki group on a Saturday afternoon and less than eight hours later I was downing sambuca shots and watching Steph win a bar dancing competition. It was a great night and the ice was officially broken with the group.

We got back to the hotel at around 3am and the last thing I remember is Steph muttering, “Fuck the Rarrier Beef” as we fell into bed. Yes, in just four hours we would be on our way to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, a wonder of the world – possibly still drunk.

I’ll never forget the agony I felt at 7am that morning, as my alarm bleeped obnoxiously. Wearing last night’s makeup and with a thumping head I tried to dress and pack a bag for the day, all the while wondering whether I should just give up and climb back into bed. I mean, how ‘Great’ could this reef be?

Somehow I found myself on the coach to the port. The scenery was beautiful with views of black rocks jutting from the green sea, kids on rope swings and deserted beaches. But the roads were narrow and windy. I got off and promptly threw up.

Mid morning we boarded the QuickSilver for a two-hour sail to the Reef. I was feeling a little better because Steph and Abby, a fantastic 18 year-old from Derby, were making me laugh. Abby was living in Sydney on a year out and the three of us were inseparable for the next two weeks.

The Great Barrier Reef was magical from the moment I stepped off the boat and onto the pontoon. Over in the corner were some metal steps leading to the sea and a man in a diving suit was crouched over, the water bubbling beneath his outstretched hands. As I got closer, I saw that he was feeding fish. Hundreds of absolutely huge, rainbow coloured fish. They bobbed up and down and poked their massive heads out of the water. I’d never seen anything like it, the hangover vanished and I couldn’t wait to get my snorkel gear on and go exploring.

The reef didn’t disappoint. It was like finding a treasure chest under the sea. The coral was so beautiful and untouched that it literally took my breath away and I struggled to keep my breathing steady enough to avoid sucking in mouthfuls of sea water. I wasn’t expecting to come face-to-face with the fish either, they were huge and not timid at all. The whole experience was made even more exhilarating by how scary it could be. The current was strong and I often found myself unable to get away from the rugged coral in time to avoid brushing my legs against it, which felt like sharp knives on my skin. It was also easy to swim out quite far without even realising it and I had visions of popping my head out of the water to see the boat pulling away. That actually did happen to an unfortunate couple in the past, but luckily I made it back to the boat, weary after swimming for two hours, but content that I had just created a pretty amazing memory, and positive that travelling had been worth every single penny.

The boat ride back was hilarious because of Abby. We were sat on one side of a table, facing a young couple. Abby was feeling sea sick and rested her head on the table and stretched her legs out, wrapping them around what she thought was the table leg. She must have been snoozing for over an hour when she sat up, a little mortified and whispered to me that her legs had actually been tightly wrapped around the young man’s leg in front of her. He had been too polite to pull away and had just sat there, probably hoping his girlfriend wouldn’t notice their embrace before very slowly trying to remove his leg from Abby’s grip. We must have laughed for an hour.

Abby if you’re reading this, I miss you, you’re one of the coolest people I know and I hope you are making good use of that hairdryer I sold you for $5.