I feel like I should start from the evening and work my way backwards today. I’m writing this right now from the hostel I chose not to stay in. It was between two places which were about equally distant from the pier where the reef tours took off from. I went with the one that was part of a chain I had stayed at last year in Sydney (Mad Monkey Hostel) and met some great people. Well the Mad Monkey Waterfront here in Cairns fails to live up to the reputation of the last one. It’s antisocial, which I didn’t mind so much last night but tonight I wanted to see what nightlife in Cairns. On the boat, after my final dive, I sat with two boys from Brisbane and a third boy from south Netherlands. The three of them were staying in the same room at the hostel I didn’t choose and, along with three other people on the boat, talked about how it was THE place to stay in Cairns and all the other backpackers recommended it because there’s a nightclub attached to it.
Now I’m no stranger to party hostels, they are sometimes my favorite places in the world. Gilligan’s in Cairns is something else entirely. There isn’t just some pub on the ground floor or a dingy, dive bar or even just a nightclub. As I write this I’m standing beneath a gigantic swamp tree, holding a beer in a plastic schooner glass (what we call a slightly small pint glass back home), and am watching something called pirate bingo being played in what is essentially a massive beer garden that is attached to a proper (indoor) nightclub. It really is something else.
Now back to the beginning again. Don’t worry, the exciting conclusion to the Gilligan’s experience awaits. I made the mistake of starting a new show on Netflix and was so enthralled that I stayed up far too late for my 5:30am alarm. I had to be at the boat by 7:15 and made it with a few minutes to spare. I booked a tour that was considered more “luxury” then usual, and cost $50AUD more. It ended up being well worth the price of admission. While the boat itself (Ocean Freedom) wasn’t really what I would call anything other then pleasantly ordinary, the staff and the breadth of options as well as smaller crowd were great. The best part for me was probably the no shoes rule (since the carpeting is very wet they explained that it causes your feet to slip if you wear shoes) since I hate wearing shoes. Getting to spend the whole day barefoot was amazing. I spent the first part of the boat ride just sitting in one of the few dry parts of the boat’s second level. It had rained while we were in the dock so about half the seats were unsuitable for my currently dry buns. No one really talked much until we got further out to sea and then one of the women (Anne) started talking to another woman (Emma) and eventually I found myself in the conversation as well.
It took some time to reach the reef and it was good at the time because it gave me plenty of time to squeeze myself into the sting suit that I was handed. (I later found out it was voluntary to wear one). A sting suit looks like a slightly thicker version of one of those colored body suits people wear to sporting events sometimes, or like a thin wet suit. The purpose of the garment is to protect the vast majority of your body as well as vital organs from being stung by a deadly jellyfish. Apparently jellyfish kill more people here then sharks or any other marine predator. There is also a jellyfish that is so small that you can’t see it while swimming. These jellyfish don’t kill you but we were told a sting from one would mean we would be in a helicopter back to shore due to the excruciating pain this tiny invisible jellyfish causes. The sting suit was basically like encasing myself and so by the time I got it on there was no getting back out.
The tour included two snorkel spots on the reef and guided tours of the reef. One of the staff basically goes out with you and points out all the different fish and types of flora and fauna. After the first snorkel experience we got to do a glass bottom boat tour of the area before departing for spot two. While about half of us snorkeled the other half alternated between snorkeling and diving. I wanted to do the scuba diving so badly but there is a no flying for 24hrs rule and my 6am flight the next day prevented me from exploring the briney depths to their full depths. Still the first snorkel spot was very cool. I swam and swam and swam, enjoying the warm water and fauna. We swam then sat in the sun then did a glass bottom boat tour of the same area of the reef and then it was back to sitting in the sun. I was in that stinger suit and nothing was gonna her me out of it anytime soon. I envied my boatmates who could easily get their arms out and do the whole legs on, top off thing that you see surfers do all the time. Snacks and then another boat ride later we were at the next part of the reef.
For the second one we had to all climb into the glass bottom boat and they took us out away from the main boat, pushed us out the back, and told us to swim back. This part of the reef was more desolate then the last but held the coveted clown fish and sea turtles. I got to watch as Nemo brushed in the sea anemones and then we followed the two sea turtles around. One of the guides was good enough to dive down and get me some up close video (see Instagram). I was all about swimming around this time, now that I felt more comfortable that the boat wouldn’t leave me behind or something.
As an experience the Great Barrier Reef and the second largest reef that I saw in Roatan, Honduras are each unique in their own way. So much of the Great Barrier Reef was destroyed and it also wasn’t as large or continuous as the other reef I saw. You’d be there swimming along and you see one patch of coral, then nothing but sand for a while before another patch popped up out of nowhere. The fish were pretty diverse and so beautiful to watch. The surf of the Great Barrier Reef is something else though. I don’t know where the waves came from or how they break in the middle of the ocean but there were so many times that my snorkel would fill with water that I just began clearing my tube on every exhale.
By the time we finished two snorkel sessions a group of us had become very friendly. Between the first two I found myself sitting amongst them and welcomed in to the conversation easily. It was Hans from the Netherlands, two mates from Brisbane, Anne and her husband Tom and Emma from the UK. A regular swatch of the world. We talked mostly about traveling around Australia. With the exception of the boys from Brisbane everyone was doing an east coast tour. Apparently it’s the most popular thing to do - go from Cairns to Melbourne or vice versa and catch all the major cities, islands, and tourist areas along the way. It takes about 20-30 days according to the crew that was just wrapping up now. We were all laughing and having a grand time so when the second snorkel was over I was looking forward to picking back up with everyone. I got out of the water and now was met with the task of getting out of the stinger suit. My shoulders were squeezed in so badly that I couldn’t just shimmy out of it and was starting the slow, arduous task of disrobing when one of the Brisbane boys looks at me and then asked if I needed help. I was desperate and would have accepted a knife and bill for the suit if that got me out of it quicker. He hopped out of the booth he was sitting out and came up behind me. In one felt sweep he had the suit off me and I was so thankful. His mate gave him a bit of ribbing about it saying wasn’t he worried that he’d accidentally disrobe too much and he just shrugged and said something I couldn’t hear. I went back to the second level but found it to be uninteresting up there since the Irish girls joined the UK girls in discussion so I put my pants on and went back to join the Brisbane boys and Hans.
The Brisbane boys have been friends for what’s probably been forever. They sat there and told story after story to Hans and I about their misadventures while traveling. The two of them could easily have their own reality story. One boy would start with, do you remember when, and the other would claim that he was wrong. They took turns telling the story, being sure to remind us that their version is the right one even if it conflicts with his mates as to who was to blame for getting them into a situation. I’ve never laughed so much. It was so entertaining that I didn’t mind the water splashing me as we drove back to the harbor.
Back at the dock everyone went their separate ways. I headed back to the hostel, feeling crusty with salt. The tour said one of the amenities was a fresh water shower but there was none to be had on the boat so I was covered with a days worth of dried sea water. Back in the hostel I showered, did laundry so that I wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning my towel and swimsuit once I’m back home, and laid down for a bit. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to sleep before my 6am flight home or go see what Gilligan’s was all about. On the boat all my friends raves about Gilligan’s. It was the other hostel I considered and they talked about how good the bar was there with such fervor and how everyone told them they had to stay there that by 9pm I felt like if I didn’t see this place that I would be missing a huge part of the Cairns experience.
Cairns in general reminds me a bit of Miami Beach, but the rundown poor one that used to be there ages ago. I walked by surf shops and tourist shops and restaurants, just repeated the whole four block experience until I got there. There were a bunch of other people walking too and some hooligan looking groups that I made sure to avoid. The area seemed to get seedier as I got closer to Gilligan’s and I wasn’t really sure what to expect but it was basically like going from gross looking stores to suddenly a state of the art shopping center. Once there I wasn’t sure what to do so I bought a beer and started writing about it because I couldn’t believe where I was.
By 10pm though I was growing bored. The crowd was just a bunch of rowdy tourists, everyone chasing a good time in packs of six. I had turned to leave when I saw a familiar face coming through security. It was the Netherlander, Hans. He said hi and that he was there to look for the Brisbane boys who had left while he overslept his nap by about two hours. I told him I was thinking about leaving and we departed. I did leave, got about half a block away when I thought well my solo room and bed would be nice but maybe I’m missing something good back at Gilligan’s. So I turned around and went back in and took up my position near the tree again. Soon enough Hans showed up and told me he couldn’t find the Brisbane boys then turned to the group of three guys next to us and said, “Hey I seem to have lost my mates. I’m Hans.” And just like that he was part of their group. I’ve never seen a merger like that in all my hostel socializing experiences. He just as quickly brought me in and said, “we met on a reef tour today,” and just like that I found myself spending the next couple hours talking with a developer from DC and a working holiday bloke from the UK.
Once the nightclub started to come alive at about 11pm, Hans abandoned the group for a new one he met while smoking and I abandoned the group to see what the night club was about. The night had reached the point where people were starting to get a bit wild and make moves on the opposite sex. The bar had a wet T-shirt contest for men and women scheduled as well which was an interesting concept. I stayed through it just to see if the club would turn back into a club but the vibe once it was done was borderline creepy, it didn’t help that the ratio of men to women at the bar was very male heavy. I walked back to my hostel and decided that I had had enough and just wanted a couple hours of sleep. I got 3, and then it was back to the airport and back on a plane.
Overall I would say that two days in Cairns was good. I probably could have done up to four and gone to Fraser Island or one of the similar tours but I’m also glad I didn’t stay that long. The city itself is tiny, barely bigger then the beach towns on the Great Ocean Road. The entire city seems to exist for tourists, which was boring to me. I’m glad that I went and seeing the Reef was worth it. I would probably only go back if I wanted to party at Gilligan’s again since I haven’t found anything that massive in my travels yet.
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