- Goodbye Sydney, Hello Cairns
- First Days in Cairns
- The Great Barrier Reef
- Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation
- Kuranda and Mission Beach
- Dunk Island
- Magnetic Island
- Beautiful Maggie Isle
- Sailing to Whitsundays
- Emu Park & The Keppels
- Town of 1770 & Agnes Water
- Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island
- Noosa
- Brisbane
Day seven; We spent most of our day writing our previous blog post and updating our Instagram. Our plan to visit Westfield Eastgardens shopping center didn’t end up happening. We decided to keep working, make food, watch TV, and eventually go to bed early. Packing up and leaving for our next AirBnB was already on our agenda for tomorrow.
Day eight; Washed, packed, and ready to go, we headed towards Bondi Junction to our new place to stay. After a 30-minute bus ride, we arrived at the center. Thanks to the helpful directions we received through the AirBnB app, we quickly found our AirBnB. Searching for the keys hidden in a mailbox, we climbed the stairs. Upon entering, we quickly noticed that the place was dirty. The kitchen was old and dirty, and the hallway smelled strange. It simply didn’t look appealing. Going further, we entered our room. Inez soon spotted dirt on the floor, and the room didn’t smell fresh either. One clean towel and a presumably used towel were hanging on a coat rack. There was dirt on the floor, and the sheets didn’t look fresh. Inez stood in the bedroom with her backpack still on her back and looked around. She first said, “I’m not staying here!” As quickly as the AirBnB was booked, it was also canceled. We lost 23 euros, but it was better than staying there.
Without a place to stay, we were on the street. During our lunch, we decided to return to the Wake Up hostel in Sydney. We booked 2 nights because we were still waiting for the mail to arrive here. We booked a room with bunk beds to cut costs, which was 50 euros cheaper. Inez felt like she was back on a school trip in the woods and farms. She only missed her dear friends for a nice glass of wine, cozy chats, and hours of fun! 😀 Upon checking in, we checked the mail; our bank cards and tax file number had arrived. Woohoo! A weight was lifted off our shoulders. We could finally book our flight to Cairns.
To maintain our healthy eating habits from home, we went grocery shopping at Woolworths. We tested the hostel kitchen for the first time and quickly prepared a dinner for ourselves. We took care of some administrative tasks in the evening and booked our flight to Cairns. Warmer weather, here we come!
Day nine; Our last day in Sydney. Getting our Medicare card sorted out was essential since we had done almost everything else. We decided to take the ferry to Manly, a more touristy place with a large beach. We took the ferry from Circular Quay. The boats were quite big and took us far beyond the bay of Sydney. We had one last beautiful view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House as we departed. After about fifteen minutes of sailing, we found ourselves in more open waters where the ferry had to maneuver against the waves. We heard an announcement through the speakers that the boat might sway due to the rougher water. Inez remained calm, listening to music, but I occasionally gripped my seat as the boat rocked back and forth. It rocked so much that you could only see water on your left side at times because it tilted quite deeply.
Arriving in Manly, we walked to the beach. We enjoyed the high waves and surfers on the beach. We felt it was time for some food and drinks, so we found a Mexican street food restaurant on the promenade. We had a refreshing Corona and enjoyed the tastiest nachos. It’s still winter, so it’s cold and windy. We quickly took the ferry back to the center of Sydney. We realized that this more adventurous trip was good for us and that we were ready for our real journey.
We took the train back to our hostel. Trains mainly run underground here. In the evening, Inez started worrying about the budget, especially about accommodation. We booked our hop-on/hop-off tickets but still don’t have a place to stay. Hostels are very expensive here, and AirBnBs are not always cheap either. Plus, you’re always living in someone else’s home, which may sometimes make you uncomfortable. It’s just human nature, right? Always longing for what you don’t have at the moment? Sometimes it seems easier to fall back into your normal routine. Work, sleep, weekends, and so on. But we’ve only been here for a week and a half and still need to adjust to everything. Our new life, different eating habits, being more focused on each other. Everything will fall into place. We need to give it more time and not expect too much from day one. Especially Inez 😀 We can communicate well with each other, and that’s very important here.
Day ten: We’re sitting at the domestic airport in Sydney, ready to head to warmer (n)orth. We took the train from our Wake Up hostel, checked in our luggage, and headed toward customs. We quickly finished our drinks because that’s how these things go. We were just about to throw away the remaining drinks when someone suddenly told us it was unnecessary for domestic flights. Grateful we hadn’t thrown away all our drinks, we put them back in our backpacks. The security check went smoothly. You only had to place your laptop separately. Strangely, the rules seem to be less strict here.
We sat down for a moment, had a beer to calm my fear of flying, ate something, and then headed to the gate. The flight was delayed by an hour because the connecting flight from Melbourne didn’t arrive on time. Once on the plane, everything went smoothly. We were given a small snack, had free WiFi, and the weather was beautiful for takeoff and flying. About three hours later, we landed in Cairns. The moment we stepped off the plane, we could feel the significant temperature difference.
Our Airbnb host picked us up at the airport and took us to a neighborhood about seven kilometers from Cairns City. We were warmly welcomed, and everything was spotless and smelled good. Our room was in perfect order. Outside, the temperature was still pleasant at around 9 p.m. We quickly made our plans for the coming days.
We’re looking forward to it. More about it in the next blog post!
X Ely & Inez
I'm convinced that you should do what you love and go for what you want in life. I go through life with a no-nonsense mentality and a passion for travel, blogging, and the digital world. In 2018, I embarked on the journey of my life with my girlfriend, and since then I want to continue traveling and discovering the world.
Slang: Woolworths = Woolies ????
Geniet van het aangenaam en chille Cairns!