CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA

• Distance cycling: 20km
• Snorkeling sites: 3
• Beer drank: 4,8 litres
• Hours slept: 4&#@3& hours

First time ever in a youth hostel of this magnitude. It was great. I was a bit concerned how noisy and vivid it would be, but that turned out to be unnecessary as we had a brilliant time. At check in I saw signs on the wall saying everyone has to be between the ages of 18 and 35 to stay here. Luckily they said nothing of my age, but, man, how old I felt. The first night we sat in the bar while a huge piñata hunt was on and people were shouting and screaming while getting hammered. But it was rather fun. We went to bed every night before 22:00, and woke up around 6-7:00. A bit earlier than the youngsters!

It’s both funny and a thing to be proud of that we can understand about 80% of the conversations going on in this hostel (and pretty much anywhere we travel). Most travellers here speak English, Spanish or German, and as it turns out also Finnish. There are 6 Finnish people in this hostel in addition to us. We have met only one Finnish person since the start of our journey, so you can imagine our amazement when the bartender heard us speak and chipped in, pointing to us all the Finns in the house. 

The youth hostels - or at least this one - are great places because everyone is happy and easy-going, they settle for pretty much anything and no one complains. Here a lot of things are free: bike rental, breakfast, tea and coffee, shuttle to the centre, wifi, towels, etc. And every night they have food on offer, around 3 euros a dish. Also, between 3 and 4 in the afternoon their beer jug (1,2 litres) is 3 euros. So one afternoon we got drunk on our asses, drinking 3 of those between us two, and continued with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and some great Greek food in town. I passed out at 21:00.

We have participated in exercise classes, practiced slack line, relaxed in hammocks in the sun, swam in the pool, played ping pong and cooked in the kitchen. It is a very communal feeling here and everyone is super nice to each other. Imagine a similar situation in a 4 star hotel, where people keep to themselves and there is hardly any activities together. So, we really recommend trying this kind of accommodation, even if you are a bit older. The young ones still talk to you, and at least we did not feel left out or weird.

Anyway, let’s talk about what we came here for: The Great Barrier Reef! The snorkelling was amazing. We boarded a big boat with about 80 people, some of them were there for diving, some for snorkelling and some just enjoying the day on a boat. We did three different sites, put on our lycra suit and goggles, and hopped into the sea. Water temperature was about 23C, which is nice enough, but what made the whole experience cold was the chilly wind getting at you when you’re getting out of the water. A lot of people were sea sick from the bumpy ride to the sites, and the rest were freezing cold after snorkelling. It did not help that inside the boat the AC was on full blast making it colder inside that out. Well, luckily I came prepared, and had brought my woollen socks and merino wool sweater. People were admiring them, and I know it’s not only because they are pretty and I made them, but also jealous as they had none to warm them up.

We saw colourful corals and fish, Kai even saw a turtle and a shark. Of course we have no photos of the underwater life as we had no camera meant for that. It's a pity because it was really rather beautiful! But there were not as many animals as in the Galapgos, where we saw so many rare things, this time it did not feel that special, except for the coral and fish which were magnificent. We also saw a lot of dead coral, and I am not sure why that is, but most likely it is not a good sign.

The rest of our time in Cairns we rented bikes from our hostel and rode around the botanical gardens and Mount Whitfield. Kai tried to swim in the coast nearby but the tide was so low there was only mud.

Now we have invested into a hire car (a lot of money) to be able to drive around the area and see some rainforest. Here the public transport is pretty bad, and you always need a car to explore. For the next 3 days we’ll embark on a road trip hopefully seeing more animals and wildlife.