Catching rays in Cairns

We’re currently on the train chugging our way down the coast to Townsville feeling highly relaxed after a brilliant few days in Cairns. After all the hard work in Melbourne it finally feels like a holiday!

After the scuba diving on the reef (Good grief, it's the Reef) we’ve had a lazy couple of days trying to kick start our tans as we both look a bit ghost like at the moment. We’ve been chilling out by the side of the lagoon which is amazing. As there is no real beach in Cairns, more of a mudflat, the city decided to make its own. It’s a cross between an infinity pool and a beach and looks out over the bay. It is a beautiful place to spend the day soaking up the sun.

The hostel swimming pool at the Nomads Serpent was also a nice place to relax, although the sun-loungers were a little worse for wear! We choose to be boring and just paddle but there were nets for both pool and beach volleyball. The hostel was a great place to stay in general with a chilled out atmosphere, and best of all free meals with a $5 drink. The meals weren’t too shabby either, both tasty and filling – what more can you ask for after a busy days relaxing?

It wasn’t all sitting around for us though as we did have a short trip to the Flecker Botanic Gardens and the rainforest boardwalk. The rainforest boardwalk was stunning and very informative as well. You will need about three sets of eyes to do this walk though as, with your gaze attracted toward the heavens, collisions are all too easy. Rach discovered this when she stopped to take a picture and Alex tanked straight into the back of her! The gardens themselves we didn’t find as impressive. What we thought would take at least half an hour to get around just the perimeter only took twenty minutes to see it in its entirety. It is still worth a look though as it is a very tranquil spot.

We’ve loved staying in Cairns and it was a sad walk lugging our backpacks to the train station. We had decided on trains to explore the East coast as it was the cheapest mode of transport and relatively simple. We bought our East Coast Discovery Rail Passes through Queensland Rail for $450.45 each. It means that we can hop and off at any point on the journey down the coast but sadly in one direction only and is valid for six months although we’re only travelling for one month in OZ. We probably should have looked up the timetables before setting out though as it turns out that there is only five trains a week from Cairns to Brisbane. Luckily we aren’t on too tight a schedule and so can plan around this but we wouldn’t recommend trains if you are tight for time as fitting in the sightseeing around the train timetable might prove challenging.

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• Cairns was great although be surprised if you actually meet anyone born there. The centre is very much tourist central with expats and backpackers young and old.

• If Cairns is your first stop you can plan the rest of your journey in Oz (or even in other countries) in one of the seemingly unlimited number of travel agents.

• Remember – you are on holiday. Cairns is a great place to relax as well as do activities, and the Lagoon is a great place to chill.

• Read Rach's reviews of the hostel, the Lagoon, and the Botanic gardens.