by Jo Bretherton
After freezing my *** off in Fukushima at Christmas, the prospect of flying to Australia for 2 weeks of sun, fun and good old Aussie hospitality was very appealing.
The plan was to travel up the East Coast from Sydney to Cairns. Flying into Sydney on New Year's Eve wasn't the brightest thing to do. My failed attempt at trying to find us accommodation in town meant that the hotel I'd booked (ok ? the previous morning) was about 20 miles out of Sydney. We didn't realize this until we arrived at the airport and were laughed at by a taxi driver rubbing his hands together in glee. (Moral of the story = if you plan on being in Sydney at New Year, keep in mind that hotels start taking reservations more than a year in advance.)
Anyway, apart from the trek into town, it was a damn good experience. We joined the 1 million other party people and drank, sang, drank, danced, watched a few fireworks, drank and had a wicked New Year. Sydney (even with a hangover) is breathtaking, and is reminiscent of other big harbour cities (it really reminded me of San Francisco) but with the added Aussie charm.
The next few days were spent in Brisbane - surfer central. Hundreds of tanned, toned surfer dudes vying for a bit of wave action. The beaches here are great - seemingly endless and only crowded around Surfers Paradise.
From here, we flew up to the magnificent (and highly recommended - cheers Tam!) Whitsunday Islands. This is a must if you go to Oz. Located approximately half-way between Brisbane and Cairns on the East Coast, it's the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and an island-hopping haven. To stay on the islands themselves is very expensive (and a bit honeymoony), but if you stay on Airlie Beach (literally just a street with hotels, shops and a few pubs and restaurants), you can get to any of the islands easily. Regular shuttle ferries go to and from Airlie Beach (Shute Harbour) to the different islands daily. December and January is peak season and it gets pretty busy, so if you go at this time you should book the ferry at one of the many travel places on Airlie Beach beforehand.
As well as the islands, there are loads of sporty things to do here - sky diving, bungee, water skiing, rafting, and various ? day trips to the islands. We opted for a one-day trip to the Barrier Reef. This was a bit expensive, but well worth it. The Reef is about 60km offshore so it takes a couple of hours to get there. Once on the Reef, you can dive, snorkel, go down onto the Reef in a semi-submersible, sunbathe on a floating platform, basically anything you like. This was the highlight of the trip for me - swimming in a really big tropical fish tank. Awesome. They also provided a pretty impressive buffet style lunch, which was good for post-snorkeling munchies. This can be booked on Airlie Beach, but book a few days before to make sure you get a place.
Before we'd left Japan, we organized a hire car from Airlie up to Cairns. This is an unbelievably cheap way to travel, especially if there are a few of you. (Because of the size of Australia, driving is only an option if you have time and lots of it. If you don't, then flying is the way to go. VirginBlue is a cheap and funny domestic airline that offers some great deals.) Driving in Australia is a world away from driving in Japan, or England for that matter. Even in "big" cities like Cairns, there are so few cars in comparison. Believe it or not, the only real danger is the kangaroos. By far, the best part of the drive was from Cairns to Port Douglas (a smaller, more sophisticated Cairns). The views were stunning. - rainforest on one side and fabulous ocean views on the other. As tempting as it is though, don't stop off for a swim in this season. Deadly box jellyfish are lurking, so you can only swim in netted areas.
As for the wildlife, if you don't come face-to-face with a crocodile in the wild, there are plenty of "zoos" where you can get close to them. Now, while I'm not a big fan of zoos, the one we stopped off at en route to Cairns was a bit different. Most of the animals roam freely ('cept the crocs and some of the more deadly snakes of course). A guide took us to look at some of the smaller crocs and while he was holding one, he seemed more than eager to pass it on to me. Being eyeballed by a three foot croc that I was holding wasn't what I needed after a 5 hour drive, but I obliged.
Reaching Cairns was a bit of a let down. There's not so much to do, but it's a good base for any rainforest action or to get out to the Reef. Bear in mind, this place is also Japanese-tastic, from sushi restaurants to JTB Travel buses. This means that prices are higher than in other areas, and if you're wanting to have a clean break from Japan for a while, this ain't the place to go.
The overall trip was a lot more expensive than I'd imagined, and I've heard it's getting more so. Don't let that put you off though. I'm planning my next trip to kangaroo island, but am now a bit worried about my potential to become a leather-skinned alcoholic.