It feels like ages since I last wrote to everyone out there, excited about my big move to Cairns. So much has happened it really feels like I've been here for months already.
I landed in Cairns on the Monday night at midnight and after an extremely brief job hunt was hired the next day as hostel bus driver for Travellers Oasis. Take a look on Hostelworld.com and check it out. It is generally considered the best hostel in Cairns and I'm very proud. My job however has more to it than you would expect. In between driving jobs, which only take up a small amount of time, I role is to be the hostels Domestic Goddess. In an extremely emasculating way I wake up every morning and assess the weather to determine if its going to be a good "drying day". The result of which has a surprisingly large effect on both my mood and workload for the day. I work hard (7am - 8.30pm, usually) and play hard (8.30pm - 3.30, occaisionally) but the lifestyle is great. Every day a fresh batch of travelers are shipped in and there's more people to meet. You always get the odd nutter amongst them as well which adds to the excitement. The sad times do come though (yesterday) when goodbyes must be said. I get way to close with the guests and then have to see them disappear into the sunset on their own adventures. But its certainly worth it
On the brighter side of things I do actually get a full day off a week and two short days. My full days off have been packed full of new experiences. Week 1 and I went to the Great Barrier Reef on one of the best reef tour operators in Cairns. It was a unique experience. After hyperventilating twice when getting used to the breathing apparatus, I was away in an underwater fantasy land with bright blue "Christmas Tree Worms" the slightly eerie "Garden Eels" and a plethora of bright colours. I was fortunate enough to see a black tip reef shark resting on the sea bed, saw Nemo (Clownfish), and even petted a turtle's shell. For my second week I headed off to the Atherton Table lands and saw some on the oldest rain forest in the world. Here we slid down cascades of granite rocks into the water below (some chap decided wearing shorts was restricting his experience of this which was unpleasant for the rest of us). We also went to a waterfall that all of you will certainly have seen. It was the one used for Peter Andre's
Mysterious Girl music video. Those of you that were in a coma in the 90's may have missed it but fear not, you will also have seen it in the
Herbal Essences advert on British TV. It the one when the girl flicks here hair back. So naturally everyone had to do the same and photo's will follow.
I think that's quite enough for now. Tomorrow is back to the reef and Saturday I'm taking a rather pleasant plane flight over Cairns. And then jumping out of it. At 14000 feet. Its just how to say goodbye to another character in hostel life. A nutcase Dane who's enthusiasm for drinking games boarders on obsession.
For now,
Steve x x
