Cairns (part 1)

Thu 24 Aug 06 26 °C

I haven't been doing much photogenic stuff in Cairns, so there are no photos to upload with this item. I should have some tommorrow, when I pick up my Skydiving DVD (more on this later)...

Sunday (20th)

Bit of a lazy day really,as planned. Had a bit of a wander around, looking for a free WiFi hotspot, but couldn't find one. Cairns is such a techno-desert...

The weather was rather cloudy, but still in the mid 20's.

Sarah rang me in the afternoon, and we arranged to go for some food and a beer in the evening.

Ended up at a place called Rhino bar, which was (I thought) a bit of a dump. Sarah got a free meal, but I paid the extra $5 to get something 'nicer'. It was nicer, but that's not saying too much...

We also had a serious hassle getting a bottle of wine. I'm not going to bore anyone with the details, but it took us 10 minutes at the bar to get the wine we wanted.

Definitely a place to avoid!

Anyhow, Sarah was in a good mood (she always seems to to be) and kept me entertained for the evening. It started raining, so we stayed in the same place, drinking on the balcony 'till 11ish.

I'd had e-mails from James and Sabina, suggesting they would be around Carins the next day, so we arranged to go out when they turned up.

Friend Count : 1

Monday (21st)

Started my day by shopping for a few essentials (a new bag to hold my sleeping bag, some shorts I can swim in, a new book to read).

Had a nice surprise, when Freddy rang me. She was also in Cairns (popular place), so we decided to meet up for a coffee/beer, etc.

I asked if she'd had a good time on the rest of her tour to Darwin (I'd left that tour at Alice). She said the first half was good, but that she hadn't enjoyed the second half so much. "Too much time with the same people", was her reasoning.

It was great to see Freddy, and we had a nice afternoon. Arranged to meet her in the evening, along with Sarah.

Met up with my lovely German friends at 8ish, and wandered into Cairns to find somewhere to eat. James rang me, and arranged to meet up with us, as well. Sadly, no Sabina

Had a nice Italian (meal) and went for a couple of beers with the guys.

Friend Count : 3 (seasonal high)

Tuesday (22nd)

Decided what to do with myself after Brisbane. Instead of going to Perth + the West coast, I've decided to do a quick (two week) dash to New Zealand.

The first thing I do is exchange my Australia only guide book for a combines Oz/NZ book. I figure I need to do a quick read-up before I book any flights, etc.

Got my second nice surprise in 2 days, when I check my e-mails. Sabina has finally got back to Cairns, and is at a loose(ish) end.

As soon as I walk out the internet cafe, I hear someone calling my name ('Richard', for those who've forgotten). When I turn round, I see that it's Michael, from the Melbourne->Alice tour. We have a quick chat, and he say's he'll give me a ring later. It's a small world, we backpackers inhabit.

Sabina and I meet up at the Lagoon (it's a man made beach, on the Esplanade), and spend a couple of hours chatting/sunbathing. Afterwards, we do some shopping, get our hair cut, etc, etc.

Discover that we may be on the same tour from Cairns to Brisbane, on the 30th. Unless there are 2 tours on he same date, it seems pretty likely. I consider this to be very good news (so 3 nice surprises in 2 days).

As we are both getting a bit peckish, we decide to go for dinner. We end up at a really quiet place called "The Yacht Club", which (I think) really is the clubhouse for the local yacht club. The view over the marina is really nice (especially when the sun sets), the food is great and Sabina is lovely company.

After dinner, I help Sabina sort out her trip to Asia (by making a few phone calls for her). She's decided to spend some extra time travelling, and is going to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam - all very adventurous.

Somehow, I can't imagine her in a 9-5 kind of existence...

After lots of messing around, we finally get her trip arranged, and Sabina get's the shuttle bus back to her hostel.

We should both be around on the 29th, so we're going to go for a drink then.

Friend Count : 2 (1.5 + 0.5 - you do the maths)

Wednesday (23rd)

Skydiving day.

I'm even slightly excited (very unusual).

One of the guys in my room snored like a dying whale during the night, so I'm also pretty knackered.

While I'm waiting for the bus to pick me up (at 7am), I bump into Josep, another Alice springs tour veteran. He's actually staying in my hostel. He's going on a 2 day trip, but should be back on the 24th for a few beers.

The skydiving takes place at Mission Beach, about 2 hours drive south of Cairns.

There are 8 of us on the bus, 3 Koreans, 4 Brits, and a Belgian.

Seem like nice people to jump out of a plane with.

When we get to the beach, we're joined by some other jumpers who are staying locally (about 6 of them).

The beach itself is lovely. Quiet and sandy, with a gentle inward curve. This is where we will land.

We are split into groups of 5. I'm in the first group to jump, along with the 3 other Brits, and the Belgian girl.

I'm much happier to be in the first group. Once we're down, we can just laze on the beach while the other guys do their jumps.

Most of us decide to get a DVD of the jump. The guy you're attached to uses a handheld camera to video everything (the terror, the fear, etc).

The 5 of us a driven to a small airstrip, just a few miles away. I'm still not really nervous (although I feel I should be).

We get some training from the pro's about the jump procedure (cross your arms, head back, jump, arch, keep your head back). 'Jump' is such a small word...

The airplane looks like the one from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the one that crashes at the start). I can believe it was used in the 1930's too.

In the plane, we all sit in our pairs, facing the (open) door that we will have to jump through. My pro (Dave) tells me that we will kneel on the edge, and just 'fall out'. I like it - a nice simple plan.

Take off is pretty cool (small airplanes always seem faster than the big ones) and we begin our climb to 14,000ft.

The scenery is fabulous, seen from the plane. There are no clouds today, and visibility is fantastic.

When we reach 4000 feet, it seems really high. This is where the 'chute will be deployed (fingers crossed), and your freefall will end. That means 14,000 to 4,000 feet takes just 60 seconds...

At 10,000 feet it's much colder, and the plane turns onto the final jump heading. Just 5 minutes to go, and I'm still not nervous (honest). The pro guys keep up a banter, which is probably to relax the passengers.

At 12,000 feet we all have to get to our knees, and order ourselves for the the jump. I'll be 3rd.

14,000 feet. The first to go is an English girl. She IS nervous, but you don't really have much choice when you're kneeling at the front of the queue ! With a big 'whoosh', and a blast of cold air, she's out the door and we all shuffle forward.

There isn't really time to think, or worry, as the next guy goes with another 'whoosh'.

Now I'm kneeling at the edge of the door, looking down at the sea 3 miles below me. What a cool view.

"Arms crossed, head back" come the instructions. I drag my view away from the sea, and then we're tumbling out the door.

It's a bit disorientating (I didn't know we'd start with a roll), but we flatten out after just a second.

First thing you notice is the noise. It's basically the same noise as putting your head out of the car window, but much louder.

It's also cold (I'm wearing a T-Shirt, and jeans), and the air 'tastes' slightly ozone like.

Despite what I'm told, I look down, and around. It's more difficult to breath when you do, so I put my head back like I'm supposed to.

It doesn't feel like your travelling at 125mph. There's no reference point to give you a sense of speed, and at terminal velocity you're no longer accelerating. It is a serious buss though.

After what feels like much less than 60 seconds, I'm told to cross my arms again, ready for the 'chute to open.

When this happens, you REALLY feel it (especially in the straps under your groin - ouch), as you decellerate to only 12mph in a couple of seconds.

The wind noise disappears, leaving you in almost silence, and you get your first chance to speak ! I can't remember what I said, but it was probably some random whooping.

The drift to the ground would be very relaxing, if my whole (considerable) weight wasn't resting on my testicles... Good job I don't want to have children.

The view is great from 4,000ft, and you can spend more time admiring it, than in freefall.

Landing 5 minutes later is very smooth, I just pull up my legs when told, and put them down again, when told. And that's it - I'm down.

There's lots of 'Wow', 'F**king awesome', 'Woo hoo' kind of shouting going on. Most of it from me.

5 minutes later on, we're all sat on the beach chatting about the experience. Feels a bit wierd to be doing something so normal. I think it'll take a while for my senses to adjust to normality again!

We spend the afternoon watching the other guys do their jumps, and head back to Cairns, arriving at 6pm.

All in all, a seriously great experience.

Friend Count : -2 (I lost 2 close friends as the parachute opened)

Thursday (24th)

Spent today booking stuff for my little 'sidestep' to NZ.

Booked flights (Brisbane to Auckland on 13th Sept, Christchurch to Sydney on 30th Sept), and accomodation for Brisbane and Auckland.

Still need to book a car for 14 days (I'm going to drive myself around this time), which looks like it'll cost about £300. I might splash out on a nicer car - one place has the new MX-5 for rent ...

Felt lucky, so popped into the Casino to put $300 (about £120) on red. I won