Celebrating the New Year in Cairns Was Epic

Eats in Town

I think we did more adventure-based activities in this town and honestly, they did not disappoint. The spots we ate at were high quality foods and larger portions than we, Americans, are used to.

Perrotta’s at the Gallery

My friend ordered the fish tacos, and they were probably more fish than taco. They were HUGE! I opted for my normal gnocchi, because if I’m at an Italian restaurant, you best believe I will order gnocchi pasta. Although, I would prefer white over red sauce, but I’m in it for the experiences… am I right?!

Fresco Juice Bar

We had walked all day and ended up at this plaza of stores and foodie spots. This juice bar made me miss home with the tropical vibes, so I felt like I just had to go. I even ordered a mango shake! T’was very well blended, of course!

Toast Sandwich Bar

It was more a sandwich/ coffee shop type place in my opinion. There were lots of healthy options too! I have this newfound love for beats… it’s really weird. I normally just eat them for Thanksgiving though, so I thought I would explore it again. Here I go with my extra healthy everything sandwich- beats, shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, and diced tomatoes (bottom right). It was actually so so good!

Rattle ‘n Rum

This is one of those places you really think about why they named it that… and I really could not figure it out for the life of me. We ordered all kinds of meats! And it was well worth it. They were also doing happy hour, so it was essentially BOGO on wine. And guess where I was driven to… the sauvignon blanc. I would like to PSA to the world that Liv got me into ordering only this wine if I had a thought about ordering or purchasing wine. So here we are.

Dundee’s

This was one of those places where we just wanted to splurge on ourselves and have a cute girls night! Ari and I met our people on the trip, and until this day, we still have mini zoom reunions.

Emma wanted to go to Dundee’s, so we did! It was right on the boardwalk, and we apparently needed reservations to sit. There happened to be a table outside, but the hosts warned us potential rain, so took the chance.

It rained. We were a bit soaked.

But we were champs and still wined and dined! Rain couldn’t stop us!!!

Note: just make a reservation if you want to eat here. I’m sure the inside was better anyway… We just have a story to tell later.

Churro Time

You need to stop what you’re doing and visit this stop by all means. These churros were freaking AMAZING! The caramel dip, *chef’s kiss* and just the overall yummy goodness were worth sharing. It was the perfect combo of everything we needed post-dinner.

Note: I know Live, Emma, and Ari are probably going to kill me when they see this being published, but I just had to!

Other eats I’d do:

• Villa Romana Trattoria
• Evo Burger

It’s the Adventures for Me

Crystal Cascades

Crystal Cascades is one of the secrets of Tropical North Queensland. A secluded freshwater swimming hole hidden in a tropical rainforest, it has a series of small waterfalls that flow into large pools. Park facilities include electric BBQs, picnic tables and a toilet block.

Explore this 1.9-mile out-and-back trail near Cairns, Queensland. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 57 min to complete. This is a very popular area for hiking, running, and walking, so you’ll likely encounter other people while exploring.

Cairns Regional Council

Port Douglas & Mossman Gorge

We experienced this Australian national park through the eyes of the aboriginal population: the Kuku Yulanji tribe. We passed the pipe with our aboriginal hosts and accepted the smoking ceremony, as per tradition. We learned lots about their tribe!!

Fun facts we learned:

• The rainforest is their pharmacy, university, living space
• There aren’t any crocodiles up there, so we’re safe
• Smoking ceremony is connected to him (our tour guide) and the forest
• The man-made tent takes boys/ young men 2-3 weeks to build and elders only 1 ½ weeks
• Charcoal is used for teeth whitening, while the yellow or orange clay is used for mosquito repellant
• Women use this green sarsaparilla plant to heal. There are only about 350 species in the world to help that pain and swelling
• Afterlife tree is featured in the Avatar movie (the blue people, not Ang) as the glowing tree
  • Where tribes take their people once they’ve passed on and wrap them with the green leaves to make sure they’re in the afterlife properly
• Fungi color codes as bioluminescent where they want what path to take while hunting, just walking, etc
• Punishment for men- hit collar bones with the wooden panel, and for women- banish from tribe
• There are four different kinds of cedar trees in the forest and they’re each about 200 years old

PS Bring bug spray to help with the little critters. I’m allergic to mosquitoes, so you know that’s always wonderful in the great outdoors.

We went into the Great Barrier Reef not knowing what to expect. They took us on a ferry to reach our destination. While I thought it was smart to go into the sun all day with a halter top bathing suit and two french braids, I was SO wrong. I got a major tan… even though we had the stinger suits on. But thankfully, it was the beginning of the trip, so I had time to even out my tan later on. And we got major crispy on our heads, so we were battling dandruff from our heads for a good portion of the trip because our scalp was SO burnt. I definitely recommend adding sunscreen to your scalp if you’re going in braids and just wear lots of sunblock in general. There’s also a sunscreen that’s reef safe, so I would look into that if that’s the excursion you want to go on. Next time- ponytail please!

Also, to give perspective on stinger suit sizes- we didn’t have google to figure out what kg meant in lbs. So I am a size 4 in the stinger suit and I’m 5’9″, and my normal shoe size 9 in my duck feet, aka fins for snorkeling. And the goggles were for half your face. Just make sure you grab the child or adult, depending on your face size. Most probably adult for all adults.

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

the world’s largest collection of coral reefs

Cairns was so much fun! Because of the snorkeling we were able to do as an excursion, I think this was definitely one of my favorite cities in the whole trip. The excursion wasn’t really worth it for $35 AUD, since the only “extra” part we got to do was swim away from the lines with a marine biologist and learn about the fish/ coral life. Everyone else snorkeled anyway and got sun burnt.

Why don’t you join me in the next cities: Townsville & Airlie Beach? Sea you there!

PS We stayed at Ramada by Wyndham Cairns City Centre | 6/12 Florence St, Cairns City QLD 4870, Australia

*EF is a travel group that plans trips all over the world. I’ve gone on a few trips with their groups in my lifetime because it’s a fun way of traveling with likeminded people around your age group, meeting travelers nationwide, and you don’t have to plan anything! I got to know so many tour directors and have made so many memories, that they gave me the opportunity to become an EF Ambassador. I even get to give you a special link as a first time traveler to get $100 per traveler you and your buddies go on! Just tap away here and find a trip that’s right for you. And if you have any questions, as always, let me know!