Kat and I were up at 5:30 this morning so she could drive me to Brisbane airport for my flight to Cairns. This time I flew with Jetstar, which is the Australian equivalent of EasyJet or Ryan Air – and definitely a much better experience than both!

After checking into my hostel I went for a walk around Cairns. It is a small modern city in the state of Queensland, and the most northern point of my journey before I start heading back down towards Melbourne. A few hours was sufficient to walk around most of the city, with the main highlight being the marina and nearby lagoon. Although there are relatively few points of interest, it is a good base for exploring the surrounding area female viagra jelly of tropical rain forest. It also has the best access to the Great Barrier Reef, which is why I’m here!

In the evening I spent some time looking around the night markets, and experienced one of the frequent tropical storms they have in this part of Australia. After doing my best to dry off, I went to ‘Reef Teach’ which is a two hour presentation by a marine biologist explaining the large variety of fish and coral life that can be found on the reef. The Great Barrier Reef is around the size of the UK and is the only living organism that can be seen from space. It was particularly interesting to hear how the coral grows and recovers from damage caused by cyclones etc, but yet is so finely balanced that overfishing of just one type of fish can have a devastating effect. Perhaps the most important part though was the description of things to avoid – the most dangerous being the Box Jelly Fish, which is thought to be the most venomous animal in the world.

Tomorrow is another very early start – I’m off to see the reef up close!