We have now been Australia for a few days and Cairns is not exactly what we were expecting!

We made our horrendously early flight from Christchurch and after a hectic transit in Melbourne where we almost didn't get let through to departures, we were back in the air flying along the East coast to Cairns. Whereas the flight from Christchurch was one to forget (the cold of the mountains causing just a bit of turbulence!!) the flight up to Cairns was brilliant as we headed along the coastline with clear blue skies that gave us fantastic views of the Great Barrier Reef as we cruised overhead. Once through arrivals in Cairns we were immediately hit with the heat as we stepped outside to wait for our pick up and almost dissolved!

We knew before we arrived that there is a huge tourism industry here due to the ease of access to the Great Barrier Reef, so we were expecting a fairly big town, if not a small city, but when we arrived we found that the place is so small there are about two streets that seem to house every shop, pub and restaurant and one shopping centre a little way down the road and that is about it. The other big surprise is the beach, or more specifically, the lack of one! Instead there is a man made lagoon (complete with sand) that seems to be a magnet for every backpacker around and there isn't a local in sight!

One thing it does have going for it, is that there are some fantastic deals on activities, accommodation and food due to the intense competition and we got ourselves a nice little hostel just a ten minute walk from the town centre, where we could gradually acclimatise to the tropical heat after the cold of New Zealand.

We have done very little since arriving except for looking for some work and some transport and soaking up the sun! So far we haven't managed to find a car but we have got some work lined up in a remote bush pub about four hours north of Cairns. So tomorrow we are heading off to the Lions Den Hotel for a month, where we hope to earn a few dollars and meet some 'local' folk.