The Road to Becoming OZ Experienced – Cairns from Mission Beach

Photojournalist David Savage travels Australia on the OZ Experience…

On the Bus…
The OZ Experience bus, on the way to Cairns, stops at the Johnston River Crocodile Farm near Innisfail. Remember this is a farm, not a zoo. The Croc’s here are kept to either produce young or until they are big enough to be skinned for someone’s warped vanity. So there is a moral issue. Most backpackers choose to pay the entrance fee just to get a look at a Croc close up. There are other places to see Croc’s, and there are places you can see them in the wild. Having seen the size of the pens these wild animals spend their time in, I was pretty unimpressed.

One more stop before we hit Cairns. The famous AJ Hacket Bungy Jump, (07 4057 7188). Bungy jump, the thought of it makes me quiver… not for me… no way. However, it is undoubtedly a rush and something you’ll never forget doing. AJ Hacket are a well established company with a great safety record. They offer OZ Experience passengers a great deal, if five or more passengers are up for a jump, they give a serious discount.

Cairns

White Water Rafting

Northern Queensland is home to the Tully River and some of Australia’s most furious rapids. I decided it was time to get my first experience of white water rafting with the adrenaline sports company Raging Thunder (07 4030 7900). After a hard night at the Woolshed in Cairns, the Raging Thunder bus collected us from our hostels before beginning the two-hour drive to the river. As an alternative, Backpacker’s can be picked up from hostels in Mission Beach, which is only 20 minutes away from the river.

On the bus journey there we were shadowed by a low flying helicopter; a cameraman hanging from the side shooting the company’s new promotional video. Some nice English lads at the back of the bus thought they’d ‘turn it on‘ to try and get their fifteen minutes of fame on television. As two of them pressed their bare buttocks against the window, the helicopter zoomed in for a close up and then quickly pulled away.

The Raging Thunder package includes breakfast at their very own café. Once we arrived at our entry point to the river we were issued paddle, life jacket and helmet, each coming in one colour only. Fortunately my red helmet complimented my blue eyes and I was set for action.

In the raft we were given a short briefing “Lean left, lean right, get down, forward paddle, back paddle… Er what else…if you fall out, float down the rapids praying with your feet first and, should we flip the raft and get caught in the cycle and fury of a grade four rapid… COOL!”

We were off and our first grade four rapid was called the ‘Alarm Clock’, aptly named because if I wasn’t awake before, I was now. My raft consisted of myself, a German girl and the nice English lads from the bus. We were the noisiest on the river, the first to start the water fights between rafts and the first to wipe out big time. We also thought we’d try and board another raft and evict the occupants. We tried one raft and got beaten back. We then tried a raft full of girls thinking they would be an easier target. We got beaten back not expecting to be greeted with clenched fists.

Just before lunch and more than a handful of rapids later our guide told us we were coming up to a most exhilarating rapid called ‘Coming Home Sweet Jesus’. Not to be confused with another rapid called ‘Sweet Jesus I’m coming‘. I’ll leave out a cheap pun about how we handled that rapid and just say that afterwards we were ready for our lunch that turned out to be pretty damn tasty.

The day ended with a light feast back at the Raging Thunder café where we saw the video and photo’s that were shot earlier on the river. White water rafting is a full day and will be a highlight of anyone’s trip. Raging Thunder is a first rate company and the guides make the experience incredible fun.

Scuba Diving
Diving in Cairns is big business and the competition is fierce. Therefore, prices are very competitive. I went on a one-day trip to the Great Barrier Reef with CDC, (Cairns Diving Company). The day began by meeting the boat at the wharf. The boat is a purpose built dive boat and the trip to the reef took a mere two hours. All the gear is set up for you so, as certified diver, all I had to do was don my wetsuit and put my BCD on.

The group onboard were a mix of certified divers and trainee divers. CDC offer a range of dive courses from BASIC PADI to INSTRUCTOR PADI, they also told me they put more people through their courses than any other dive company in the world. That doesn’t mean you don’t get a personal service. The courses are run on a low student to teacher ratio.

My buddy for the day was Mark, a student with CDC on his Instructor Development Course. Mark was also a Royal Marine Diver (British Army) and over the last eight years he has dived in different parts of the world doing this and that… Top Secret. I could tell, but then I’d have to kill you! However, Mark had never before dived on a Coral Reef before. We kited up. I put on a standard BDC, First Stage, Occy and Weight Belt rig and Mark put on his own hi-tech equipment – they obviously pay Royal Marines far too much money – which included an extra big knife that would cut through wire, mesh and even microwave a jacket potato for you.

We took the plunge twice that day on two parts of the reef. The Great Barrier Reef is, as I have seen exclaimed on a T-shirt, ‘The World’s Largest Living Thing’. I have written about diving a few times before yet I still can’t find the exact words to explain just how amazing the world below the waves is. The GBR has to one of the best things in Australia to go and see, once you have seen it you’ll know what I mean. If you’re like me, diving will change your whole perception of the planet.

Accommodation
There are many hostels in Cairns to choose from. I stayed at Calypso’s, (1800 815 628), which is one of the best value hostels I stayed with on the East Coast. The hostel has good internet facilities as well as an outdoor pool, pool tables and a bar. The hostel also lays on food each night, normally all you can eat for $5, sometimes it’s even free!

Staying On…
There is much to do in Cairns. Cape Tribulation is pretty high up on most Backpackers ‘to do’ list, no wonder, the natural rainforest up there is said to be some of the best in the country.

There is also an opportunity for Backpackers to get acquainted with Aboriginal Culture at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park (07 4042 9999). Don’t forget that before Europeans arrived in Australia, there are some 135,000 years of Aboriginal culture to consider. There is an ancient Australia that lies beneath the Australia that everyone sees, and it is there for anyone who wishes to delve.

Australian Saying
“Not worth two squirts of goat’s piss” – Not worth much at all.

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