LIM College

by Nicole Porras

For our mid-semester break from RMIT, we wanted to spend it somewhere warm and relaxing, so we decided to go Cairns, Australia, also known as, the doorway to the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is located in Queensland, a northern state of Australia.

My friends and I had a lot of activities that we wanted to do while in Cairns so we tried to keep the costs as low as we could when it came to the flight and the accommodation.

We flew Tiger Air, but it was definitely not as comfortable as Qantas or Virgin Australia, and we were only allowed one small carry-on bag, but we didn’t expect much given the low price we paid.

The hostel was also a very interesting experience because none of us have ever stayed in one before. Although it was clean and I felt safe staying there, I think for the next trip we will invest in staying in a hotel room.

While we were in Cairns we visited the famous Esplanade Lagoon. (See photo below!) From a distance it looks like an infinity pool, going into the ocean. Although it was a little crowded, it was still beautiful and scenic.

Besides the Lagoon, we did other fun things like snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, riding the Skyrail over the rainforest, taking a tour of the rainforest and learning about the Indigenous people of Australia, and riding the Minjin Swing through the jungle.

I highly recommend snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I even saw little “Nemos” or clown fish to be exact.

It was definitely a city that left me feeling adventurous and in touch with nature. It made me think about wanting to skydive or even go bungee jumping as Cairns is the city known for these types of crazy adventures. But then I remembered I might faint or have a heart attack, and all was right with the world again. We are back home in Melbourne now, safe and sound. Back to Uni life and colder weather!