inside

page 6-7 Festival CairnsColour, music, entertainment, all throughout themonth of August- what a time to enjoy Cairns.

AUGUST 2010

4

6

10

21

18

26

39

50

56

58

66

74

76

Hola mi amigo! You made it all the way to the top. Well done, now enjoy yourself.

Cairns Festival 20th August - 5th September Fun, music,food, entertainment, street party.

Itʼs on againThe 2010 timeOut Day in the Park

Special Feature: We chat with fellow adventurer Kyle Wilson about his travels.

DJ Marz- Marcelo. We catch up with this travelling Dj inKuranda.

The Great Barrier Reef100% of travellers to North Queensland, come her e for the8th wonder of the world, The Gr eat Barrier Reef.

MAPS We got regional maps, city maps, suburb maps andreal up close maps! So you won’ t get lost and you will be ableto find local businesses too.

Party Town: All the pubs and Clubs and a quick rundown oneach so you know what to expect.

Taxback.com: Kate gives us some tips on getting some mone y back.

Eating Out: Meal Deals, Al a carte restaurants, pub food,breakfast, pizza and cafes are all abundant in Cairns.

Adventure Capital of Australia: Mild, wild, adrenalin pumpinand downright scary things to do in Cair ns, notoriously knownas the Adventure Capital of Australia.

Water Holes: Christina checks out some water holes andpoints you in the right direction both fresh and salt water.

Local SightseeingHeading North to Cape Tribulation or South to Airlie.

Contact:Shop 7, 84 Lake Street

Telephone: 07 4041 6981 Facsimile: 07 4041 6889 art@cbxmagazine.com.au

© Cairns Backpacker Xpress Pty Ltd 2010

page 74 serene waterholes around the region 3

Hello happy little travelbugs.The tropics offer some really unique andbeautiful highlights. The heritage listedrainforest creeps right down to the beachfringe; sporadic bursts of heavy rains fill thecreeks with fresh flowing water; bizarrelooking creatures inhabit the lush greenery;and the reef - our cherry on the cake so tospeak.These incredible natural gifts come with thegreat need for respect. Now without usingscare tactics on you I want to focus on themore preventative measures to ensure youkeep yourself safe but very aware of realdangers.Firstly, box jellyfish season starts aroundoctober and lasts until April, but sometimesjellyfish are found outside these times, so ifyou want to swim in the ocean stay in thenets or wear sufficient stinger suit coverings.If you are stung domestic vinegar should beapplied liberally over the tentacles which canthen be removed.Swimming at the creek is an experience Iwould encourage here in North Queensland,we have some stunning spots. However, donot dive into water that you do not know thelandscape of, it could be deceivingly shallow,

hiding rocks or logs. Fast running water likeheavy waterfalls can easily trap you underand lodge your limbs into inescapable rockscrevices. Sadly it does happen, but let'shope, not to you.We are home to some pre historic ancestors,crocodiles. They do inhabit the coastal areasin rivers, swamps, mangroves and estrays.They can also be forced out to sea bydominant crocodiles and move around thecoast in search of river systems. A crocodilecan lay submerged for hours and the lack ofwarning signs does not guarantee safeswimming (the signs often get stolen formemorabilia). Don't stand near the edge ofestrays and rivers where crocodiles could belurking, they will defend their territory andattack you. If you do find yourself in acrocodile roll, find it's eyes and poke themout.Two other preventatives that are easy yetsuper efficient are sunscreen and mozzierepellant. It sounds so simple but issomething we sometimes forget to do.Ok, enough serious talk - its time to get silly!Cairns Winter Solstice Celebration andSustainable Lifestyle Gathering is an outdoorart and music festival of the Australianculture, something that locals look forward toevery year. There will be hundreds of acts,

performances,healers, artists, musicians andDJ's over four days and three nights in therugged beauty of the Atherton Tablelands.This will commence June 18th - 21st.Cairns Ukelele Festival starts on the 26thJune with an art exhibition followed by aMake your Own Ukelele Course starting on28th June. On the 2nd July Great Adventuresis hosting a Ukelele Island gig and thefollowing day 3rd July there is Ukelele maniaon the Esplanade. On the 4th July head tothe Tanks in Edge hill for markets,performances and workshops.

So with you well informed, I hope your stay isan enjoyable and ultimately a safe one.

4

Jolene

welcome

5

6

7

8

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

9

10

EventGet ready for the biggest and best music

festival of the Cairns music calendar!

On Saturday, August 14, timeOUT Day In

The Park will again take over Fogarty

Park on the Esplanade to deliver 10,000

punters 10 hours of Australiaʼs hottest

live music and DJs over two massive

stages.To celebrate the five-year birthday of Cairnsʼ

biggest and best-loved live music event, the

timeOUT team have taken it up a notch and

announced an unprecedented line up.

Hosted by celebrity MCs Fuzzy Agolley and

Dylan Lewis, the 2010 festival is headlined

by some of the biggest names in Australian

music including Bliss N Eso, The Butterfly

Effect, Lisa Mitchell, Gyroscope, Art vs

Science, Bag Raiders, Minx, Suspekt, New

World Audio, Shamroxx & Dex Moʼ, Jeremy

J, a spectacular Stomp The Nard dance

showcase and more!

To cater for so many big acts, timeOUT Day

In The Park is introducing a brand new

stage. So no matter what your taste, you

can join in the festivities at two big stages -

The Playground and the brand new Sunset

Soundsystem.

But thatʼs not all! In keeping with the new

theme, the timeOUT team are injecting more

life into proceedings with hot music, prizes

and giveaways, an enormous breakdancing

showcase, plus fun and games and all the

trimmings youʼd expect from a high calibre

music festival.

For ticketing information and the latest

updates, news, interviews and goss on this

yearʼs timeOUT Day In The Park, check out

cairns.com.au/timeout

Who: Bliss N Eso, The Butterfly Effect, Lisa

Mitchell, Gyroscope, Art vs Science, Bag

Raiders, Minx, Suspekt, New World Audio,

Shamroxx & Dex Moʼ, Jeremy J, Fuzzy

Agolley, Dylan Lewis, Stomp The Nard

showcase and a whole lot more!

What: timeOUT Day In The Park

Where: Fogarty Park on the Cairns

EsplanadeWhen: Saturday, August 14 2010

2010 timeOUT DAY IN THE PARK

11

Up

co

min

g E

ven

ts

12

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

13

14

15

16

Re

nt o

r Bu

y- Gre

at w

ay to

see

Au

stralia

17

18

Travellers tale...

Marcelo DJ Marz

19

C: How long have you been in Cairns?

M: I’ve been in Cairns this time for a week. But this is not thefirst time. It is my third time up in Cairns. The first time was in2008 when I got a random job, which I was not exactlyqualified for. It took me away from Sydney, where I was basedfor two of the ten years I’ve lived in this country . I started to bea labourer for this five star resort on Fitzroy island. Turned outit would’ve been a two month job and I would have just beenliving in Cairns for a bit and then going. But then it ended upbeing a one year thing, where I lived on the island in whichtwice every week I’d come to the mainland to experience thebeauty of this place and the civilized stuf f.

C: What are you doing here in Cairns this time?

M: This time I’m here to play music. Actually not just that,usually I try to get through music to be able to connect to thepeople and what I love. And this is why I am here this time. Itwas Winter Solstice Festival first, which I’ve played for the lastthree years. This year I have got the chance to play at theKuranda Roots Festival, so I’m staying a bit longer . Before Ihead back to my home town which is Mullumbimby.

C: How old were you on your first journey away from home

and where is home?

M: My real home country is Brazil, where I was born and livedfor the first thirteen years of my life. I left when I was thirteenand I moved to America for about three months in San Diego.That is where I first learnt to speak English and it was my firstexperience abroad. I was really young and that was goodbecause when I went back to Brazil, I kind of started realizing I

didn’t want to be in one place. Even though I had my culturalconnections there and everything. I felt like I needed somethingelse out there and I needed to know what I saw in othercultures. I was very young though and what I did, I wouldn’ tregret but I would’ve done it dif ferently.. but I pretty muchbecame a little rebel so that I couldn’ t be seen as acceptable inwhere I was. I would be chosen to be taken somewhere else.That’s the way that happened subconsciously back then. Sothen my mother decided to send me to England when I wasabout fifteen. After I started a fair bit of trouble in Brazil.Cause my mother thought ‘he’s either going to fix himself andlearn or just come back’. She saw a bit of a dif ference when Icame back from when I was thirteen. So then, after convincingmy father I went again at fifteen to live in a foreign country . Ilearnt more English and most things about life that I knowtoday. That’s actually the year that changed my life the most.So I lived there for one year after doing a few things likegetting introduced into the music life. After that I thoughtmaybe I have to go home. Which I did and then I was like“F#%* I can’t really stay here right now”, the time in Brazilwas really hard, family and everything then. So I saved myown money then and for the first time I made my own trip. Iwent to work and live in Spain when I was seventeen. InBarcelona, I was based for seven and a half months. I learnt theSpanish language, my third language. After I came back fromSpain to Brazil, a year later I decided I needed to go elsewhere.I arranged another trip, at first it was going to be a surfing tripto a nice place which I always dreamed about, Australia. With abit of help from my family as well, they helped me out to gethere and for the first six months. In which after that I decided Icould take further studies here and not just the language. Since

by Chr is t ina Rober ts

20

I’d stopped school and wasn’t studying at all, except forstudying life and traveling. After six months in Australia,doing my thing, surfing and adapting to the culture; Iconvinced my family to move here. And the four of therest of my family came to Australia. They sold everythingthey had there and moved here, so we got a house inBrisbane and we start living a new life as a family in adifferent country. In order to stay in the country we had tostart a business, so we started a cof fee shop for like threeyears. That gave us residency and after that there was a bitof an unfortunate event where my parents got divorcedhere. My father had to go back to Brazil and he had astroke and almost died so he couldn’ t come back toAustralia. I was about eighteen then. I had to take over thebusiness with my brother so that it wouldn’ t go bankrupt.My mother was here too but she wasn’ t capable of helpingout cause she wasn’t used to the language like we were. Itall f#%*ed up a bit in Australia, cause in Brazil we’re veryfamily oriented and pretty much nothing without family .That was a pretty shocking experience but at least we gotwhat we wanted to, living here… That’s kind of sadactually. Since then I got into the music, my brother gotinto this, my sister got into that. We all live in differentplaces and it’s a pretty happy life nowadays.

C: What do you get out of your travels?

M: The cultural baggage is more what I’m about. Knowingdifferent cultures and seeing where they come from andtheir history. It helps me see my history in a way as well.Teaches me how I should act. As well as being connectedto nature, there are some places where you can get..tropical or sub-tropical. I like to connect a bit with each ofthose when I’m out there and see how the land has taken

part of how the people are. Culture could be a social natureside of things. What else? Basically the people! I findmyself traveling to places where I feel more accepted totalk to people, connect, be more af fectionate and friendly.A lot of eye contact. A lot of places are weird, people don’ teven look at you and you don’ t feel like you should bethere if you can’t communicate to the people, not just theland. That’s the two main things, the people and the land.

C: What have you learnt in your travels?

M: I’ve learnt that life is too precious to regret the thingsyou do and that you should really love everyone andeverything as much as you can. In every way embrace andhelp the communities that are around you. Try andperceive clearly what your perspective is to the situationyou are in and don’t distort you’re perception and others aswell because if you’re carrying a bad ener gy around youthat will pass to other people. That’s not what you want.All that you do here comes back to you so just try toconnect to the cosmos.

C: Where to from here?

M: From Cairns to Kuranda next! Within the next hour!Then back home Mullumbimby. From there I don’t know,I’ve been moving for the past eight years I think. I’mfeeling a bit like a nomad. Everything I’ve seemed to havedone so far unplanned has seemed to work out better thanthe planned ones. Plus you get less disappointed if youhaven’t planned it and it goes wrong. You’re like “alrightsweet didn’t plan that shit anyway”.

C: Is there anything you’d like to add?

M: Mostly, take care of creation.

Travellers tale continued...

Marcelo DJ Marz

21

C: How long have you been in cairns/

QLD?

K: I’ve been in cairns since December. Ireturned from my travels on December the2nd. So five or six months.

C: Where did you travel?

K: I started in England, then went to italy ,Switzerland, became an illegal immigrant, gotsent back to England went to Ireland, Turkey,Iraq, Seria, France and Germany. But I wentback and forth between these countries.

C: How long were you away from Australia

traveling?

K: I was away for eleven months and I leftwith $3500. So basically I left January the30th 2009 at eighteen years hold. I didn’ tknow where I was staying or what I wasdoing. I was basically preparing to be ahomeless person, just for a social experimentfor myself. To kind of see who I am.Throughout it I ended up accumulating cashor people would just end up allowing me intotheir homes. Basically I just lived of fpositivity. I’d wake up every morning and justsay “you know what today somethingawesome is going to happen”. It’s reallymagical. I met a lot of beautiful people whotook me in. There were people who just sawme on the street and just of fer me a steak. Ilived in Venice for three weeks because thisuniversity teacher saw me sleeping on thestairs which was really uncomfortable! So(laughs) basically I just went around theworld and let life take me into the directionthat it wanted to. I had no particular route butI just knew that postivity would just get me tothe places I wanted to be. Sometimes it wasreally really tough, but it was definitely worthit. I think it was the most amazing trip of mylife. I was born again.

C: Wow that’s amazing, what were your

favourite places?

K: This is one of the hardest questions in theworld for me at the moment but Cappadocia,Central Turkey. I lived in caves for two weeks

or something. It was amazing. I was huntedby wild dogs, I ended up living in ancientruins. I found old churches like way of f thetourist trail. It was amazingly unbelievable.But definitely Cappadocia. It’s a great spottoo if you want to stay in a hostel, but that’ sboring.

C: Yeah, when you could be sleeping on

stairs at a university!

K: Yeah! Actually funny story; I’ll start withRome. For the first four days of Rome I sleptin a bush and then I found a girlfriend. Andshe happened to be incredibly financiallycomfortable. Her mum is a judge and her dadowns the Perroni Beer, which is one of thebiggest beers in Europe. (laughs) It was crazy .So I lived with her and her family . But mybush! I loved my bush! It was beautiful, Ibecame pretty insane actually. So Romedefinitely and after my bush I met thisTurkish girl. I was back in my bush and I metthis Turkish girl and I gave her some tea as apresent from a friend who knew her. I endedup at her university that night and for a weekafter that I was pretending to be a universitystudent at the most expensive university and itwas amazing, the parties were unbelievable. Ihad free food and I had my own littleuniversity card. (laughs)

C: How did you get that?

K: A friend gave it to me there was no photoon it. It was okay. That was pretty amazing.Then I was an illegal immigrant because Iloved Italy so much and stayed there for toolong. Kind of deported myself back toEngland but they knew about it so I wasdetained for five hours. I almost lost all of mystuff and this was after I’d been robbed $5000worth of production gear cause I was filmingthe trip. Now I’m writing a book about it. Butbasically I was detained and they didbackground checks on me. They came back tome and said “look Kyle we’ve stamped yourpassport and we’re giving you six monthswith no visa in the united kingdom which wasa lot more than the ninety day that I amallowed, so I ended up a present from them?”

I ended up cuddling them. It was pretty nice.That was at Gatwick airport. Another place isGalway, in Ireland that is an amazing place.Absolutely beautiful it’s a backpackers dream,its culture there is young kids playing musicon the street.

C: What are you doing at the moment?

K: I’m studying at James Cook University.Doing a bachelor of creative industries. Thatinvolves digital, graphic, design photographyand business too. My travels are on hold for avery short time. I’ll be of f again next year asa student. Half as a homeless person half as astudent.

C: Where to from here?

K: So the whole idea is to build up a portfolioin Cairns. Make this my home base inAustralia as an artist and start filming adocumentary in august. After that I amplanning a trip and filming it to Afghanistan,Seria, Turkey, Spain, Norway, all ofScandinavia, Ireland and again England. I’dlike to do the eastern Europe too. The reasonwhy I went to Iraq previously was verysituational but because I fell in love with theculture and the people were so kind to me. Ithought “hey, you know what, I just want toknow what its like and how the mentality is”.

What is it you want to receive from your

travels?

K: The first travel was seriously about selfdiscovery, it was really about “what can I do,when I’ve stripped everything that I’ve beeninfluenced by?” Materialistically, evenmorally, just everything and just be human. Ina sense kind of loose your mind but then kindof build yourself back up again to kind ofcreate your core. That was the biggest thing.This time around I will be going as an artistto create art work for people to share, enjoy ,experience and eventually in a few years timeI plan to film an interactive and collaborative,basically direct me into the ways I shouldgo… I don’t know I might be wearing a pinkhat in the amazon. It should be cool.

Kyle Wilson.

Travellers tale...

22

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

23

24

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

25

Th

e G

rea

t Ba

rrier R

ee

f

26

For quite a long time I’ve longed to become a

certified scuba diver and finally, I have got my

internationally recognized open water dive certification.

It was pretty physically and mentally demanding, but truly

amazing! I loved and enjoyed it all so much that when it all

came to an end, the next morning I felt something similar

to separation anxiety! Nobody warned me that after being

underwater and out at sea for a few days I’d feel the

shock of how bland being on land is. I did the five-day

open water dive course which included; two days of theory

and learning in the pool, and three days of living on the

boat out at the great barrier reef on a great big

catamaran. Sounds amazing doesn’t it?

I really lucked out by choosing to go formy open water dive certificate with Deep SeaDivers Den. I purely chose it because I lovesleeping under the stars out at sea, and Ithought a night dive would be awesome,considering more sharks come out at night;and a course that incorporated this washands down the winner. Little did I knowwhat I was really in for! Deep Sea Divers Denis a highly recognized five and a half starPADI dive course company and mostimportantly my dive instructor, Oli, was ace athis job!

He was very safety conscious and unlikesome other dive instructors or masters, hegave us a lot of bottom time (durationunderwater). DAY 1: I was required to do mydive medical to see if I was physicallycapable of diving. The entire class passedtheir dive medical and then the theory kickedoff. We all needed to purchase a thick textbook, which gave me the impression of nofun, at least for a few days. But I was wrong!

Everything important in text was explainedin a dive video that we watched in class. Atthe end of every chapter Oli went over thetext book questions and elaboratelyexplained the answers so we could allcompletely understand. The most importantthing to remember is to never hold yourbreath!

Next was pool school. We had to treadwater for 10 minutes and swim 200 metres. Itfelt like forever. After proving we could swim,we were introduced to the diving gear: - BCD(Buoyancy Control Device, jacket)

- Tank (air supply) - Regulator First Stage(reduces cylinder pressure to intermediatepressure) -Second stage/Regulators (sourseof air)- Computer (depth gauge and timer,calculates a safe ascent rate to avoid gettingdecompression sickness)- Wet suit (avoidsloosing body heat, helps buoyancy, feelssausage like)- Weights, snorkel and mask.

We were taught how to assemble andarrange all of the dive equipment. When wehad all our gear together, we put it on, didbuddy checks, deflated our BCDs, sunk intothe water and practiced breathing. Olidemonstrated how to get water out of ourmasks. He did this by filling his mask withwater, tilting his head up to the surface,pressing his fingers against the top of hismask and blowing air out of his nose. One byone, underwater he came around and filledour masks so we all had a go at getting thewater out. Next we learnt how to continuebreathing out little bubbles after taking ourregulators out from our mouth, dropping it,finding it and then putting it back in. After thatI learnt how to signal underwater that I wasout of air. Followed by asking my dive buddyif they could share their air, and all thedirections after the ʻokayʼ. A lot for somethingso simple! This was a bit scary, at the time.

Certifi

27

But like everything else, it was fun! My lastdive lesson for the day was decending(going down) and ascending(going up) withmy buddy at arms length by deflating andinflating my BCD respectively.

DAY 2: we went straight into setting upour dive gear. Put onour dive attire andthen learnt how tostep into the water. Itwas really simple.Later on we took turnstugging our buddies tothe other end of thepool, etc. My favouritepart was practicingour buoyancy,watching each otherhover under water likegenies. Lastly in thepool we learnt anemergency ascent, forwhen you run out ofair and need to get tothe surface fast. Poolschool was over andthen we watchedmore of the divevideo. There was onemore quiz and thenwe sat our final exam!I was a little nervousbut all was good.Super relieved andpleased that I passed.Next day we weresent out to sea.

That night I pickedup a digital camerafrom Wet Rez. Located on the esplanadeopposite McDonalds and the Lagoon. Theyare $35 a day, which is a lot cheaper thanwhat most of the dive boats charge per dive!Iʼm so glad I got the digital underwatercamera because I was able to take as manyphotos and videos as I liked. The flashcaptured the colour of the coral better thanour naked eyes could see it! The deeper thedepth of water the more significant loss ofcolour and contrast is visible when you arescuba diving. Due to the water absorbingthe wavelengths of sunlight you lose thecolours red and orange, so everythingappears to be more of a blue-green colour.Using flash paints in any of the missingcolours when close to the subject. Gottahave one! There isnʼt a better way to showthe amazing experience of beingunderwater than visually expressing it.Camera, check. Then it was research time..Reef Teach is a very unique, entertainingand inspiring marine life class that goes foronly two hours. 6:30 to 8:30 every nightfrom Tuesday to Saturday. Located upstairs

the Mainstreet Arcade, between Grafton andLake street. It costs $15 for adults and itincludes a few freebies.

DAY 3: Eagar and excited we all boardedonto SeaQuest, a two story boat.

When we were done with our dive gearwe all shifted upstairsonto the sun deck andwere split into twogroups for ourunderwater at ClipperNorman Reef. I saw ahuge turtle meters belowme when I hopped in todo some snorkeling. Thevisibility was fantasticand I was so pleasedthat it didnʼt take long atall for me to seesomething delightful andexciting. All the studentsheaded back to the boatto get ready for somescuba diving with ourdive instructor. Beforewe stepped into the seato head under to 12metres, Oli told us whatwe were required todemonstrate everythingwe had learnt in thepool. Underwaterrevision so to speak.

Back on board, Isoaked up some sun andthe boat started movingto another part of thereef to give us morevariety and again wewent for another dive!

When we got back to the boat, our boatSeaQuest joined sides with the three levelliveaboard catamaran, OceanQuest! we alltransfered onto the boat for the next twonights. It was incredible fun!

Day 4: Everyone on the boat had theoption of doing a 6:30 morning snorkel. Theshallow reef at sunrise was glorious! I had areally rad dive at Tropos Norman Reef. Thecoral surroundings were enticing and huge.We spotted and avoided a Titan Triger fish.The type of fish that can be very aggressive inreproduction season, so we avoidedswimming directly above it. I also cameacross a giant clam, leopard skin seacucumber and a great barrier aneome fish. Ifelt so amazed at the end of the dive and totop it off it was our last dive as open waterstudents! We got together on the top deck,filled out our dive log books and high fivedfor being certified.

Day 5: Use your imagination!Muchas gracias to all the staf f and fellow diversthat made my experience enjoyable.

ed!

The number 1 way to see the reef !View From Above

If there is one thing about thedestination of Cairns, the scenerystands out as simply magnificent.Whatʼs more, the sheer size of theRainforests sweeping down to theCoral Sea, when viewed from above,will take your breath away. In fact,there is no better way to ʻvisit ̓theGreat Barrier Reef than to actuallyview it from the sky. This is why youwill notice the postcards of the area

are nearly always featured from above.If you were ever going to take a ride ofyou life, then by all means, Cairns is afirst class area to try a helicopter ride.The thrill of the ride alone is anadventure, however, the views will giveyou picturesque memories forever.Heli Charters are available for a quicktour around the city area (10 minutes),to complete visits to the outer barrierreef. A 20 minute rainforest tour, takes

you up the Barron River to thespectacular falls then returns youalong the coastline, or you can haveyour helicopter lift you over the reefsand join Osprey V for lunch and divingor snorkelling. This is by far a ʻcomplete ̓way to reallysee why The Great Barrier Reef isrecognized as the eighth wonder of theworld - from above and from under thewater. Highly recommended.

28

Th

e G

rea

t Ba

rrier R

ee

f

CO

NT

EN

TS

29

3030

A short dive course wil l not only give youthe chance discover the Great BarrierReef during your holiday, but wil l give youa licence to Dive around the World Forever…

Thereʼs the Learn To Dive course, which is a qualifying coursethat will give you certification as a recreational scuba diver. Oncompletion of the course (which takes an average of 5 days total)you are given a license that is usually valid for life and isrecognized around the world. The course usually includes a fewdays completing pool dives and knowledge development sessionsand finish with making four open water dives on The Great BarrierReef. There are also “Referral Learn To Dive” programs, whichgive you a chance to get your open water license in two parts -theory at home and practice here on the Great barrier Reef!.Once you have all the beginner stuff out of the way, AdvancedOpen Water courses are the important first step in continuing yourdive education. It is designed to give the newly certified or not soexperienced diver added confidence and enjoyment in their divingthrough additional skills and training.

Further trainingThe Rescue Diver course is where the diver moves beyondrecreational diving. By expanding their knowledge of the "science"aspects of diving and rescue/emergency techniques, the diver isnow equipped to appreciate and understand the importance oftraining relevant to diver safety and incident management. On tothe “serious stuff” a Divemaster course is the first level of the"Professional" ratings. On successful completion of this programyou will be qualified to supervise recreational diving activities,either boat or land based. It also allows you to act as anInstructional Assistant, and is the minimum rating required foremployment in the diving industry. And for those of you who lovedicing so much you decide to make a career of it: The InstructorDevelopment Course is a two-week program combining amixture of training in the pool and classroom academic modulespresented by yourself, the course director & fellow candidates. So whether you want to take up a new hobby, or carve out anentire career, these courses are designed to take you there. SSI is a worldwide certification program that have a global networkof dive operators for all diving activities. For more information:www.ssidiving.com. To book a diving course or enquire about SSIInternational Scuba Schools, call 02 49664877

Learn to DiveWorldwide

Th

e G

rea

t Ba

rrier R

ee

f

31

32

Day cruise with Down Under Dive

Friendly faces greeted us, although we

were the last to board after running down

the wharf because we were late for our

day cruise. I was introduced individually

to all the charismatic crewmembers that

were on deck, and then sorted withflippers and a mask. Everything was

smooth and well organized, down to the

neat racks where you stashed your diving

or snorkeling gear. We then went inside

for our dive briefing whilst the boat

started and headed out to sea. Mitsy, the

dive instructor easily engaged all of our

attention by including a bit of seamanly

satire in his dive briefing. Time zoomed

by and before we knew it we were at the

brink of the reef, probably because Mitsy

was making us laugh by warning us not

to worry if a woman is overboard; of the

people we shouldn’t punch on the boat

and for us to not hand signal something is

wrong underwater and then point atanother diver as the problem - also we

were on one of the fastest day tripvessels, Osprey V. Before we got into our

dive gear we slip, slop, slapped on some

sunscreen and sat in the sun on the front

of the boat. I had three dives. The second

dive was incredible, pretty close to my

favourite dive so far! We saw a green

turtle swimming against the current

beside a high wall of different coral, a

huge school of spotted sweet lip fish,

clams and a lot of bi-colour parrotfish. It

was so rad! I really regret not hiring an

underwater camera for the day, especially

because the visibility was unreal. The

crew happily helped with our diveequipment while we were hopping out

and while we were out of the water.

Following our second dive was a hearty

lunch buffet of steaks, sausages, fish,

prawns, salami, pasta, salads andcomplementary wine. The variety was

good! After lunch we relaxed on the boat

for forty minutes, said hello to the captain

in the cockpit and then got prepared to

jump back in for another guided dive.

Getting a guided dive is the best way to

find all the fascinating creatures of the

sea. The dive masters generally have a lot

more experience on the reef andobviously know where the good spots are.

Mitsy, our friendly dive instructoraccumulated 600 dives at the GreatBarrier Reef, so we swam along with

him! He lead us to the ‘castle’ (a castle

shaped bombie) getting us there a lot

faster by cutting corners. We passedaround sea cucumbers, touched thesmooth and soft edges of the insides of

large clams and held crazy coloured

nudibranchs/sea slugs. The guided dives

were only an extra $10 and weredefinitely worth it. Once our dives were

over, my beautiful buddy and I went

snorkeling. It was really refreshing to

swim around freely without all the gear

strapped to us. The reef is a never-ending

splendor, beside the beautifully coloured

and contoured coral, we spotted a Potato

Cod Fish (a large stretched lookingspotted fish) and many species ofangelfish. Lastly we took turns trying to

hold our breath in attempt of getting

deeper and closer to a beautiful purple

clam. We swam back to the boat and then

snacked on some crackers and cheese

while we filled in our dive logbooks.

Referring to the reef teach marine life

charts was a handy way of learning and

remembering what kind of ray or fish we

saw in our dives. I had fun hanging about

the boat and talking to some of the crew.

When the cruise was over, out of courtesy

I volunteered to help out and clean the

boat a little bit, because I had such a

beautiful day. Overall the whole day was

lovely, relaxing and fun. Osprey V is an

unbelievably speedy vessel! It reached

the reef quicker than all the other boats

which meant we had more time in the

water!

Th

e G

rea

t Ba

rrier R

ee

f

33

34

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

35

36

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

37

38

Van Rental2Tax1

PULL OUT

Waxing3

31

2

CITYMAPJucy

this way

Juice bar

Coffee Shop

Girls Hotal

8

10

12 Quality cafe13

Medical Centre5Pharmacy4

4

3

5

8

7

6

12

9

11

26

Pasta7

9

Thai RestaurantQuality cafe14 15

Live Music/Restaurant6

11

15

10

$

13

14

DIVE GEAR

Extreme Stuff

T-Fashion

22

23

25

17 MusicCairns Tattoo 18

FASHION & Swimwear16

2

17

21

18

22

31

30

25

24

Main St

27

PULL OUTMAP

28

28

Massage20 Beauty21

Great FOOD31

Everything Nails19

Great Kebabs30Bottleshop28

24 Funky Fashion

Cultural Entertainment

20

$19

23

16

Sushi27

28

Pool Tables

City Location Accommodation

36

38

PIZZA40

Quality cafe32 Massage33

38

32

35

37

47

39

36

28

28

334

29

41

Main St

Fresh Baked Cafe35

37

Fashion SwimwearFashion Swimwear39

Fashion & Great Coffee34

Skateboarding41

$

28

33

40

Study English

42 Tattoo Nation Lawyers43

Shiva Moon46 $ Money ExchangeUgg Boots Specialists47

42

45

44

43

47

46

45 Tattooist

$Main

St

Adult Entertainment44

Entertainment Venue

47

48

En

terta

inm

en

t- pa

rty pla

ce

s

49

50

P.J. OʼBrienʼsThis Traditional Irish pub is located in theabsolute centre of town, and come night timeitʼs the heart of the city. Live entertainmentincludes their famous Coyote Ugly nights(Wednesday and Saturday), with girls dancinglive on the bar top. If you are up for some fun,Pole Idol competitions are held weekly andanyone can enter. Locals tend to meet there inthe early evening, and itʼs a number one placefor major sporting events on the largescreens.We all love the Irish, and this venue offers a

welcome that only the Irish can extend. Every night Great prizes & Promos

CNR LAKE / SHIELDS ST

The WoolshedIf you have one night out in Cairns make sure itʼs the world famous

WOOLSHED renowned for its wild partying, dancing on tables, crazy

atmosphere and outrageous competitions and games. Sunday kicks off

with the hilarious BLIND DATE competition were you can win yourself a

skydive thanks to SKYDIVE CAIRNS. MR & MRS BACKPACKER is not

to be missed on Mondays, Tuesdays is the original GOLD FISH RACING

CHAMPIONSHIPS (yes you did read that right, gold fish racing!), where

the winning human jockey gets themselves an AJ HACKETT BUNGY

JUMP. Wednesdays start off with TRIVIA from 9pm with a $1000 worth of

prizes with TRAVEL BUGS then on to the WET T-SHIRT COMPITITION

where one of you lucky ladies will win up to $500 worth of cash and

prizes. Thursdays LADIES NIGHT and youʼre in for a real treat with MEAL

OR NO MEAL which is THE WOOLSHEDS spin off of the TV show DEAL

or NO DEAL. An amazing $3000 worth of prizes up for grabs from the

board to be won, such as CDC OPEN WATER DIVE COURSE, AJ

HACKETT BUNGY, R&R WHITE WATER RAFTING, SKYDIVES FROM

SKY DIVE CAIRNS and many more, hosted by toddy and the gorgeous

ginger spice. Be in before 8pm to get your chance to play the newest and

funniest game, MEAL OR NO MEAL!!! As in The lonely planet once

quoted, “if you canʼt get laid in the woolshed, youʼre never going to get

laid”!With the WORLD CUP 2010 imminent THE WOOLSHED has devoted its

entire balcony to providing the intimate coverage of the world game live

with sound on the big screen.

Open since 1994, THE WOOLSHED represents the very core of

backpacking spirit and reveller, making it famous across Australia and

throughout the world. Check out the $10 meal deal early on and kick start

your evening with a quality huge meal at the best price.

SHIELDS STREET, CITY PLACEC

airn

s En

terta

inm

en

t- Op

en

7 n

igh

ts a w

ee

k

Party

51

GilligansGilligan's is the Cairns largest party venue boasting

thousands upon thousands of punters through the

doors every week. Popular with the Locals as well

as Travellers, Gilligan's has non-stop party stamina

all week long. Whether you want to lounge in the

pool for a 'Dive in movie', get messy with 'Jelly

Wrestling' or do your country proud with 'Babe

Nation' or summon the cross dresser within on 'Flirt

Night', Gilliganʼs will definitely have something for

you. FREE backpacker meals are available every

night of the week from 6 – 9pm. From Thursday to

Sunday the back deck by the pool is home to some

of Cairns most popular live bands and DJʼs. We

recommend you check out their Summer Lovin

Sunday Sesh with AJ Hackettʼs Fox – the only

flying fox in a bar in Australia, itʼs crazy!

And just when you think they have done it all;

Friday and Saturday Nights really heat up with

dress ups and dance parties, masquerade balls,

fire shows and live acts brought to you by some of

the worldʼs favourite gigs including The Hilltop

Hoods, Bliss and Eso, Ministry of Sound, RnB

Superclub, Timmy Trumpet and the list goes on.

Every weekend at Gilliganʼs is something different,

check their Facebook for all upcoming events!

GRAFTON STREET

BE TREATED LIKE A LOCAL – AT FUNKY MELBOURNESTYLE LOUNGE BAR...VIBE !From the street Vibe looks like a trendy small cocktail bar,however once you walk through the venue you will beamazed at how big Vibe is, with many rooms to enjoy yourfavourite cocktail or beer, whilst surrounded by amazingartwork. Vibe is highly recommended with good quality affordablefood. They specialise in gourmet Wagu beef burgers, satechicken burgers, and duck & bacon burgers. They alsohave a range of seafood on the menu such as GrilledAtlantic Salmon with steamed rice and garden salad for $15,or the famous NZ beer battered whiting fillets with chips andsalad for $12.50 (Thursdays house special is fish and chipsfor $7.50). Between 4pm – 7pm every night you can enjoya glass of complimentary glass of wine or pot of beer withyour burger, plus a free serve of chips, for only $12.50. Justmention the Backpacker Xpress Meal Deal when ordering.Whether you are looking for somewhere to have a quietdinner, or to party the night away on the dance floor, Vibecaters to everyone. Most importantly, enjoy the friendlyservice, sit at the bar and chat during the day, or enjoy theatmosphere at cocktail hour.Feel like part of the Cairns family. Please ask staff for ourweekly specials. Come in and receive your backpackervoucher booklet with heaps of discounts.vibebar@optusnet.com.au

52

The Loungewith its plush surrounds, intimate lighting

system and Dj's 7 nights a week, sets the

mood for what is certainly the best lounge bar in

Cairns. It's actually a hip mini dance club; small enough to feel

cosy, big enough to swing your hips without inviting a stranger to a

pump and grind session! Locals and travelers mix it up, and I would

have to categorically state that The Lounge is the only lounge bar or

dance club in Cairns that is busy every night of the week. It's located

under the Famous Woolshed Bar (there's internal stairs between the

two bars), so backpackers are more than welcome to meet up at The

Lounge. While at The Lounge we recommend you induge in a few of

their delicous cocktails, have a chat and a dance up it up all night

long. You will also find the lighting system mesmerising and the music

just the right balance, always the last bar open in Cairns... check it out!

SHIELDS STREET.

The Pier BarThe Pier has the most enviable location in Cairns, overlooking the water, across the

Coral Sea. This beautiful view of the lapping water and incoming boats and yachts,

belong to (possibly) Cairns ̓classiest venue. However, the hospitality is down-to-earth

and itʼs for this reason that the sun deck starts to fill with locals and tourists as soon

as the sun starts to set. It has famous pizzeria and char grill food on offer, and is

decked out in modern décor inside and out. Professional competitions are held

regularly including Bartercard Miss Indy Australia and Best Model Australia, which have

attracted some serious contestants with major prize packages on offer. These are held

on a Friday or Sunday night, and the Pier is the place to be seen most nights of the

week. THE PIER, THE ESPLANADE

Blue Sky BreweryBlue Sky Brewery Wednesday Night-Trivia with a twist

Unleash the Trivia Buff within and join our “Wednesday night Trivia with a Twist.”

Cairns ̓original and only full audio visual interactive night of fun. Itʼs a modern

Wednesday night that sees locals and backpackers test their unused portions of grey

matter! Registration is Free from 7pm and first questions from 7.30pm. Great Prizes

including Blue Sky Brewery food and beverage vouchers, Rebel sports gear, and heaps

of random prizes throughout the night. 34-42 Lake St.

Ultimate PartyFamous Pub Crawl style party on an iconic double decker Bus -

Cairns ̓Original Party Tour. The open top bus will take you on a 5 hour travelling party,

with stops at 5 different venues to which you are a VIP guest, courtesy of Ultimate

Party. The value for money is unsurpassable, with a free meal at your first venue, free

souvenir group photo, Pizza at your 4th venue, not to mention the chance to win over

$1200 worth of prizes with the party games. Itʼs 6 hours of madness and mayhem on

the Ultimate Party bus, and for just $25, itʼs guaranteed to be your best night out in

Cairns. Call: 4041 0332 to book a place on the bus, or ask your hostel .

The Green Ant CantinaThe Green Ant Cantina is the leader of Cairns' Indie scene with an eclectic mix of music. Whether

it's DJ's spinning Drum 'n' Bass on a Friday night or local musicians jamming out acoustic originals,

the Green Ant is the place to get your music fix. Sunday is open mic night where everyone and

anyone is invited to come down and give us a tune. So bring your instrument and a friend or two

and enjoy the show! 183 BUNDA STREET

HAPPY Birthday

WoolshedWorld famous, Iconic, and now

Historic.The Woolshed Bar and Gril is turning

sweet 16 and to celebrate they are

throwing a bash for backpackers on

the 20th of this month.

Not to do things by halves they want

everyone in costume- anything to do

with “P”- Police, Pimps, Pirates

whatever you can get your hands on.

Live music, top DJʼs and heaps of

prizes all night.

Just in time for the party

The Woolshed has spent a small

fortune doing up the place from huge

comfy couches to state of the art LED

lighting.

Downstairs in The Lounge the whole

place has been refurbished, a little

more upmarket and more of a lounge

feel than upstairs.

So enjoy the best of both worlds.

53

54

Ca

irns E

nte

rtain

me

nt- O

pe

n 7

nig

hts a

we

ek

The Wax Pot and Tanning Studio is arelaxed beauty salon located in the heartof the City, and also at Earlville. It of fersthe visitor and locals alike, a unique salonexperience by offering a wide range oftreatments and services in an upbeat,funky atmosphere. It is a place wherepeople meet and catch up with friendswhilst attending to all their beauty needs.

To set the scene for you, imagine paintedconcrete floors, corrugated iron, distressedtimber work, bold colours, funky music andcrazy, vibrant staff to pull it all together;and you have ʻThe Wax Potʼ.

One of our most popular treatments weoffer are our Henna Tattooʼs. You canchoose from a wide range of HennaDesigns or alternatively, design your own.The Tattoo last on average, two weeks andis applied by piping a Henna mix onto theskin in your chosen design. This product isall natural, made on site by our dedicatedstaff.

WAXINGwhile Travelling

55

56

Ba

ck

pa

ck

ers T

ax

Tip

s

Australian tax can be verycomplicated, and gets more so everyyear. Ask alocal how much tax youwill pay on a certain amount, and youwill get a blank, distant gaze... somost Aussies still go to a Tax Agent.However, it is important to know thebasics so you comply with the taxlaws and maximise your refund.

The basicsBasically tax is levied on your net taxableincome at marginal rates, then any tax of fsetsare credited, resulting in a tax payable amount.This is then compared to the tax deducted fromyour wages or other income for the year , andthe difference is your net tax refund or payable.

Net taxable incomeThis means all income earned, less alldeductions claimed. Deductions are costs youpaid for work-related expenses, or in earningyour income or attending to tax af fairs.Increasing your deductions can derive ahealthier tax refund. The checklist at rightprovides the common types of income anddeuctions.

IncomeFor locals, income includes what they earned inAustralia and worldwide. For temporary visaholders, they can exclude income they earnedoverseas. The most common type of income willbe your PAYG Summaries from employment,showing the gross income (before tax) and theamount of tax deducted.

Work deductionsThere are many types of work-related costs,depending on your occupation. Strict rules apply

to limit certain claims, and in specificoccupations. If your claims exceed $300, youalso need to substantiate these with receipts,although reasonable estimates are allowed forsome items. No alcohol...unless a wine-taster .

Other deductionsThese are non-employment costs that aredeductible, and the most common will be taxpreparation fees. Note that only deductionsactually paid in that year can be claimed, so thisyears fee gets claimed in your next return.

Tax ratesTax is then applied to your net taxable income atmarginal rates. This means the rate increasesfor dif ferent thresholds of your income. Forresidents, the first 6000 is free, then 15% upuntil $35,000, and then 30%, and so on. Fornon-residents, the rate is 29% on the first35,000, then it goes to 30% and so on....ugh!

Medicare LevyAnother 1.5% tax is also applied to the nettaxable income, subject to income thresholds.This includes non-residents who aren't evenentitled to Medicare benefits, so if applicableyour Agent will need to apply for an exemptioncertificate from Medicare...hmmm.

Tax offsetsOnce tax payable is calculated, of fsets areapplied. There are numerous types, and thesedepend on your tax residency or visa status,livingcircumstances, income levels, and otherfactors. The most common will be the lowincome offset and the Zone offset for peopleliving in Cairns and remote areas. Cool.Tax RefundsFinally, the difference between net tax payable

and tax previously paid results in a net refund.Your agent provides an estimated refund thatrarely changes, and these are received direct toyour bank in 7-14 days. This is fairly standard sobeware of operators charging high fees or aproportion of your refund for essentially thesame, and without the proper advice.

Resident for tax purposesThis is a critical concept that is different to yourvisa or migration status. A tax resident will beentitled to the lower resident tax rates aswell as substantial tax of fsets. Your taxresidency status can be easilychanged, however the legal definition is verytechnical so ensure you get aTax Agent assessment to ensure no comeback.

Due datesYou have until the 31st October to lodge yourown tax return, although an Agent has laterdates. Mid-year returns can be lodged at anytime, so don't forget to submit your final returnprior to departure. Paperwork for yoursuperannuation refund should also besubmitted at this time, as certified copies ofpassports etc are usually required.

AmendmentsMany don't realise that they can always amenda return, if you've missed something or been ledastray with your tax status or medicare. Underthe self-assessment system, no penalties applyif corrections are volunteered, and you are alsoprotected if relying on Tax Agent advice. Goodluck :)

Information provided by the Express TaxOffice from BC Accountants. These andtax estimates & returns are also online in5 languages at www.eto.net.au.

TAX

Ad

vice

57

Fo

od

aro

un

d to

wn

58

In Cairns, you will never go hungry. From hostels meals, to al la car te seafood, this tropical city is teaming withrestaurants and pubs serving quality food. And with the many ‘meal deals”

available, each venue has realised they need to keep the quality up if they are tosatisfy the backpackers. Look at These!

PJ’s New $10 Meal DealPJ OʼBrienʼs have launched a brand new $10 meal deal whichincludes a Beer, wine or spirit. The menu is great and PJʼsstreet-side dining area is right in the middle of the City Centrewhere Shield and Lake Streets meet. Itʼ s a meeting hubfrequented by divers, rafters and skydivers and a great sportsvenue too (big screen TV). Backpackers luv the place, and thenew menu is a real winner!

BULL BAR The Steaks are Flaming Wonderful, accompanied by some ofthe best seafood on offer. On Tues & Wed before 7pm. you can try your luck at scoring afree meal if you order the ONE KILO steak and finish yourplate within 20 minutes.Great Atmosphere for backpackers and located right in townon Lake Street, just past the pedestrian centre.

Blue Sky “we love beer so much we put it in our food!”Want some real food with your microbrew beer? Blue Skyrestaurant has new chefs and a fresh new menu and itsCHEAP! Light Lunch meals from $12.50 that arenʼt massproduced. All your favourites, fish and chips battered in our

very own Cairns gold beer batter, Beef potted pie marinated inour True blue Stout and gourmet Pizzas with, you guessed it,beer infused pizzas bases made with our very own Blue SkyPilsner. Eating Beer never tasted so good! Our Beer Buddiessnack menu runs all day for quick bites on the go, or stay and enjoy a Tully tasterbeer sampler paddle! Try 9 different internationally awarded boutique beers brewed onsite while you finish yoursucculent rib eye fillet on the bone and watch your favouritesports on one of the 5 huge screens. 34-42 Lake St

Spectacular OchreLocal seafood and native ingredients have top billing at thiselegant spot that specializes in bush dining. Try the Australianantipasto platter of emu pâté, crocodile wontons, and smokedsalmon for starters, followed by kangaroo sirloin withquandong-chili glaze. Some dishes have a Pacific Rim flavor ,like the tea-smoked duck with mango or the twice-cooked pork.Red Ochre's signature dessert, wattle seed Pavlova withDavidson plum sorbet, makes a fine finish; or you can lingerand sip a glass of Australian wine while nestled into a violetvelvet booth.

FOOD

59

60

Green AntThe Green Ant Cantina isCairns' longest running Mexicanrestaurant. Since 2001, its cult-likefollowing keep coming back for more!Authentic, fresh Mexican meals aswell as fantastic steaks, salads andthe best kangaroo burger in town!The venue has a tropical beer gardenand is covered in amazing artwork bylocal artists, so go and check out theGreen Ant for great food and greatfun!The Green ant is located in the heartof a traditional backpacker Haven,surrounded by old queenslandersand although very much IN town, itfeels outta town!. Bunda Street (over the rail tracks justbehind Cairns Central).

Gilligan’s for Dinner!!Where else can you relax by the pool,indulge yourself in live music andenjoy our backpacker meals...

Sample our NEW MEAL DEAL menu for $12!Join us for our Cancun Sundaze with our FREE BBQ from 3pmand live music on the deck !Gilligan’s: 57-89 Grafton Street

Woolshed Famous Meal DealRenowned backpacker Chargrill and Saloon Bar, the Woolyholds bragging rights for maintaining an incomparable level ofconsistency in food quality. Prime cuts of meats, pizza, pasta, Indian, Thai curries and vegetarian options are onoffer at 6pm every night of the week. Just ask any staf f at yourhostel desk for your meal deal voucher and their stamp ofapproval for the famous meal deal that every backpackercomes to Cairns to eat.At the one and only Woolshed (City Mall)

La PorchettaCairnsʼs number one pre-movie eatery, la Porchetta is asuperb café-style, Italian Pizza and Pasta Parlour, andlocated right next to the movie theatre on Grafton Street.Perfect for the ʻfirst dateʼ meal and even more perfect forlarge groups, La Porchetta prides itself on using freshingredients and boasts a huge menu. You can receive 25%

offyour billwith CairnsBackpackerXpress (thereʼs avoucher in the MapSection of thismagazine), however theprices are already cheap so youwill find this an easy choice for a goodquality meal at a budget price.

Fasta PastaThis is Cairnsʼ Locals favourite pasta restaurant. Simple, RealItalian food served quickly - this is the ONLY restaurant I goto if I am on a tight schedule as their service is second tonone and always reliable. Specials are always pleasing,prices are just right and the ambience is casual and fresh.They also do take-away. Simply choose your dish and pickup 10-20 minutes later located centrally on the corner ofShields and Sheridan Street. Call 4041 0388.

VIBE Restraurant and BarVibe is a funky Melbourne style bar, with art filled walls andlots of lounges and comfortable areas to relax and enjoyyour glass of New Zealand or Australian premium wine andbeer. Vibe is highly recommended with good qualityaffordable food. They specialise in gourmet Wagu beefburgers, sate chicken burgers, and duck & bacon burgers.They also have a range of seafood on the menu such asGrilled Atlantic Salmon with steamed rice and garden saladfor $15, or the famous NZ beer battered whiting fillets withchips and salad for $12.50 (Thursdays house special is fishand chips for $7.50). Between 4pm – 7pm every night youcan enjoy a glass of complimentary glass of wine or pot ofbeer with your burger, plus a free serve of chips, for only$12.50. Just mention the Backpacker Xpress Meal Dealwhen ordering. Vibe is open 7 days a week, the dance floorcommences at 9pm each night, and they are open till 5amFri and Sat nights (free entry). So if you are looking for aplace to enjoy a cocktail, a delicious dinner , or a place tokick your night off, Vibe is the place to be.39-Lake Street Cairns PH 40 521 494

FOO

D

61

62

63

64

Every week there are markets in and

within reach of the Cairns city. Here are

a number of them, where you can find

them and what you’re in for.

The Pier shopping centre on the marinaholds the environmentally friendlyFarmgate every Saturday from 7:30am to2:00pm. Sourced from local farmersFarmgate Market offers locally grownand made seasonal organic & non-organicfruits, vegetables, herbs, breads, cakes,wines, liqueurs, coffees, teas, chocolates,dried fruits, bio-dynamic dairy nuts,muffins, honey, native conserves &pickles, potted orchids & chillis, sulphurfree seafood, organic beef, dips& spreads, spring water, coconut andsugar cane juice.Cairns City Markets in the city centrebetween the sound shell and the busterminal. Open every week day 9:00 to4:30pm. Selling mostly beaded, bones andshell jewelry perfect for gifts andsouvenirs.Cairns’ most popular and successfulmarket Rusty's Market is beneathGilligans backpacker Hotel & Resort(between Sheridan and Grafton street).Stalls are covered in lush fruits and

vegetables, organic and locally grownproduce, asian cuisine, flowers,delicatessen and bric-a-brac. Open: Friday– 5am to 6pm;Saturday – 6am to 3pm;Sunday – 6am to 2pmA forty-five minute scenic drive amongstthe beautiful rocks and beaches out ofCairns on a Sunday leads you to the PortDouglas Markets. Every Sunday 8am to2pm the market place is held between theDickson Inlet and Wharf Street on Anzacpark. The Port Douglas markets is anexcellent place to pick up a painting by alocal artist, some organic food, jewelleryand other products.Kuranda Markets are a popularattraction for locals and visitors tucked inthe trees beyond a bendy half hour drive.Sculpture, pottery, hand made clothing,flora styled crafts, hand painted plates, artwork, oils, gemstones, organic coffee,locally grown coffee, home made tropicalfruit ice cream, aboriginal artifacts, toysand handcrafts are only a number of thethings you will find. There are twomarkets in Kuranda - the KurandaHeritage Markets and the OriginalRainforest Markets (est 1978). Bothmarkets are open 7 days a week from9.30am to 3.30pm. The Original

Rainforest Markets host predominentlyhandmade or handcrafted goods and mostartisans are available to discuss theirwares with shoppers. The OriginalRainforest Markets are located adjacent tothe Honey House - the first touristattraction in Kuranda and celebrating 51years of operation this year. The HoneyHouse offers free honey tasting and a livebee display. In the market complex thereis also a gemstone museum and replicadinosaurs; as well as specialty shops suchas Leatherman, Boongar Aboriginal Artand Craft; Ezy Rider Harley merchandisestockists; fantastic food; jewlers creatingin their workshops; hemp clothingdesigner and lots of other interestingstalls. Kuranda Homemade Icecream isactually located in the Original Markercomplex. Yungabarra Markets is an hour andeight minute drive out of Cairns passingGordanvale. This market has been runningfor twenty two years and has over 250stalls including local made wines,clothing, flowers, home made crafts andmore than you could imagine.Running hours are 7:30 am to 12:30 pm.

marketsCairns, Port Douglas, Yungaburra- They all have...

Lo

ca

l attra

ctio

ns- M

ark

ets

65

Where else can you raft the rapids amidglorious rainforest? Our Tully River hassome hard core rapids and is a wet andwild adventure that will have your heartracing and some serious laughs inbetween! Have you ever taken a BMX bike of f the roof of apurpose built bungy tower, glimpsing the coral seaon the horizon as you go? Here in Cairns ourBungy site has devised 16 dif ferent ways to bungyincluding the minjin swing and traditional swandive, plummeting 164 feet with elastic strapped toyour legs! How about taking the controls of ahelicopter under the instruction of a professionalpilot? Quad biking around dirt tracks in theKuranda Rainforest, or horse riding over creeks

and through the forest? Or take the ultimateadrenalin rush when you freefall from an airplane,and then sweep to the ground under the safety ofyour parachute? Our own cable ski park is ownedand operated by professional wake-boarders andyou can try knee-boarding to get you started, orfly over the professional ramps if you are moreexperienced. Cairns also offers mountain biking,go-karting, hand gliding, absailing, kite surfing,and sea kayaking! Often referred to as an Eco-tourism haven,Cairns is one place you can get together withnature and test your nerves doing activitiesin a unique environment that will becomelasting memories of your holiday inAustralia.

66

Cairns is a Disneyland when it comes to thril l seekingand adrenalin adventure, all in eco-surrounds and nota trashy roller coaster in sight.

Mild

to W

ild- T

hin

gs to

do

aro

un

d C

airn

s

67

68

Gravitychallenge

AJ Hackett Bungy Jum

“we wouldn’t suggest an activity unless we

Ruby

Crocod

ile

in he

re

hugging Pelita

Jolene

ChristinaRuby

mp!

e tried it out first!”

THANKS AJ HACKETT

for a great rush

69

Sharing the spine thrilling experience of

bungy jumping with a mate was wicked!

For my first jump I did it with a friend of mine, Ruby,

and it was a really entertaining experience. Having

mates there with me made the day more memorable.

Leaping off the platform fifty meters high was insane

and the complete opposite to any normal human

beingʼs instinct. I wasnʼt the only one in on the jump so

it surprisingly seemed like a piece of cake. I felt

invincible and we were both high-spirited and excited!

The feeling of fear only actually kicked in when the

guys handling the ropes at the top of the tower, , began

tying up our legs together. Ruby being paranoid or

either just stirring the guys up asked if they were sure

that the towel and rope around our legs were tight

enough. We wanted to have our torso dipped into the

water so they directed us to put our hands above our

head and our chin pressed down on our chest before

we hit the water. When it was time the two of us

scuffled to the end of the platform, peering our toes

over the edge and facing our stoked heads down at the

water. When the man behind us counted to three, there

was a pause when we realized he wasnʼt going to push

us over. Then we jumped! Ruby wrapped both of her

arms around me and we both screamed an annoying

amount. The feeling of falling with someone was jaw-

dropping and the pull back was so peculiar! It was a

different level of fun! After our dip into the water we

were squirming around like live bait hanging off the

rope. The rush of blood to our heads was unbearable.

Thank goodness for Michael J and his rescue raft. He

paddled out to us and we grabbed a hold of his paddle

so we could be loosened onto his boat.

The adrenalin and sense of achievement after bungy

jumping left the both of us pretty impatient for another

jump! Smiling and shaking the water out of our hair, we

went again! Except, we jumped individually, which was

more frightening! Pushing myself to hop off the tower

on my own was harder but I quickly leaped off to get it

over and done with. I loved swinging to and fro on my

own. This time round I wasnʼt in a rush to be rescued. It

was so good. Erica, the pretty bar lady gave us water

which helped heal our throats from the screaming. The

employees were approachable and good-natured

making the scene a pleasure to be in.

Did you know saltwater crocodilescan survive many month, even up toa year without eating? They cansoak up the suns rays for theirenergy. A four metre estuarine salt-water crocodile, a spotted pythonand a cuddly koala are a few of theanimals we encountered in ourafternoon in cairns. In the RainforestDome, of course! Jolene and Iventured up the Casino elevator tothe beautiful man made junglehabitat. The zoo was filled withbirds of different colours and sizes.One of which flew close to the topof my head. There werekookaburras, cockatoos, iguanas andfresh water crocodiles too. Thelayout of trees, vines, rocks andwater fountains created a comfortingillusion of a natural habitat.Following the veranda to differentheights gave us different views ofthe jungly dome and its animals. Isat on a bench taking photos of aniguana and got so frightened when itstarted to lurch towards me. Ilaughed at myself not longafterwards for quickly scurryingaway. Pelita, the cute koala was soinquisitive crawling through a small

space to get to the trees on the otherside and crawling towards newunfamiliar faces. The people whoworked in the wildlife dome cameinto her space to check on and hugher. She was so adorable andaffectionate. We sat through a‘Reptile Rap’ by Karina who filledus in on the facts and allowed us topat the fresh water crocodile andspotted python. After her show shegenerously let me hold the spottedpython, Darth Vadar. My palms gotsweaty from fear but it was such anexotic experience. It was amazing!The humidity of the rainforest domeleft us quenching for something coldand refreshing. Thus, we ventureddown to the esplanade to have somelemon and lime sorbet ice creamfrom the New Zealand ice-creameryin the night markets. Perfect fix!Jolene wanted to pick up a bookfrom the Cairns city library on anAustralian artist Brett Whitely so wewalked to the library. It was apleasant change into a quiet andcalm atmosphere. When we got thereshe rounded up a great pile of booksand we just relaxed writing andreading in the silent air conditioning.

Exotic escapade, an afternoon in Cairns.

The crew at AJH

70

71

Itʼs the only bungy

operation on the planet that

offers sixteen different jump

styles from the traditional

swan dive to riding off the

roof on a BMX bike. So

wether youʼre a first time

jumper and happy to just

get off the edge or a

seasoned thrill seeker

thereʼs a unique jump style

that will have you covered.

Watch out for a bungy

jumper or a minjin jungle

swinger or you could take

the plunge for yourself!

Sol Sundays from 1pm-

6pm is the time to visit if

you want a laid back

afternoon. With live local

music and a free jumping

castle for the kids, why not

purchase a lunch at their

Aussie BBQ. You could

even climb the tower and

try a jump or two. Before

throwing yourself off into

open space, take the time

to see the wonderful scenic

view. Where else can you

see a view of the worldʼs

famous Great Barrier

Reef?

Operating hours: AJ

Hackett Cairns is open

364 days a year for

operation (closed

Christmas Day) from

10:00am – 5:00 pm

AJ Hackett Cairns

features the worlds

first purpose built

Bungy Jump tower,

nestled in the

rainforest twenty

minutes from

Cairns City.

Jump

Only a 15 minutes drive from Cairns

is the cable ski facility where you

can try kneeboarding,wakeboarding or waterskiing.Operated by professionals youget a good introduction at thebeginning what makes the whole

start easier. Also, if you haveexperience the staff can always

provide you with moreknowledge on how you canachieve a better technique forgliding over the rails or for thedifferent turns and jumps. It was

my first time on a kneeboard and

wakeboard this week and I have

to say, If I can do it, everyone

can do it! :-) For beginners, it takes a fewlaps on the kneeboard to get toknow how fast it goes and howyou have to handle the boardunder you to guide it in thedirection you want. After acouple laps I switched to awakeboard. First attempt: Ifailed! Second Attempt:Yeeeaaaah, I was wakeboarding!

So cool, the feeling to glide onthe water and to lie into the turns

is just amazing. My friend whowent with me can do kite surfing

and for him it wasnʼt a problemto go from the start on the

wakeboard. So if you have some

surfing, kite surfing orsnowboarding experience; better

and easier for you. The cablemachine is not too fast so it'sperfect to try some 180's, 360'sor other tricks. One thing: afteryour first hour of cable skiing be

prepared for aching armmuscles! Take the nextopportunity and go for a ride on

the water at Cable Ski Cairns,you will have lots of fun! Thepark is open 7 days a week from

10AM until 6PM. CBX

Anyone can do it. Everyone is doing it!

Hig

h E

ne

rgy A

ctivitie

s

72

HOW TO GETTHERE(Read this, because you need directions)Cable Ski is located just 10 minutesup the Captain Cook Highway.Buses arrive outside Tjapukai whichleaves you with a walk through thecar park to find the cable ski park.Alternatively you can catch a Sun-bus which is a “hail and ride”. Thismeans you can ask to be dropped offat the cable ski slip road, and walkacross the grass. CABLE SKI PICK UPGather 4/5 friends or more, andCable Ski will come and pick you up!How easy is that! Just call 4038 1304to arrange a time.

Tell the bus driver, and he’ll stop right outside!!!

BACKPACKER THURSDAYSNIGHT TIME SESSION, includes BBQ Dinner and 2 hours of skiing

Thursday nights is the special backpacker night which gives you 2 hours of Skiing for

the price of one hour. Just $39.00. Plus on Backpacker Special night a BBQ dinner

is included and the drinks are cheap. You will be picked up Free of Charge

from your hostel (return) It starts at 6.30 PM and ends at 9.00 PM. Book

now at your hostel reception or call Cable Ski Cairns directly:

Tel: (07) 4038 1304.

Cable Ski!

73

Na

tura

l wo

nd

ers

74

We point you in the right direction for

&Beaches

Freshwater rockpools and creeks:

Crystal Cascades33 minutes by car. Head north ofsheridan street to Freshwater, thenRedlynch until you reach the largebrown Crystal Cascades sign.Stunning water holes and refreshingicy cold water cascading down huge,smoth boulders into shallow pools.

When you reach crystal cascades,instead of following the footpath onthe right, you can venture to the leftand find a dirt track to Fairy Falls. Asmall secluded fresh water waterfalland pool.

Stoney Creek24 minutes by car, via Captain Cookhighway, take your first exist at thelast roundabout across from Tjapukaionto Brinsmead Kamerunga road.Follow the road through caravonicatill you meet a right turn down Stoneycreek road.

Lake Placid24 minutes by car from the city. Thisrainforest lake is the home of amultitude of birds and wildlife. Feedducks, swim in the lake and hire acanoe. With live music at JungleJackʼs Boathouse on specific times ofthe week.

Sandy Beaches:

Stretched over 26km of beautifulcoastline, Cairns has seven stretchesof beaches to choose from. Itʼ s easyto get to the northern beaches viabus or car. Simply follow captain cookhighway up north and keep an eye

out for the roadsigns directingyou to the beachyou desire.

MachansBeach is thefirst beach outof Cairns city.Followed byHollowaysbeach, YorkeyʼsKnob, Trinity Beach, KewarraBeach, Clifton Beach and PalmCove. If you decide to continuedriving you will find yourself cruisingalong one of the most scenic drivesin Far North Queensland heading toEllis Beach, Pretty beach and PortDouglas.

Machans Beach15 minutes away, just a fewkilometers out of Cairns, Kewarra iseasily the closest beach to the city,However, it is the most eroded beachout of the seven.

Holloways Beach18 minutes from Cairns with coconutpalm trees overhanging thebeachfront. With BBQ facilities andthe closest beachfrontaccommodation in Cairns.

Yorkeyʼs Knob23 minutes from the city withbeachfront parks, a beautiful marinaand boat ramp. BBQ facilities and amentities.

Trinity Beach26 minutes away from the city, TrinityBeach is one of the most popularbeaches. Including bars and varietyof restaurants along the esplanade.

Includingfree BBQ facilities,amenities, and water sportsequipment for hire.

Kewarra Beach28 minutes from the city, Kewarra ismore of a private and idyllic beachwith picnic tables with very little roomfor tourism development.

Clifton Beach30 minutes from the city and oneminute from Cairns Tropical Zoo.Untouched by tourist development itretains a very laid-back atmosphere.

Palm Cove35 minutes from the city, this populardestination has small beachfrontcafes, 3 of the top 200 restaurants inAustralia, nearby shopping centreand a camping ground a short strollaway from the jetty.

Sugarworldʼs man made water parkof slippery water slides is located inEdmonton, 23 minutes south ofCairns. Admission price for adults is$12.00

the perfectrockpools

75

76

Cape Tr ibu lat ion:ancient forests, cur iousand fascinat ing w i ld l i fe,cool water ing holesspr ink led w ith waterfa l l s ,a l l s itt ing pretty on astretch of pr ist ine,white sand beaches andblue/green ocean thathouses The GreatBarr ier Reef. This i swhat travel lers dreamof, and is where thoselovely p icture books ofAustra l ia get thosewonderfu l images thatentice you to ‘paradise’ .

The Daintree has somespectacular attractions andexcellent accommodationchoices making this WorldHeritage Listed Rainforest farmore accessible than itscompetitor - The Amazon. Forthis reason, backpackers havealways included a trip to CapeTribulation in their Cairnsitinerary staying at popularbackpacker resorts. Self-drivers love the trip up toCape Trib (approx 2 ½ hours)with the impressive coastal roadthrowing a photographers dreamof endless landscape shots(transfers are also available withPKʼs). Eco-tourism is high onthe agenda in Cape Tribulation,and it has won many awards forsustainable tourism to protect the

ancient rainforest that has morethan 3000 plant species and ishome to about a third ofAustraliaʼs mammal species. As13 of these species are foundnowhere else in the world, youshould try one of the manywildlife spotting adventures onoffer in the region. Getting highin the Rainforest is alsopopular… with Jungle SurfingCanopy Tours. 6 high platformsand 5 flying fox runs – THIS isthe most exciting way to see theRainforest from a distinctlydifferent view! Another way ofseeing the WILD side of theDaintree is to jump on an OceanSafari adventure where you canbe whisked to the Reef superfast. Beach Horse Riding, FruitTasting, 4 WD Driving, Night timeWildlife Spotting Walks, and SeaKayaking are also popularpastimes, and itʼs a great beach

location with miles and milesof sandy coves. Cape Trib isa quiet and relaxingenvironment, but you canstill party with the ParadiseParties at PKʼs JungleVillage.

Some History:In 1770 Captain Cook wassailing the Endeavour up theeast coast, and making achart of the coastline. Hestruck a reef about 40kilometres north east ofCape Tribulation, now calledthe Endeavour Reef, and henamed the point he hadcharted earlier in the day

“Cape Tribulation because herebegan all our troubles.”There are great views of CapeTribulation and the fringing reefas you descend into the CapeTribulation Valley from the Noahrange. This road follows theAboriginal walking trails. Therewere once 200–300 Kuku Yalanjipeople living in the region, whohad an abundant food supplyfrom the rainforest and the reef.The Mason family was the part ofthe first group of Europeans tosettle at Cape Tribulation in 1931and they progressively tried toearn a living from fruit andvegetables, timber cutting andcattle. Produce for the Cairnsmarket was transported by boatto Cairns on a weekly basis. Itwas not until 1962 that a realroad reached Cape Tribulation,

CAPE Tribulation

77

Disc

ove

ring

Ca

pe

Trib

ula

tion

78

and it initially ended at the southernend of Coconut Beach, meaning thatto get to Cape Trib, cars had to drivealong the beach!Mt Sorrow looms over the CapeTribulation valley at 850m high, and isresponsible for Cape Tribulationhaving one of the few tropical climatesin Australia, with high temperatures,high humidity and high rainfalloccurring throughout the year. Thisclimate provides the right conditionsfor rare tropical fruit trees which arenormally only found near the Equator,which is why two commercial fruitorchards are located here. Don't missthe opportunity to sample some raretropical fruits from farms, cafés androadside stalls in the area.

Cape Tribulation became famousamongst young travellers andbackpackers in the early 1980s, onthe trail from Goa, Katmandu and Baliand is now one of the mostrecognizable tourist icons of the world.There are many things to do at CapeTribulation, including diving andsnorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef;exploring the rainforest with guidedwalking tours, on horse back orindependently. To appreciate thewonderful view of the coastline andsee where the rainforest meets thereef, paddle the coast in a sea kayak,and to learn more about the area visitThe Bat House and eyeball a bat.If you just want to relax and enjoy thesurroundings you can wander the

deserted beaches which stretch formiles, meditate in the rainforest, orbook a massage or spa therapy, andjoin yoga on the beach in the earlymorning.Cape Tribulation has a range ofdifferent types of accommodation tosuit every visitor, all in superb naturalsettings — four star, three star andbudget resorts, backpacker hostels,bed and breakfasts, holiday houses,and camping grounds.There is a small cluster of shops atCape Tribulation which includes apharmacy, two small supermarkets, aninterpretive centre,a cinema and fourrestaurants within walking distance.

“Ra inforest w i l derness l i ke nowhere e l se in the Wor ld- w i th a l l the amen it ies tucked neat l y

i n t he j ung le- A ccommodat ion, c onven ience s tore, A TM, p arty b ar , t ours a nd l oads m ore . Give i t a go ! ! ”

Lance (publisher)

It’s a Jungle out There!

79

80

it's not just a bus ticket!Greyhound Travel BasePackages make holidays abreeze

Travellers can now jump from onebeautiful city to another thanks toGreyhound Australia’s new Travel BasePackages, which include hop on, hop offluxury coach travel and accommodationin selected hostels along the way.

Greyhound Australia’s Chief ExecutiveOfficer Robert Thomas said these uniquepackages were the result of a partnershipbetween Greyhound and Base Hostelsstemming from discussions at the AustralianTourism Exchange expo in June 2010.“Greyhound Australia is proud to be workingwith Base Hostels to present four newexciting travel and accommodationpackages to travellers,” Mr Thomas said.“Base Hostels are located throughoutAustralia and New Zealand and arespecially designed for the modern daytravellers. They boast state of the artfacilities, superior comfort and friendlyservices.”“The Travel Base Packages are great valuefor money for backpackers travelling on ashoestring budget with prices starting fromas low as $660.”“Passengers can choose from the Sydneyto Cairns and Melbourne to Cairnspackages and take in some of the mostpicturesque and scenic views along thecoastlines, with the added option of startingtheir holiday from any of those cities.“The package also includes 10 nightsaccommodation in any one of the BaseHostels located along the East Coastincluding Brisbane Central, Magnetic Islandand many more..”

“Our 3,000 and 10,000km packages givetravellers more flexibility and the opportunityto travel anywhere on the GreyhoundAustralia network within 365 days. Andwhen the Kilometre Pass is combined withBase accommodation option, it creates anultimate flexible travelling pass.”“In addition they can exchange kilometresfor any of the 250+ Greyhound Adventurestours and experiences available.”“The activity options such as camping onFraser Island, sailing on the Great BarrierReef or surf camps in Byron Bay will

definitely deliver unforgettable holidaymoments.”Mr Thomas said as well as being aneconomical choice, travelling onGreyhound’s luxury coaches was ideal forthose looking for greener travel options.“Greyhound is one of the mostenvironmentally efficient travel operators inAustralia,” he said. “One Greyhound coach produces five timesfewer CO2 emissions per passenger perkilometre than a jet aircraft and is equivalentto 16 fewer cars on the road.”

81

Despite being a small and slightly bohemiancafé precinct on the beach, Airlie is equivalentto the massive Bondi Beach in popularity – especially for backpackers. Itʼs tight-knit, fun loving and carefreecommunity marries with itʼs stunning beach –the gateway to The Whitsundays – and hasbecome the “Must Stay” spot when travellingSouth from Cairns or North up the East Coast of Australia.

Whichever way you are going, Airlie will no doubtbecome part of your itinerary and you will take somemagic memories from there. People relax in Airlie… itʼsgot the “Manjana feel”, and as a result, people arethemselves in Airlie, which consequently means you willmeet some great people! Thereʼs plenty of partying, yet ina laid-back style, if you can possible imagine how thosetwo contradictories nestle together! Diving is fantastic, with the Whitsundays within 3 hourssailing from the Airlie, lots of activities and really cool andwelcoming bars too. The appeal of Airlie is no doubt thefact that it is the epitome of a beach town , andembraces everyone who visits, sometimes enamouringstop-over tourists so much that they stay for manyweeks! With the sand streaming through your toes, youʼlllove everything about Airlie. Plus you may get to stay atMagnums, the worldʼs best backpackers! Sometimes wewonder whether people flock to Airlie to see Airlie – or tostay at Magnums! Itʼs located right over the road fromthe main meeting hub – The Lagoon, - and has afamous “Party Boardwalk” as well as itʼ s entertainment-stacked Bar. Dorms, private rooms and even tent sitesare all available and from eighteen bucks too.

AIRLIEBEACH

When you ’re head ing down South . . .

82

He

ad

ing

So

uth

...