So I arrived in Cairns hoping to find a job on a reef boat, and within two days of being here that's what I'd found so I was quite pleased with myself. I had myself rostered to work for a week, and then I was going to have a few days off and come back again, and keep going until Christmas. It seemed like a good plan but it didn't work out that way. First I had to be a passenger for a couple of days which cost me 250 bucks (100 quid) and I wouldn't get that back as the job didn't pay as it was just room and meals. For that kind of deal you would usually do 4 or 5 hours of work a day but here I was doing 12 or 13 without any proper breaks. After a week I'd had more than enough and came back on dry land to find a proper job that pays proper money. Having said that, working on a boat on the Great Barrier Reef is still pretty cool. I got to stay on a fantastic boat, sailed around for a week, got to do lots of snorkeling on a few different reefs, and also got to do a few scuba dives which were amazing. The website of the boat is here at Reef Encounter.
When I got back to Cairns I needed to make back the 250 dollars, plus the 180 bucks I'd spent on the flight up here, the 200 or so bucks it will cost to fly back down to Sydney for Christmas, and my rent. Fortunately for me, as hostels in Sydney are whacking up their rent, Cairns are lowering theirs and I'm only paying 12 dollars a night here, which is less than five quid for the best hostel I've stayed at in Australia. I'm not going to be in town long enough for anyone to give me a proper job, so I got a Christmas temp job in a bookstore in the big shopping mall, a bit like a Waterstones. I've been there for a few days and it's not a bad job, but as my last shop job was HMV in Lakeside Shopping Centre over Christmas, things here seem VERY quiet in comparison. Strangely enough though, I'm getting paid nearly as much as I was to work in Sydney for Sabre, and I have a lot less living costs, so I should be able to save some money if I can keep myself from going out every night.
Something strange is starting to happen over here. I walked into the shopping centre the other day and there was a huge Christmas tree sitting there. Shops have started playing Christmas music and there are pictures of Santa popping up over the place. This sounds pretty normal, but when you're walking about in shorts and sunglasses and nip into the shopping centre for the air conditioning because it's so hot outside, the sight of a Christmas tree is a bit freaky. Listening to songs like Frosty the Snowman and White Christmas is just ridiculous. Maybe Frosty the Surfer. Just about every backpacker I've spoken to, including myself (not that I talk to myself - honest) is planning to be in Sydney during Christmas and New Year. Seeing as there are somewhere around a hundred thousand backpackers currently scattered around Australia, I wonder where everyone will fit in when they all decend on Sydney. Apparently most of the hostels are already full. I have a nice little set-up sorted out but I'll tell you more about that later in the year.
After only meeting English and Irish people for the last few months, coming back to Cairns has been a bit of a culture shock. For the first time I'm in the minority. It's the Germans, they're everywhere. I met a few last time I was here but now every other person I meet is German. They're actually really cool and really nice, but do sometimes live up to their reputation for being boring. The Irish are ALWAYS out, every night. The English are usually out but need a few nights off every now and then. The Germans will go out as long as there's a really good reason. On top of that you have the Dutch, the Swedish, the Norwegians, the Danish, and the Canadians. There are others, but not many. Actually, the Dutch are pretty cool and so are the Scandinavians. Reminds me of an Austin Powers quote: "There are two things I cant stand in this world. Intolerance of other peoples culture, and the Dutch." I finally bumped into some people from Canvey in this place. The first I've met since being in Australia. They both know my sister and one of them has been to my house. It's all very strange. I've met a lot of Kenters too. I suppose as soon as they're old enough thay can't wait to get away from the place!
I'll be here for the next few weeks, working, sweating, lying in the hammock, and going out. But not necessarily in that order.
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