Cairns 1 Saturday/ Sunday

I may not look that excited but I really was quite excited to be travelling to Cairns for the first time. I was on my way to Palm Cove with my mum and brother for a week of relaxing, tanning and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef!

Bucket List for Cairns:

. Snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef

. Visit Green Island

. Snorkel off Green Island

. See a turtle whilst snorkelling

. See some clown fish whilst snorkelling

. Visit Fitzroy Island 

. Have a butterfly land on me

. Feed some birds

. Touch a tree at the Daintree Rainforest

. Watch a sunrise and a sunset at Palm Cove

. Learn how to use the GoPro

. Eat Kangaroo, Emu and Crocodile

We had a bit of trouble when we initially started our holiday. We arrived literally 2 min too late to put our luggage on the plane so I ended up having to take a connecting flight an hour later. After a stop over at Brisbane and a 2 hour flight to Cairns, I finally made it. Mum and I reunited, found our hire car and were on our way to the beautiful Palm Cove where we would be staying for the next week.

We were literally staying at a little slice of paradise, it was so peaceful and relaxing. The beach was literally outside our door.

We were staying at the Alamanda Resort, and because Nick couldn't really be in a room alone I was allowed to have the master bedroom, which was a pretty big luxury. I have never slept on a bed this big. And I thought the bed in Thailand was huge, that was nothing. This bed could have fit me, mum and Nick, with room to spare for dad, Luke and probably even Saya. 

Bucket List: Watch a sunset in Palm Cove (this was one of many)

For dinner that night we found a lovely place called the Rising Sun. The service was amazing, I have never felt so comfortable and looked after in a restaurant before! Mum and I shared a dish of Paella, or should I say a saucepan. This was Paella at it's finest. Prawns, mussels, calamari, octopus, reef fish, and the tastiest tomatoes I have eaten since the Nun's Pool at Cronulla. This was a perfect dinner to start our week in Palm Cove.

We spent all of Sunday relaxing by the pool and swimming. It was a perfectly lazy day. I also spent the day playing with the GoPro and figuring out how to use it. Not going to lie, I was terrified the first time I completely submerged it underwater. Especially considering I was borrowing it off Luke. Above is my brother swimming. He absolutely loves to swim. I believe his spirit animal would definitely be a fish. He barely comes up to breath, he loves it so much under water.

This is me underwater looking ridiculous. I spent three days without wearing make up, it was refreshing. Sunday was an extremely chill day to prepare us for a whole day of snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef! Stay tuned. 

erica