Cairns waterfalls and car troubles

The first waterfall I saw was with Daniel and it was a bit of a bumpy trek to get to the fall from the car park. To give you just a glimpse of the types of wildlife here, we passed a sign that indicated there were stinging trees inside the forest area we were walking through (the path was nonexistent). Daniel is a doctor and told me all about what happens in those sting situations, and what kind of discomfort/relief efforts comes after that. Not something I ever want to experience, to say the least. The waterfall was pretty remote and very narrow and high.

The next waterfall I got to see was with Stan and Kai- friends from the hostel. We drove about 45 minutes to cascade falls and jumped in like little children.

We didn’t go close to the actual falls because it looked quite dangerous, but we enjoyed the company we had from two british friends we met. After the waterfall they needed help with their car because their battery died and it was a manual car. I was shocked at how much people knew about cars: which way to turn the wheel, which gear to be in, how to push the car, etc. While the guys were helping them with the car, it was pointed out to us that Stan’s car (our car for the day) had a flat tire! We were at least 35 minutes away and it was going to be sunset soon. Now, I can tell you that if it were me, I would panic, call an expensive company to help me change the tire and that would be that. This is a terrible way of approaching that problem - but what can I say?? I’ve never had to change a tire in my life before. Today was definitely car initiation day. The boys just lit up a cigarette, “rolled up their sleeves” and hopped under the car to get to work. I now know the importance of having proper car maintenance materials on hand incase an emergency pops up. (and proper emergency know-how to tackle the problems successfully).

Unfortunately, a lot of the friends I have who purchased cars in Australia have had some wild “uh oh” moments either in the outback or in the cities. I wish in America we learned more about trades, and weren’t so reliant on third party companies like AAA. I felt so useless when the tire went flat, but people from Germany and England were quick to fix the situation and extremely chill about it too, might I add. If it seems like I’m rambling abut this topic, it’s not actually a ramble. I was so surprised at how little I knew! Oh, and I also learned a few more car skills when I drove the van for the hostel. This was a paid position, and at the beginning of the day we had to do a bunch of maintenance checks on the car including checking fluid levels and general car functioning. It was my first time checking the dipstick in a car! Here is proof.

The third waterfall I saw was when I went couchsurfing with Arthur. Today was Australian father’s day! This morning I met up with Arthur from couchsurfing. He is a mover in Cairns and we went to check out Barron falls in Kuranda together! Since it is dry season, the falls are a bit dried up, but to me I was still overjoyed to see it. I could just imagine rushing water during a tropical storm here.

While we walked through some paths I learned all about his life, the people he meets at his job, and his goals. We ate delicious donuts and gelato and hung out in the sun. I need to catch up to his nicely tanned skin!

We didn’t spend any time walking around the town of Kuranda, but from the car it looked like it was a bunch of hippie shops and cute little restaurants. It is a pretty small town, but was another great couchsurfing experience using the “hangout” tool. For anyone that hasn’t tried this app- it is wonderful for travelers, especially solo travelers. You toggle on the “available” portion of the hangout section and say what you want to do. I wrote “Go to Kuranda” and he was also available and I reached out to him. Before we got in touch I did my research on the app and read his reviews from other guests of his or hosts that he has stayed with. The reviews were marvelous and that was a green light for me to go ahead and reach out to him, as a stranger. I also made it a point to tell people at the hostel where I was going and who I was going to be with. Can’t hurt if more people know where you are going!