Well, not
that Sunshine State. And technically it was winter, not summer. Some of these things don't matter so much when you see the Southern Cross for the first time though. For three months over the northern hemisphere summer I and my classmate and frequent travel partner (and current roommate) SK experienced winter down under, in the tropical town of Cairns in far north Queensland, Australia's Sunshine State.
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| On the approach to my summer adventure in Cairns |
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| Cairns was very tough living |
We were in Cairns to work for the
Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, a non-government organization in Queensland that works for reform in Indigenous economic and social policy. We were exposed to legal issues such as native land rights and constitutional recognition of Australia's first peoples and attempting to assuage economic struggles outlined in CYI's welfare reform plan and the lack of financial access for the mostly impoverished Indigenous population of Cape York, the far northernmost area of Queensland, ostensibly stretching from Cairns to the Torres Strait. There are a few different entities associated with CYI and the most successful of these are the Indigenous leadership programs, as well as entrepreneurship and job training, as well as environmental stewardship. It was certainly a foreign world, but one that we quickly fell in love with, and were happy to be assimilated into as much as "white fellas" could be.
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| SK and I with one of our Indigenous coworkers Donald. We were given handmade Woomeras, Aboriginal tools used for spear throwing and fighting as parting gifts. Unbelievably cool. |
There is not too much to write about inside the office. It was tough to work diligently on economic reform, constitutional recognition, and policy problems while in an office overlooking beautiful tropical Cairns (we did do some good work, and I still follow the Constitutional Reform referendum that should occur in late 2014 or 2015). We worked a full day Monday through Friday, but we were free to explore on weekends, and explore we did.
Cairns
We happened to be in Cairns in time to experience "The State of Origin" which is a set of three rugby matches, one a week, between players from New South Wales (the Blues) and Queensland (the Maroons). Naturally, being from Harvard, we pulled for the Maroons. Rugby is huge in QLD and NSW and the "Origin" occurs during but separate from the regular season, so teammates on their professional teams become archenemies when playing for NSW or QLD, whichever state they were born in, hence the "State of Origin" moniker. Suffice to say, downtown Cairns got a little rowdy on these Thursday nights. A few of our coworkers took a "sickie" on the following Fridays.
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| The office geared up for the "State of Origin." |
Cairns is a backpacker town, and people from all over the world travel here, as it is also known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. That meant the town was never boring.
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| Cheerleaders at the Cairns Ironman |
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| The iconic triggerfish at the Cairns Esplanade, a public pool and park |
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| We fit in pretty well with the population |
Kuranda
Our first weekend in Aus was my birthday weekend, and we ventured just out of the city to Kuranda, a rain forest waystation. In LTD fashion we took the scenic mountaineer railroad, but sped things up with some ATV-ing through the rainforest, avoiding drop bears as best we could. On the way home we took the canopy gondola, and spotting a sweet wakeboarding park that we hit up later.
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| Kuranda Railway Station. A pretty harrowing ride up hanging off of multiple cliffs. |
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| Exploring the rainforest on ATVs. |
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| Rainforest walk in between gondola stops. |
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| Pretty sweet canopy ride. |
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| Killing it on the wakeboard. The twelve-year-olds were not impressed. |
Rafting the Tully
Another day trip out of Cairns was a white water rafting trip down the Tully river. Sporting multiple Class 4 rapids, the Tully was an awesome experience. We performed some cliff jumping, "rafted" down the rapids on our backside with no raft, and experienced the power of eddies sucking us under water and shooting us back out. This happened to be one of the only days in rained while we were in Cairns, so it worked out perfectly.
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| We actually worked pretty hard through these rapids |
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| Our intrepid crew |
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| One of our cliff jumping spots. Great scenery. |
Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation
Once we felt comfortable enough to drive on the wrong side of the road, shifting with the left hand from the right seat, we took a drive up to Port Douglas, a mining and gold rush former boomtown. We partied a little too hard here with a mix of young backpackers and older vacationers, participating in cane toad races and karaoke. n old man participating in his soon to be son-in-law's bachelor party stole the show with an amazing rendition of Donny Hathaway's "In the Ghetto." Australia never ceases to surprise.
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| SK's girlfriend J (blue plaid shirt) was not stoked when we yelled her name loud enough for her to be picked to race the cane toads. |
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| J handled her toad much better than SK |
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| It's possible Pink played at the bar. Subject of much debate. Fueled and skewed by alcohol. |
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| The real stars of the show |
The next morning we headed further north to Daintree National Park in Cape Tribulation, named so by Captain James Cook, who made landfall here after running aground on Endeavor Reef.We ziplined through the rainforest canopy and enjoyed the secluded beaches that were our reward for a long drive.
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| Our safety gear is not very flattering |
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| Nice way to see the rainforest |
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| Beaches rivaling Florida, no white sand though |
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| Stop through Port Douglas again on the way home |
Melbourne
I took a long weekend to explore Melbourne, and met up with an Australian classmate meeting her family and staying at her house. It was great to have my own tour guide! Melbourne is a very hip city (home to too many hipsters non- Melbournians often complain). I got to see some great nightlife, experience Australian rules football (the "footie") up close at the world famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds, shop at Queen Victoria Market, and stop by Luna Park in Saint Kilda.
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| Melbourne at night |
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| "I'll meet you under the clocks" at Flinders Street terminus |
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| Best brat I've had at Queen Victoria market |
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| A fierce rivalry, Carlton vs. Collingwood under the lights at MCG |
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| No shortage of hipster drinks in Melbs |
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| I did not see any skateboarding rhinos. Apparently they are a nuisance though |
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| St. Kilda's Luna Park |
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| Melbourne skyline |
Sydney
Laura
Every two years, all of the Indigenous clans of Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands meet at a sacred place called Laura, where there are meetings of the elders and a festival that showcases Indigenous dances. We camped out there for four days, with SK and I in charge of setting up camp - ironic, since we had no idea what was going on, though help soon arrived. We saw dances, told stories by the fire, star gazed, visited ancient rock paintings and even got to try out playing a didgeridoo. Laying back looking at stars, listening to someone talented playing the "dig" we could feel a real connection to the land, the pull to "country" that our Indigenous friends have deeply embedded in their souls and blood lines. It was a great experience.
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| "In country" |
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| Teamwork |
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| I got skills |
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| Donald thinks his Indigenous skills are better |
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| Laura was a family affair. The kids were insane |
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| SK and I seemed to be big hits with our co-workers kids. |
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| Sunset over camp |
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| Playing the "dig" |
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| Donald really playing the "dig" - haunting music that puts everyone in a trance-like state around the fire. |
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| Our bosses Dad gives us the history of the Laura rock paintings |
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| These paintings have been carbon dated to be greater than 60,000 years old |
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| Hunter dance team |
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| Torres Strait Islanders - reminiscent of and related to Phillipines and Hawaiian natives. |
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| The "ha" |
The Great Barrier Reef
Of course, no trip to Cairns would be complete without a trip (or multiple in our case) to the Great Barrier Reef via a sailboat and a scuba tank. Knowing this was a necessity, we booked a two day live aboard on teh "Rum Runner" a fitting boat with, unbeknownst to us, a fitting crew. We got along so well with our instructor Masa and our dive masters from Germany and France that not only did we spend extra time on land getting certified as open water divers, we went aboard the Rum Runner three times! The reef, the crew, the weather, our fellow divers, and the "goon" (boxed wine) led to great times, many great stories, and even further debauchery back on land in Cairns. The reef and our friends there were the highlight of an amazingly awesome adventure in Aus!
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| Sunrise stroll to the boat |
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| The Rum Runner |
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| Part of our crew after our first dives |
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| Sunset on the reef |
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| We were well entertained |
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| We saw a ton of wildlife, including many turtles, rays, clownfish of course, and even sharks |
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| Maneuvering through some caves |
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| This dude wanted to hand for a while |
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| SCUBA instruction from Masa |
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| Underwater navigation |
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| The prize for being certified |
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| We saw humpbacks on every trip |
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| Awesome breach |
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| The full Rum Runner crew |
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| Ready for trouble in downtown Cairns |
The End
All good things do come to an end. As my plane lifted off from Cairns back to the States I had Xavier Rudd playing on the iPod and it got a little dusty. I'll always remember the experience I had there with a good friend of mine and the many friends I made along the way. Truly when you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you understand just why you came this way. G'day Aus,
Yaluu maliyaa.
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| Last Cairns sunset |
Farewell to the west now
And welcome, to the east
Farewell to the one who raked the sand beneath my feet
Thank you for the space we shared, and the heart and soul my friend
I will see you through the colours, between the mountains as the sun decends
Oh we twisted and we reflected upon a grin
Common ground we walked upon, with common feelings and common things
Yes it is a cruel world, but there is solace amongst the sin Peace to you for now we'll share again, we'll share again
Farewell to the west now
My mind is open to the east
To all the new faces, new minds and things to see
I am alone here, and my heart at times it weeps
You will see me through the colours, as the sun sinks in the sea
Solace Amongst the Sin, Xavier Rudd
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