Queensland

My first experience of arriving in Cairns, in far north Queensland, was the plane descending into some clouds that looked different. Their shape indicated that they weren’t just hanging in the air, but brushed up against some solid surface. My apprehensions were confirmed when we broke out from the clouds to reveal our proximity to wall of green mountains covering the coastline, leaving only room for a small two lane road known as the Captain Cook Highway.

We exited from the plane onto the tarmac and the wave of humidity confirmed I was now definitely in a tropical part of the world. It was the middle of the night and I took a cab from the airport to a hostel type accommodation where I waited to be picked up by the woman who was running the shows for the next two days.

That day consisted of hanging at her place with the other Australian comedians, Lindsay Webb (a man who ability to associate words into puns, brings it to the level of high art) and Greg Fleet (a comedian whose adventurous past has given him an infamous reputation, but at present day I only found a selfless and considerate man with a tender heart).

Our first show was in Port Douglas, a smaller town about an hour north of Cairns. We did the show in a large wooden boat house called ‘The Sugar Hut’ or ‘Shack’ I can’t exactly remember, but it was formally used to house all the sugar cane years ago.

Next night was at the Blue Sky Brewery in Cairns, another great show. Instead of partying that night, Greg Fleet and I went back to our rooms so we could finish our books and trade them. Rock Stars!

I had a few days in between my shows and the arrival of some comedy pals who were on the Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow. So I rented a car, quickly oriented myself with the left side of the road, and drove along the coast and up into the surrounding mountain rainforests. Never having been in a rainforest before, the sheer density of the plant life is what struck me the most. You can start hiking into it, until you can’t see the sky anymore, but for a few cracks of light breaking through the leaves.

I also booked a trip out the great barrier reef to see what all the fuss is about. The boat goes out to three different reef sites. I ended up snorkeling one, and diving at the other two sites. The amount of colourful fish is unlike anything I had seen before in my life. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a reef shark, which used to be in abundance, but are currently not something you’ll catch a sight of on the reef every day. There was also a large stingray floating by on one of the dives, although he looked pretty battered and worn out. Large sections of the reef were also shattered, and looked much like a forest after a fire. The people working on the boat told me that much of the broken reef was due to the recent cyclone that hit, and not just a result of global warming and ozone degradation. While diving through the reef, what really make me feel like I was in another world, more than anything, were the giant clams. These hundred year old creatures, with bright purple and neon blue flesh, look just like out of a cartoon, but they are magnificently real. The feeling of breathing while under water is most certainly something I will have to experience again. Traversing the reef and being able to control my upward and downward movement, just by how much air I kept in my lungs was such a unique way to manipulate my movements.

That night I met up with some friends at the comedy roadshow in Cairns, we had some beers at the Green Ant Cantina. A funky little bar with a refreshing ‘Green Ant’ brew.

The next day we took a trip to Josephine Falls, just an hour south of Cairns, where a natural rock slide and lagoon, included swinging on vines that actually held my weight.

The beauty of far north Queensland is difficult to describe. I’d never seen fields of sugar cane before, but stopping out a rural road you get a chance to see things which your eyes have never come across before. Like when the sun hits the sugar cane flowers and just beyond that there’s a rainforest covered mountain in the background. That’s close to a double rainbow.

I did make it back to Port Douglas on one of my road trips, to stop in for their Carnivale festival, which I didn’t see much evidence of anything different except several tent shops packing up. However I followed a sign to ‘Fresh Prawns’ off of the boat, and purchased a container of shrimp that I could not finish on my own. Sipping a beer on the docks in the sun, while feasting on shrimp, was most certainly a highlight of the week.

I’m missing a lot here still, but needless to say, Cairns was a great trip on all fronts, and I can’t wait to go back and do a show there again next year. There’ll be more shows to do and plenty more rainforest to cover. Going to bed now. I have more to share on my return to South Australia with Adelaide Comedy, and my weekend of crab fishing, olive picking, surfing, fishing and wine tasting. For those who knock Adelaide and South Australia...you’re just doing it wrong.