wow...what can i say about Cairns!?! it was a action packed week there...after flying from Alice Springs where i realized as i was boarding the plane i left my phone in the van from the hostel, i finally arrived in Cairns. had a free day the first day there where I got a feel of the city and just relaxed. the next day it was whitewater rafting on the Tully River...seeing as my trip thus far has been with non-English speaking people, I was placed on a raft i dubbed Team ESL (english as a second language)...it was me, a Dutchie, 2 koreans and 2 chinese and a guide from Chile. it was the first day the river had been opened since the flooding so the water was high and the guides were anxious to get back to work. it took some time for everyone to understand the concept of paddling in sync but we eventually got over the rapids...having been rafting before, i knew where to sit and how to position the feet in case we did flip which we did...3 out of 7 went down the rapids not in the raft...quick recovery and off to lunch...dont get me started on the abuse of portion sizes by the others...grrr, the poor guides had bread and meat since no one left any salad or cheese for them...our boat then became submerged due to the 2 front people daydreaming which was kinda scary! actually 2 people died on the river 2 days later. =( and apparently there was a croc in the water as well so glad i didnt go swimming! the next day was skydiving!! SIMPLY AMAZING! i was surprised how calm i was until we actually got in the plane...one propeller on the nose! kept looking at the altimeter and thinking what the hell am i doing?!!? was the last to jump and barely had one leg out over the side before we were plummeting from 14,000 feet towards the beach...i still cannot place words on the feeling when i first jumped out but i think i will most definitely do it again! the next day was cape tribulation...where the rainforest meets the beach...Mossman Gorge was really nice! good swimming hole there...Daintree River cruise looking for crocs...found about a 4 meter one hanging out on the bank...next morning was jungle surfing which was basically a canopy tour by zipline...was fun but kinda disappointing as there was only 4 platforms! and the guide immediately informed me of his dislike of Americans...JOY! my last day was spent on a reef trip where i snorkelled by myself as the entire boat again did not speak english...i think i am sensing a pattern here! the stinger suit made the trip that much better..note sarcasm...think spiderman tight lycra. finally got my phone after the lazy cow in alice springs decided to send it to the hostel in cairns the day i left! the nicest staff ever (in cairns) encountered at a hostel then sent it to me in magnetic island. they even had a waldo lookalike!!!!!!! after leaving Cairns, i boarded the Oz Experience bus where we stopped at the Johnson River Crocodile Farm...those guys were absolute nutters! got to hold a baby saltwater croc and a python...even got to hold a baby dingo which licked my face for 20 mins...so precious!