When were got on the bus at Mission Beach it was slowly daunting on us that this was our last "Oz Experience" bus journey....it was quite sad really as it felt like the end of a chapter. I was greeted on the bus by a driver that we had had in Byron bay and he said TRACY I REMEMBER YOU!!! it's nice to know that in one bus ride and a trip to surf camp I can make such an impression! ha ha

On the way to cairns the bus stops at a Crocodile farm, a real life one, not a poncey zoo a proper out in the middle of nowhere croc farm. On arrival there I held a baby croc which at first i was scared about and then soon realised that it felt like shoes and handbags which I probably shouldnt have said out loud to the man that worked there but they bred crocs for all sorts anyway so i guessed it didnt matter! there was also a huge black python which I could have held but to be honest after having that 6 foot python round my neck in Coffs Harbour I decided against it. I can now touch a snake withut crapping myself but that one looked evil! We went around all the crocs and he fed them etc but they open the gate and you can really get close to them as you will be able to see from my photos! I never realised how huge they were. It was a nice afternoon stop but once again the heat was ridiculous!

We arrived in cairns in the early evening and checked into Gilligans which on paper looks like the most luxurious hostel you have ever seen...this place is huge. They call it a hotel/resort for backpackers but there are the most miserable idiots on reception and every room seems to be infested with bed bugs and they dont give a s***e about it, probably as they are such a big place. We have paid for another few days but after that i am going to move as it really is ridiculous....the phrase " Sleep tight dont let the bed bugs bite" now freaks me out and I even slept in Emma's bed last night as we had to move rooms and then my bloody bed had bed bugs! GRRRRRRR

We are in cairns until march 20th as Bev is going home then and Em and I have now decided to go to Melbourne first instead of Perth as the flights were half the price...i love the fact that you can change your mind as to what you want to do whenever you want! Its fab. One of my favourite things about travelling!

Cairns is an odd place, i like it as it has a shopping centre and the esplanade is nice and its got a lagoon etc but it is full of wrongens, like the dregs of society have all congrigated up in Northern Queensland!

There are a few good places to go out and we've been to some of them already, Woolshed, Rhino Bar, Gilligans etc etc and had some good nights out. The weather up here is s***e and we have been experiencing monsoon rain and they have said that another cyclone is hanging about which is lovely! As the weather is rubbish and apart from a couple opf trips I have nothing planned here I got a job working in a cafe. It is hard work and I have blisters on my fingers as mty job is.... washing up, clearing tables and chopping about 10 tonnes of fruit and veg a day. Its about 4 days a week 11-5 and I only earn 10 bucks an hour which is about 5 quid..horrendous but I figured that the less money I spend out here the more i have when I go home. I am looking forward to working in Melbourne as having spoken to some blokes that worked there for 3 months the pay is good and living in St Kilda is amazing, the company they worked for even offered them sponsorship to stay out here working. I figured that theres no point in me wasting my one and only working holiday visa.

We met some really cool people when we stayed at Gilligans....when it rained we all sat in the kitchen drinking tea out of bowls as there were never any mugs or cups. This formed the kitchen Crew. It consisted of Emma, Bev and I and a load of oxfordshire boys and a Canadian. It was hilarious and sometimes we would sit there for hours and not realise as all we did was take the mickey out of eachother which is right up my street! We went on loads of nights out there and had a really good laugh.

When we left Gilligans Mcbedbug infested nightmare we headed to a hostel called " The Northern Greenhouse" and it was so nice to stay at such a gorgeous hostel....we even got free breakfast in the mornings before 9am which was a fab added bonus.

Due to the weather being pants most of the time we all started to get a bit fed up with Cairns and cos it is so expensive to change flights and Bev was going home on the same day we stayed there for almost 3 weeks. This did allow me to do my reef trip and also cape tribulation (I will do a separate blog for Cape trib)

The weekend before we were all due to leave Cairns, Bev's brother and friend came to visit as they were also in Australia at the same time. We had a good night out at the Woolshed after roping loads more people from the hostel to play drinkng games with us in the room! The only thing was that the playing cards we were playing the drinking games with had semi-clad women on which was hilarious as the boys were just staring at the women deciding which one was better looking!

I did my boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef in the last week which was lucky as the weather picked up to 37 degrees and sunny...only for a couple of days but at least we left Cairns in the sun. Something we hadnt seen for a long time unfortunately! The reef trip was amazing, the 2 hour rough journey out to the Reef was not the most enjoying as I was feeling really sea sick...i managed not to spew but I felt sooo rough. Think I would have felt a lot better if I had fed the fish with my free breakfast of nutri grain! Ah well, nevermind!

We went to two separate snorkelling and diving spots and I saw the most beautiful fish I have ever seen. I did take some pics with an underwater camera but they will never live up to the reality of it. It really is like another world under the sea. It was weird cos when you're in the sea you dont really think about sharks...although Im sure i would have crapped myself if I had seen one! At the second snorkelling spot I saw a turtle and it was amazing....when you interact with them they stay around and it was amazing to be that close to a wild animal and not be scared. It was like something out of Finding Nemo and I was thinking about the part in the film where Marlon meets the turtles.......dooooood! It was soo amazing.

As it was soon to be Bev's 21st birthday we got her a cake and cooked her her last yummy dinner of Kangaroo with plum sauce and mash and salad. very nice dinner for a backpacker! We were sad to see Bev go but it is what she wanted to do. Off to Melbourne now hopefully to work and get a flat......