After our fantastic trip in the whitsundays (in which we got fed loads) and the hurricane stricken airlie we took an overnight bus to our final distination Cairns.

After a rubbish sleep on the bus and arriving in the pouring rain at 6 in the morning we managed to make our way to our hostel, only to find out we couldnt check in for another 6 hours...not what you want to hear after no sleep and pouring rain. So we set about having breakfast and watching some tv until we could finally get into our room...but it has to say we were not happy bunnies!

When we finally managed to check in we met our fantastic roomie Charlie who worked at the hostel and took it upon himself to show us around! so the first day we walked about cairns in a bit of a daze (and in the pouring rain) and eneded up renting a movie to watch as the weather was so bad!

Second day in Cairns, it was still raining! we got a guided tour around the city from Charlie, did some shopping and just walked about aimlessly. The following day we once again did a spot of shopping and ventured to the Cairns fire station where we were welcomed and shown about (we went because charlie is a firefighter back in england and beths family are fire fighters), it was cool to see noe the less although we were stuck listening to life stories of the token fat fireman for about an hour!

Then finally came monday, the day of the barrier reef dive! we woke up at 6.30 am to the sound of the rain poruing down on the roof, and made our way over to the marina with a sulk on because of the weather! we were welcomed by the crew who quickly brought our attention to the bad weather and the fact that the waves were massive and it would be a rollercoaster ride (not what a person who gets sea sick in a rocking chair wants to hear). SO after our 2 hour journey with a side of sick bags we arrived at our diving site and were put in our stinger suits and jumped in. The instructor took us to 12 meters and it was truly amazing! we touched corals, sea cucumbers and lots of other cool stuff (we even saw nemo) and a white tip shark!! It was truly amazing and beautiful with lots of vibrant colors and fishes, truly amazing and one of the best experiences in oz! We were under water for over half an hour and were greeted by lunch when we surfaced! after lunch we went to our second location where we snorkled in a maze of coral reef! all in all a fantastic day (minus the stinger stings and sea sickness) but im happy we managed to get to see the reef before it all disappears!

We then went to the hostel and tried a bit of kangaroo and crocodile meet as a final goodbye to Charlie as he had to go back to the UK! After our aussie bbq we went out and spent the entire night creating dance moves (decorating the christmas tree, the submarine and all sorts) and having a general good time although we are all sleepy now and a little worse for wear!!

Anyway, next stop thailand!! x

We are now spending our last day in Cairns (which is suprise suprise sunny) before we part our ways and I head off to thailand for 2 weeks! Can not wait!!