hiya all, latest report from cape tribulation, gateway to the barrier reef although unfortunately didn't have time to revisit!! had a brilliant time, had a 2 day trip up to the cape from Cairns. early morning pickup and we were away on a little tour bus.

on the 1st day we went to a wildlife sanctuary, very cool as you could hand feed the kangaroos and wallabies etc but after the zoo and the croc farm with kanga's at it, this was so yesterday for us!! was nice to break the journey up though and have a bit of a leg stretch. we then carried on the rest of the journey, went past Snapper Island which is where Steve Irwin was diving off when he met the Stingray, the island is actually shaped like a crocs head sticking out of the water hence the name.

in the afternoon we did a bit of rainforest walking, really interesting, our guide was very knowledgeable on the flora and fauna as we walked through, telling us about what the aborigines did etc and how the trees survive etc etc, saw an amazing water hole/stream running through it as well, one of the few that didn't have crocodiles in so lots of people were swimming, nice when it was so hot and humid! the guide even had us licking the bums of green ants!! apparently the aborigines used to get a green ant nest, boil it up and then strain it and drink the water, green ants have an acid in the bum segment that has a rediculously high content of vitamin c and the strained mixture used to be drank as a medicine for coughs and colds etc!! when you liked the ants bum, a little bit of the acid got squeezed out, tasted sharp and a little citrussy!! so thats one of the wierdest things i've ever done, we all had a go..ah the peer pressure and curiosity once one person has tried it!! just before going to check in we also went for a boat ride down the Daintree river looking for crocs!! were lucky enough to spot a couple, just lazing on the river bank but got really close which was wierd, really life wild crocs just prob 2 metres away, scary!

checked into our hostel that night and can honestly say have never seen such big spiders- they were everywhere, steph had a right bad do, wouldn't actually even have a shower because of the webs...and the huge huntsman that we could see on the roof!! we others managed..just about. i even had to go in the cubicle with steph for her to have a wee and i was defend her if any spiders came, i am such a big strong sister...don't think there would have been much defending happening if one had decended though, they were seriously as big as my hand!! she only wants me when she is scared, (ahem Fraser Island was a major big sister moment with steph in a tent, those who know her will know what i mean!!) i know she needs me really :o)

morning of the second day we woke with more bed bug bites!! really couldn't believe it, laura was just getting over her infection and we were struck again, thought i had got away with it as didn't seem to have any bites though although when packing i did see a little one on my bed and sure enought the bites had started coming up by the follwoing day. we didn't let it spoil our morning though, we had booked a morning horseriding and were so excited about it, had been looking forward for weeks, can safely say it was definately a highlight of the whole trip for Annie and prop steph too, we loved it. we got to do trotting and cantering and rode through rainforest and streams and along the beach, it was like out the movies, so much fun. bums weren't that sore as we headed back to the hostel.

we spent the remainder of the afternoon washing all of our clothes, bags, towels pouches....anything fabric really incase the bed bugs had decided to take up residence. we made complaints and it turns out 6 of their rooms had had the bugs, made us so angry, especially as we missed out on a trip to the water holes for a swim cos we were washing!! had to go and have our lunch just in bikinis and everything. never mind, we were so happy just to get on the bus back to cairns by that point, besides the bugs we had had a brilliant time in the cape, definately would recommend it, stunning scenery.