Hey everyone!

Well it is nearly our time up in Cairns! We have had some nice relaxing days in the sun here which has been a nice change! A couple of days ago though we went scuba diving at The Great Barrier Reef which was amazing! First off we got a great deal on the trip so we sailed to the reef on a huge catamaran which was great. When we arrived we first went on a semi submersible boat which was like a tiny glass bottom boat. We then had a quick lunch before we went scuba diving. We did a few safety things first and then we went diving! We saw clown fish which are the finding nemo fish, giant clams which really are giant and lots of other fish! The corals were just amazing though and so colourful! We then all sat on the bottom of the sea and our instructor handed us a sea cucumber which is also called a sea slug. I thought it was a big piece of coral but when i held it it was all slimy which gave it away! It was really cool. We dove for about 30 mins and then got on a wee boat which took us to Michaelmas Cay where we went snorkelling. I have never been snorkelling where there is so much life so shallow! I also saw a sting ray on this wee trip! We both really enjoyed the day:)

Then yesterday we did a Tablelands and Waterfalls tour where we went on many walks through the rainforest! It was really cool! Our first stop was at Babinda Boulders where we went and saw some big boulders! Our bus unfortunatly broke down as we were about to leave though! So we had to stay there for about an hour but whilst we were there we were taught how to cook bacon and eggs Aussie outback style! This involved biting a hole in bread and then cooking an egg in the middle! This was so the egg didn't run down the hole for draining in the barbeque! It was very tasty! Whilst we were there i found what i though was a slug attached to my foot but it turned out to be a leech! I flicked it off and then saw that it had been sucking on my blood which wasn't too nice! It bled for about 20 mins which is what happens if you pull them off i was later told!

Once our new bus arrived we were off to Josephine Falls which was pretty cool! We had to walk in the Rainforest for about 20 mins to get to all the different sights so that was a great experience even despite all the bugs!

We then went to Millaa Millaa Falls which were beautiful! They were featured in the Herbal Essences ads and Peter Andre's 'Mysterious Girl' video and you could see why! I went of a paddle and it was freezing! We saw our first wild turtles there which were so cute! I experienced some more wildlife when a big spider decided to climb on my leg! At least it wasn't a tarantula!

We then had a stop for lunch and the we went to Gallos Cheese and Chocolate Factory where we saw some very smelly cows and ate some ice cream! Then it was on to a smaller falls which i can't remeber the name of! We saw some more turtles here which were just as cute and we also did some Platypus spotting! I don't have great pictures of them as you will see but it was really cool to see them in the wild!

Then finally we went to Lake Eacham which is a volcanic crater filled with rain water! It is huge! So we had a wee wander about there and saw even more turtles! It was then time to go back to the hotel!

Today we are just having a wee wander about as it is nice and sunny but unfortunatly everything is shut due to the Queens birthday!

We leave for Melbourne on Wednesday and lets just hope we get there as right now all flights to and from Melbourne with Qantas are stopped becuase of the ash clouds from the volcanic erruption in Chile!

Speak soon! Love Kathleen and Daniel xxx