So after a couple of weeks in the beautiful City of Melbourne it was time to head north to Cairns and experience the East Coast before xmas and new years. Our flight was in the afternoon and the bus that was picking us up from our Hostel was due about 10 o'clock which was good for us as the check out time was 10am. So we jumped on the bus to the Airport which was for about 45 minutes, check in our bags all the way to Cairns as it had to do another connecting flight from Sydney which was a pain. We only had to wait an hour at Sydney so wasn't too bad. We got to Cairns about 4pm and soon as you got off the plane it was like you was in Egypt or somewhere very hot like that as the humidity hit you straight in the face. Jumped in a taxi to our Hostel that we were staying in for the time we were here which was called Gilligans. We had been recommended it by people back home and people in Melbourne. It was about 10 minutes away as Cairns is such a little town. Checked in to our room, threw our bags down and went for a walk. The town is really small but had everything you needed. After about an hour we headed back for dinner which was free every night which was a bonus but the meals you used to get looked like a dogs dinner or just werent enough, but you could double up for $3 or choose something else. After that we went back to ouor room and bumped into some of our room-mates which were asleep earlier. A Scottish girl called Katie, and a Irish couple called MJ and Jackie.

Over the next few days the lot of us would just chill out by the Lagoon which was up the road and top up our tans. The Lagoon was built because in Cairns you aint aloud to go in the sea in some areas i dont think. But it was very nice as it had BBQ's on the side which you could use whenever you wanted just like in Melbourne. I bought a 3 week gym membership which i went to 5-6 days a week for a run every morning. Keep myself fit, Matt didn't want to join as he is lazy and couldnt be bothered. There was a gym in our Hostel but only had weight machines.

On Sunday 30th it was my birthday and when i got back from gym in the morning Matt had bought me a cake from Woolworths round the corner. When i got in the room Jackie, MJ and Katie had gathered round, put candles on the cake and sang Happy Birthday to me which was great of them. I had Matt running around all day getting things for me like a butler. That night we got a load of drink in and sat on our balcony and got drunk playing drinking games before heading around the corner to a Bar/Club called Woolshed where we was straight on the tables throwing some crazy shapes. It was a good day for me as I had good people around me and topped it off with a great night.

For the rest of that week we just chilled out down the Lagoon, by the pool topping up our tans and on the night times we either went cinema, or went downstairs to the club where it was all going on. On the Wednesday and couple of locals come in a play Bogan Bingo which is brilliant. It basically the same as normal bingo but when you get a number you have to stand up and shout from the top of your lungs and they will give you a free drink. When you get a full house you have to go up to them and shout, 'Bogan f***ing Bingo' then do a funny dance while he checks your cards. If you have all the numbers you can win loads of good stuff like day trips to Cape Trib, Sky-dives and bunjy jumps. There is a load of number when he pulls out you have to do certain stuff like when the number 39 comes out you have to run to the front of the stage and pick up this blow up guitar and play it infront of everyone, jump around on the tables to win a prize. Good bit of fun, but like most of the nights there is always something on like Mondays is Wet t-shirt, Tuesday is Jelly Wrestling, Wednesday is Bogan Bingo, Thursday is Ladies Night, Friday and Saturday there are bus parties etc and loads of stuff like that so night times werent really that boring, but we did have a few nights where just had a cup of tea and watched the tele.

That weekend me and Matt hired our car up to Cape Tribulation for a couple of days which there is a blog you can read. When we arrived back a couple of days later to check in we had to be moved to another room which was annoying so we got into our new room which was not bad but full up with bags everywhere, plus a we had to have a top bunk and we didn't have a balcony so i could hang my gym stuff out every morning. So we went downstairs and I blagged a story about going gym in the morning and hanging my clothes out and didn't want them to get nicked as it happened to one of our mates, it never but it seem to work. They moved us upstairs into another room which was good straight away because soon as you walked in you know that there was girls in the room, just by the smell, lovely jubbly. So we went downstairs for dinner and then came back up and met our roomies which were 2 welsh girls, Becky and Cleo which were a bit crazy but had a good bit of banther with them. Another girl called Laura and a guy she was travelling with called Owen from Northern Ireland which we become good friends. There was a bloke called Mark from Coventry who was sound and had a good laugh with him. We had a little group again, drinking games on the balcony, then hitting downstairs or another club round the town so it was all good. Then Mark introduced us to these 4 scousers Paddy, Sean, Joe (Super noodles) and John (Joey Barton) and they were nuts. They come round to our balcony one evening and then the drinking started. We played a game called ride the bus which me, Sean and this other boy called Henry who worked there were the only ones. Obviously I lost and i was already done half a bottle of Vodka, and all there was left was Goon (cheap wine made from fish guts and everything else) so i had to get across the table picking these cards and hopefully not hitting a picture card. a Jack was one gulp, Queen was 2 gulps, King was 3 gulps and an Ace was 4 gulps. Every other card i turned there seemed to be a picture card so I was absolutly wrecked even before i went out. Had a wee in our bin instead of the toilet, dont know why, just thought it would be funny. The next morning I felt a little rough, not as much as I thought and Matt said to me that he has never seen me so back. Good night though! I saw the scousers the next morning and they all cheered me like I was a hero or something.

The next few days me and Matt were suggesting what stuff we wanted to do while we was here. So we went round to the shop round the corner to book a few things up. We booked a Sky-dive, Tubing (sit in a dingy and go down some river rapids) and we booked to visit The Great Barrier Reef. So over the next couple of weeks we had things to do.

A boy called Kay moved into our room, he was from Japan and spoke a little bit of English and travelling on he's own so we asked if he fancied coming out with us for a few beers. Nice chap.

Over the next week we done our activities and the following Monday Debbie and Rosa turned up. Nice to see them again as we had a great time with them in Argentina. They got in the next room to us. We had a few nighta out while they were here but as we had a little group we would all go out together, they met people while they were here so they would do there own thing and we would all meet by the end of the night. One night me Matt and Kay went to bed about an hour before them lot and about 5am Debbie jumped over the balcony and into our room and woke me and Kay up to go into there room for some reason. Matt was well into he's sleep by this time. I had just my boxers on and a towel that i grabbed quickly before going in. There was there roomies in there and a boy called Chris that we met a couple of days earlier, nice bloke. We was all out on the balcony but before me and Kay got in there a boy called Texas (one of the staff) decided to jump over the railing of the balcony and security starting doing there nut. They came up and knocked on the door and dragged me into the corridor in my boxers and started to have ago at me about jumping over the railings. I just said, 'im really drunk, do you think I'm that stupid to put myself at risk' and then one of them said, 'I dont think its him anyway, the bloke was alot taller than him.' Texas is about 6ft 4 so he was right. But i got Texas out of trouble anyway so he thanked me, he could of got the sack or something like that. It was about 6am by this point so I just kipped in there room that night. Funny night.

Over the next week it was alot of partying and chilling. 3 boys from Essex checked into our room which were nice blokes, crazy when they were drunk as one night me and Matt walked in and the smell of sick hit us in straight in the face, the bin from outside was upside down and the playing cards were everywhere. Dont know what they got up to. By this point we were really starting to get in with the staff like drinking with them before we go out, but they were all travellers that were working there as they needed the money and they were all our age aswell. We met Cherrie who is hilarious with some of her sexual stories, so funny. A girl called Nikki who was very nice, kept nicking our food and getting us to make tea's for her but it was all good. A few other girls aswell but they are all in Sydney for New years aswell so thats all good. It was coming to the end of our time in Cairns now so the last few days we decided to have it large with everyone and have a really good couple of last days before we left Cairns and that is what we did. Cairns was one the best places i think we will visit, lovely little party town with nice people and we will keep alot of memories from this place. Onto Mission Beach ...