We already seem to be spending a great deal of time on busses but Australia is a huge continent. Now I get the phrase "No pain, no gain". We left early to travel to Airlie Beach. We stopped in the city of Tully which boasts of being the wettest place in Australia. There is a big gumboot (rubber boot) in the middle of town with water levels marked on it. Check out the sign that I took a picture of for facts about the gumboot. Interestingly, "Bata" is painted on...

I did it! I got up and was on the beach to see the sunrise by 5:30 am. I was not alone. My new friends from Boston/ Melbourne were there as well as about 10 other people. More kept coming until there was probably about 20 of us to greet the sun. It was not disappointing. The colours as the sun made its way were absolutely amazing. I learned how to use the time lapse feature in my iPad and got the whole thing. Check it out in the pics. Unfortunately there were a ...

Happy Easter everyone! Today was a free day. Caitlin, our amazing CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) arranged a snorkelling tour for whoever wanted. Since we couldn't find the croc we're going to challenge the jellyfish. A visit to Australia would not be complete without putting life and limb on the line and inviting some jellyfish and reef sharks to have a taste of Canadian blood. However, we had to wear stinger suits - a kind of wet suit but thinner th...

We travelled 1.5 hours by bus to Mossman Gorge. Here in Australia they actually have bike lanes on the highway. It's really weird driving and even walking here. We know you drive on the left, the drivers seat is on the right and all that. But try and walk here. Crossing the road you must look to the right first, not the left. It's habit to look left when you cross the street for most of the world. Vic almost got smoked several times in Cairns crossing th...

It's Good Friday! After 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep we got up and decided to further explore the city. We had the whole day to meander around Cairns before our tour meeting late this arvo (afternoon).We headed back to the Esplanade. That big swimming pool is called a swimming lagoon. It is 4800 square meters of crystal clear water. It has a massive state of the art chlorination and filtration plant that keeps the water perfect for year round swimming at...