Well we were off to a flyer on our first visit to Oz (which i can safely say there will be plenty more). After a long long tiring flight overnight Via Darwin we jumped off the plane smelling a little and looking slightly scruffy well i was anyway (Jack doesn't sweat as much as me, even on six hour treks she is bone dry). We visited our first hostel which was full, but they sent us to their sister hostel Tropic Days so we headed there, and were nicley put into a three bed dorm for some shut eye, to get ready for the Monday night bbq night. Our first night couldn't have been better we were hosted by Gabe the owner of both hostels a typical big loud Aussie (he even wore Karkies) and his English Iriash, Irish helping team of Laura Ash and Bror(he makes good sausages for a Veggie) We then escaped the punishment which is the Didgeriedoo playing competition which involves eating a witchedy grub and making a tit out of yourself trying to play the didge. We avoided this by sheer luck by being the only two people in a three bed dorm which a) wasn't Canadian and b) a girl called Lynda although Laura grassing us up that we were in room one didn't help our chances of avoiding it. Apart from a cool hostel and a legendry nightclub (for all the wrong reasons) nightclub oh and a nice Esplanade and Lagoon Cairns was a pretty quiet town just full of travel agencies reday to sort out your trip down the ast coast, so we sandwiched a week and a half there with a three day trip upto Cape Tribulation and Port Doulgas (see blog for Cape Trib) When we arrived back on the Monday it was BBQ time again and Gabe had it in for us we were up in that bloody comp for sure this time Jack was definitley in and at least I thought I had half a chance of avoiding it but she picked my name out of the hat (cheers Miles)(anytime Jones!) It was a good job we had a few goons down us. Well the grub tasted nice and we were awful at playing the didge, and we got beat by an Irish girl who obviously had more friends than us (booo!). But just for being the good sports that we are we got free beers and decided to drown our sorrows at the Woolshed! This is the ledgendry nightclub in Cairns (finally got there eh Nat!) this is where I was highly disturbed to see men covorting with eachother in the attempt to become Mr Backpacker, it disturbed me even more that the winner had left his socks on (wanting to leave something to the imagination!). The next day spent lazing with our hangovers at the hostel waiting for our van to be ready to pick up and taklingto the most eccentric Dutchman I've had the pleasure of meeting. This guy nicknamed his wreak of a car 'SpiderPig' and furnished the inside with Zebra print Fabric?! and glued a small plastic pig to the front bonnet where the jaguar would normally stand! All this to pimp up a crappy ford falcoln (sierra). All that was left for us to do in Cairns was to say our goodbyes, which we actually put off for another day! Then headed off in the blazing mid day heat to the Atherton Tablelands.

Ps for those who dont know what Goon is - its the nickname for 4 litre for $13 boxed wine that does exactly what its name says - makes you talk and act like a goon! Desperate times called for desperate measures!