We arrived to lots of rain..gutted! Cairns is quite an easy city to navigate around - but all the roads are very similar so it is easy to become disorientated. Apparently the rainy season here starts in December, but it appears to have come early.

We now live in all Mcds because of the free wifi. This seems to be one of the first jobs when we arrive in a new place.. where is Mcds!

We hired a little yellow Hyundai Getz (aka the rocket) along with a German girl, Dilek, to go and explore Cape Tribulation. To get there we had to cross the croc infested waters of the Daintree River on the ferry. Along the way up the windy roads, there were roadworks on the only bridge to get across a river with a strong current. We had to go through the river and hope that us along with the car didn't get washed away. And the little rocket just about made it!

The famous poncho I picked up in Malaysia made a reappearance... the best buy ever, even James was envious! It was absolutely pouring it down with rain.. so we certainly saw a rainforest. The jungles are magnificent and James made a great camera stand for Dilek, who loved taking pictures... "James James please can you hold my umbrella again.. Can you get low down please" haha it was hilarious! He was her PA.

We didn't see much wildlife, so we got a little bit creative... we decided to create our own wildlife.. me blending in with the surroundings with my green poncho looking like a bird and James being the first pregnant man. There is alot of walks you can do around Cape Tribulation that take about half an hour. We did a few but with Miss happy snapper they took twice as long. We also saw Cape Tribulation beach but it wasn't spectacular due to the grey skies and heavy rain! The Alexandra look out is a pretty spectacular view. Thankfully we went to the furthest point first and worked our way back. So by the time we got to the lookout the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared a little. We stopped at Masons Cafe for a Aussie burger and the owner said we would have no chance at crossing the river where the roadworks were in our little rocket. And he said people always forget to open their windows and take their seatbelt off so make sure you do that... if we wasn't worried before we certainly were after! The water level had reached half a metre! By the time we came to cross, the water level had dropped and we made it again in the little rocket.

Before heading back to base, we thought we would do a boat trip on the Daintree river. But the tour sale booths were deserted. Apparently we didn't miss much because the water levels were high and so it was difficult to spot the crocs. Once again we have failed to see a croc!

The second day we decided to go further inland to Kuaranda. Again it was raining all day so we didn't manage to get to any of the lakes you can swim in. We saw Barron Falls which was unbelieveable. The water was crashing off the edge of the rocks and the drop was about 300 metres.

Reluctantly we drove another half an hour to the village of Mareeba to see some kangaroos. Dilek was determined to get some pictures of them. James and I were convinced we wouldn't see any because of the rain, but she was right. There were kangaroos in abundance on the golf course. Dilek was obsessed with taking pictures of coffee plants so again we reluctantly drove a further half an hour to Jacques Coffee Plantation which was closed! But the owners happened to be walking their dog and two cats (weird) when we got talking to them. They were the first coffee farm on Oz in 1978. And they own a little Nelly and a girocopter! $100 for 20mins ride. James negotiated $50 for 15mins ride. So all the excessive driving paid off in the end. This bloke, Nat, was really trying to sell working on his farm. He showed us the digs (old dilapidated caravans) and the private water creek (see the picture of James with a dogs backside and a random chair). The snag was you don't get paid but you don't spend money either - what a scam! He has backpackers working there all the time.. Hmm really..

Lauren x