May 4th (Monday) - Day 64 - Cairns
We had not planned anything for today so just walked around town for most the day. We wandered down to the sea front and the first thing you notice is a large swimming pool on the front. There were loads of people milling around. We started to plan the next few days and it dawned on us how much there is to do and how much it was going to cost being here! First thing we looked into was snorkelling off the great barrier reef. There were hundreds of boats to pick from so shockingly the cheapest one won out! After lunch we tried to go to the shopping centre but it was a bank holiday and everything was shut, so instead we looked into the scenic train and sky rail tours. We decided to do it ourselves as it was so much cheaper. Next we looked into a trip to Cape Tribulation. We decided on one and went to a shop to book it. We were told it would be 5 minutes. 30 minutes later we left really annoyed and walked next door and got seen straight away. The lady conned us into booking another one in the end but it was cheaper and they chucked in breakfast hehe. That evening we found a meal deal for 10 dollars (5 quid) and you got a really big meal with veg, a pint and a desert.

May 5th (Tuesday) - Day 65 - Cairns (Great Barrier Reef)
Once alert we headed down for the marina and found our boat amongst the thousands. The boat was about 30 metres long, really big but there were so many large boats it looked like a dingy compared to some. The mad photo lady made us do some weird shots before we checked in and got our scuba gear. They warned us it was going to be a rough day and that we could come back but we'd seen worse in Vietnam hehe. It took a good 2 hours to reach the reef. In the mean time we had to go through a very funny but very drawn out safety briefing and about 30 rain showers. Once there we put all our gear on and jumped in. At first the water was warmer than the air. It was like being in a bath. The only issue was because of the strong wind visibility was not as good as it could have been so we had to swim really close to the reef before we saw anything. I'd never seen anything like it! I'd always imagined coral to be hard and lifeless but it moved in the sea as if wind was blowing through a tree. There were millions of colourful fish of all sizes. We stayed in the water for about an hour and it was only the call for lunch that got us out! Once drying off we had a magnificent lunch and sailed onto the next reef. Once there we geared up again and started to swim out. This time we had a guide because of the currents in the water. We'd been swimming for 5 minutes and were only about 10 metres from the boat. The current was so strong! We pressed on and reached the reef. Once there it was easier to stay in one spot without being carried off. This one was far better than the first and the guide showed us numerous things. We then found Nemo hehe. Afterwards once we were tired we just stopped kicking and within minutes we were back under the boat. It was hard to hold on as the current was dragging us under the boat. Once out the water they treated us to cake and a film (Ice Age 2). We watched that most the way back and then once that had finished they put on shark tale. They then gave us more treats in the form of sparkling wine and as no one really had any I got 2 glasses. We docked and no one noticed. We were still only half way through shark tale. The crew had gone outside to see us off and no one left. The captain had to come back on and turn off the film before anyone moved. That even we chilled out and relaxed after a hard day.

May 6th (Wednesday) - Day 66 - Cairns (Karunda)
Once alive we walked to the train station and brought our tickets for the Karunda scenic railway. There is a loop you can do whereby the train takes you to Karunda and one of the worlds longest cable cars brings you back. Once we had our tickets we waited on the station for a few minutes. The train was the largest I have ever seen. It had 2 engines and 14 carriages. Massive in length compared to the UK. We found our seats. Big enough for 6 but they were allocated for 8 people. We sat there hoping we'd be alone. We met a couple who had been on the boat with us the day before, however some Japanese soon showed them that they were in the wrong seats. The train left Cairns and it was still really empty however they soon said that most the people would be getting on at the next station. The next station was only 10 minutes away and they did not lie. Loads of people got on. Once they were all seated (luckily not near us) we made our way up a really steep track to get up the mountain. There were so many impressive sights and the running commentary kept reminding us how hard it was to build the railway. Numerous waterfalls and cliff edges over looking the valley we had just climbed. Once we were close to the top we stopped at a look out point overlooking a 300 metre waterfall. The train took an hour and three quarters to reach Karunda. Once there we brought our sky rail tickets and had a look around the village. It was full of little market stalls and cafes. We had a really early lunch and then went on a forest walk. This was a long loop of the whole area taking you to some of the best sights. The walk took over an hour and conveniently brought you back to the village. One ice cream later we boarded the sky rail. This is basically a 5 mile long cable car that runs over the mountains so you get an excellent view of the rain forest below. It was not busy at all so we soon out our own pod. The thing was so fast you could feel yourself fly out the of the station. Within a minute we were flying over the rainforest canopy with huge trees and tons of wildlife below. The cable cars had 2 stops along the way. One to see the waterfall again from a different angle and another at a canopy boardwalk. Over an hour later we reached the final stop and got the bus back into central Cairns. We got our bus passed sorted and went back to the 10 dollar meal place for dinner.