Day 1

Arrived in Cairns from Perth via Brisbane at 10am. We got a taxi to Gilligans hostel which had been highly recommened by other travelers. As we couldnt check in until 2.30 we dumped our bags in the safe and headed our for a wander. We found the man made lagoon and spent the afternoon chilling and sleeping here before checking into our eight bedroom dorm and meeting our new roomies - northern boys! As the Man U match was on - Nicky enjoyed the pre match chat with the United fans and abusing the one Wigan fan. Watched the match (well Nicky watched the match whilst Charlotte played on facebook) and then headed out to watch England record another memorable rugby victory against the aussies! Brilliant to watch them win with other English fans in a bar in Aus.

Day 2

Had a nice lie in today due to the flight and partying from the day before. Again spent the day lazing around the laggon (hard life we know) then checking our trips to the great barrier reef. After investigating nearly every single tour we eventually booked ourselves on the most expensive - decided that it was a once in a life time opportunity and if our money runs out we have got parents that love us at home (hopefully!). The reason the trip was the most expensive was because we choose to go to a part of the reef that is more preserved due to it being further away. We also hired an underwater camera to record 'under the sea' action!

Day 3

Got picked up by our luxury coach at 6.45 which took us along the beautiful coast road to Port Douglas where we boarded our silver sonic boat. We now began to realise why we paid so much money as this boat was no dingy and the free muffin and tea on arrival where worth a couple of bucks themselves! As we were the crazy cats doing all 3 dives that were offered it was going to be a busy day! After one hour on the boat we arrived at our first location 'Phils' Luckily the diving gear was already set up for us because despite us doing our Padi course only 3 weeks ago our memory was a little hazy. We did a 40 minute dive here - words cannot describe how amazing it us to experience this different world. After the dive we spent 10 minutes snorkelling before a 5 minute journey to our next site - 'Nursery'. Here we saw loads of different types of fish ranging from Nemos to Cheveron Barracudas. After this dive it was lunch time which luckily was included in the price - the best buffet dinner we had ever seen and tasted. However, once we had stuffed our face and made the most of the so called 'free' food we were extemely full and was dissapointed to here that 10 minutes later we had to gear up again for our final dive. Slighltly apprehensive that we may drown due to our full bellies we had to perform a different entry because the boat was still moving so once in the water we had to swim hard and fast to avoid being sucked under by the propelers! This dive site was called Drifters which we realised why once we were in the water because the current just dragged you along. It was whilst being dragged along that Nicky spotted the first shark of the day however was unable to get Charlottes attention who was busy taking photos of far less intresting coral reef! Luckily Nickys frantic waving around caught Charlottes attention and they both watched the shark glide into the distance - unfortunatly Charlottes camera skills were not quick enough to snap a shot of this shark. However luckily a few seconds later another one appeared and swam into a cave. Being the dare devils that we are we decided to follow this shark and waited for it outside the cave entrance - its weird because the jaws theme tune kind of goes through your head!. Anyway, the rest of the group moved on but we waited outside the cave........ as Charlotte was anxiously waiting with the camera posed Nicky swam a little closer to peek into the cave however as she did this the shark reappeared and gave them both the fright of there lives! Once we had regained composure we took a few pictures and even made a video with the shark before catching up with the rest of the group. Back on the board the boat we stuffed our face once again with carrot and chocolate cake - yummy! Arrived back at Port Douglas to get our coach home at 6pm. Excellent day - worth every penny!

Day 4

After a busy day yesterday we rewarded oursleves with a chill out day by Gilligans (our hostel) pool. Chatted with two Italian guys that we had met in our room and discovered they also wanted to take a trip to Cape Tribulation so we decided to cut costs and hire a car for two days leaving tomorrow. In the evening we went out with our new room mates - 3 girls from Newcastle and the Italians for a quite drink!! However, once in the club there was a drinks offer of 'two for one' - so much for a quite night! Despite this drink offer - we found other ways to enjoy free drinks. First of all we entered ourselves in a clothes line competition which involved 4 of us trying to make the longest washing line out of clothes - thank god we had our room keys which were attached to a long chain. Despite this the group next to us used there shoe laces which over took our line but Charlotte used herself arms spread out in order to edge us to victory! 50 dollars worth of drinks for our winnings. As Nicky decided to be greedy and wanted more free drinks she sneakly entered Charlotte in the dance competition!! Although the DJ chose Irish dancing as her theme tune she managed to throw in a few backflips and spins in order to win us a free bottle of Champagne. Brilliant night and very cheap!

Day 5

Road trip! Picked up car at 11.30 and headed North past Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation. On route stopped at Mossmon Gorge where we dipped ourselves in the fresh water before heading up to the ferry crossing. Before getting on the ferry we went on a crocodile cruise on Daintree river and were fortunate enough to spot Scar face (AKA 'The daddy'). Also saw one of his girlfriends and many of their babies. Crossed Daintree river on the two second car ferry and then continued to drive a further 45 minutes through the rainforest stopping at awesome view points along the way. Arrived in Cape tribulation - Ferntree lodge at 6pm, checked into our dorm, freshed up and then the Italians cooked us a basic but delicious tomato based pasta dish. In the evening we partied at PK's hostel.

Day 6

Despite the Italians taking forever to get themselves into gear we spent the day exploring this magnificent place. Firstly we went on a boardwalk were whilst walking through the rainforest Nicky stopped in her tracks but oblivious Charlotte continued walking and almost tripped over a massive lace monitor (basically a massive lizard - approx 1 metre long). As soon as Charlotte realised why nicky had stopped, she soon returned to nicky's side, whist nicky tried to stop laughing at charlottes face. Next stop was the cape tribulation beach where there was no swimming in the sea due to stingers however the Italians ignored this rule and plunged into the clear water. Forgot the stinger warning - there should be a warning for sharks as a baby shark came near the shore for a play - looked cute but we stayed in the shallow end. Headed back towards the ferry crossing stopping on route for a famous exotic ice cream and another boardwalk. Final stop was the discovery centre where we hired an audio and walked up to the top of a canopy tower to appreciate the magnificent views of the Daintree rainforest. Drove to Port Douglas where we checked into a hostel and the Italians again cooked for us - this time it was Carbonara - oh my god it was so good! Got a bottle of wine and went and chilled on the four mile beach for the evening.

Day 7

In the morning we went running/walking down the four mile beach before returning the car to Cairns. The rest of the day was spent chilling and sorting admin out followed by a tactical sleep before our night out with the 3 girls from the other night. Bought some vodka and had a few drinks in our room before heading out to the Woolshed. Here we played drinking games (again two for one drinks) and danced the night away.

Day 8 / Day 9

Spent these few days just chilling and relaxing by the pool and lagoon. Decided to do a bit of laundry as we were starting to smell! Anyway, nothing major to report from these days. Tomorrow we are getting the Aus Experience bus down to Mission beach