The morning started off as planned, and we woke up on time to walk to the bus station. We were supposed to be getting the 7.45am Greyhound to Townsville, where we had accommodation booked for a night, and were planning to visit Magnetic Island. Unfortunately, however, 7.45am came and went, and it soon transpired that the bus had been cancelled due to flooding in Townsville. Oh dear.

We were told that there were definitely no buses running all day, so we went to find somewhere to stay. We chose to stay at Gilligans - a proper flashpacker resort. It cost us $22 for the night in an 8 bed dorm. We couldn't go to the room until 2pm though, and it was only around 8.30am. We went to the Post Office where I sent my birthday cards and flight ticket to Chile home, it only cost me $6 (the post, not the flight ticket).

We then went for a milkshake by the Lagoon and also discovered Woolworths (they still have it here!). It is more like a Tesco Metro though with lots of food. I bought some new shampoo and conditioner, and we got a pizza for dinner. They can't sell alcohol in supermarkets here, so we headed to a bottlemart and bought a bottle of cheap fizzy wine for $7.50 - a bottle of cheap rubbish vodka here (the stuff that costs a fiver in England) is like $20 here because there is so much tax on it.

Back at Gilligans we found the open plan kitchen and put our pizza there, and then went to read in the tv area, waiting for 2pm. Back at the TV area I fell asleep, but 2pm finally came and we could go to our room.
It is a room with four bunkbeds, a big balcony and an en suite, as well as air con which is a bonus. Definitely a lot nicer than some of the places we stayed in in Asia! We are sharing with some Irish people who, like every other Irish person we've met, is here to find work. Vick and I went to the laundrette (this hostel has everything) and sat by the pool waiting for it. We mixed colours a bit to save money, but everything came out fine.

We had a nap in the room before starting to get ready for a bit of a night out. We drank our 'Passion Pop' stuff and headed to the bar area for our free dinner (I had sausage curry - weird). On the way downstairs we booked another night here, because there are no buses running still, but in a cheaper 10 bed dorm to save money.

There was an open mic night on, and couple of the acts were really good. One of them, called Adam, has got through a couple of rounds of Australia's Got Talent, and is now in the top 80, which is quite an achievement!

We had a few drinks and met lots of people, before Vick and Hannah went to bed at around midnight. I didn't go to bed until 4am! I was drunk but not really drunk, and had a good dance and chatted to people. The hostel has a big nightclub attached along with a huge outdoor bar area with a pool, so it was nice being so close to bed! The music stopped at around 3am, but I used my internet credit to talk to Ed online until I went to bed.

We weren't meant to be in Cairns tonight, but it was fun anyway!

xxx