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Well girls and boys, aunts and uncles,
I feel a bit sad because this feels like the end of my trip although I've still got a month left. I'm now in Cairns but because I'm flying to Brisbane to meet the parents the day after tomorrow, I feel like this is the end of my backpacking trip because I've made it - in one piece thankfully - up the east coast! On the bright side, I've now got 2 weeks of luxury to look forward to! Not only do I get my own room, my own bathroom and my own TV but I get it all for free! No more worrying about saving 30 bucks for a dorm and no more worrying about whether to make soup or pasta for dinner! It's weird to think that as I'm writing this, Mum and Dad are in the air somewhere, probably passing my friends who are heading to Asia.
Anyway, after my last blog, I've only been to 3 places but Airlie beach and the sailing trip feels like months ago, not weeks ago. First stop after Airlie was Magnetic Island which was a fab 5 days. Our hostel was literally in the middle of nowhere but it was right on the beach with a nice pool and beach huts. Biggest bonus of all was that you had no choice but to go to the bar at night because there was nothing else to do. Even better, the bar manager got to know us all really well and I barely paid a cent for a drink all week! I've never been so adventurous with my drinks! Yegabomb or whatever it's called is now my new drink seeing as Oz don't sell martini and the goon wine is tasting more and more like vinegar every time I have some...which of course isn't v.often! The weather was lovely there and I was lucky that a big group of us were all there together because we hired 3 mokes (topless cars) and drove round the island. We did a couple of hillwalks and a walk at sunset to find some koalas in the wild which thankfully we did. For the rest of the trip, we took it easy. It was one of those hostels where you bump into everyone you know so I had one of my best weeks there.
After Maggie Island, I went to Mission beach for the night while everyone else headed straight to Cairns. Mission was nice but there was nothing to do there except skydive or raft. Seeing as nobody in their right mind would throw themselves - and even worse, pay to throw themselves - out of a plane, I opted for the sunbathing option which was free! I wanted to do the rafting but rumour has it that New Zealand has the best rapids in the world so I'm saving myself for that. Met my friends Becci and Carl from sailing there again after Maggie Island and met their friend Becky - v.confusing with 2 Becky/Becci's - who I've spent the last 10 days with. My friend Caitlin left the day after I got to Cairns which was annoying but I've been lucky that most people I know have stayed all week. We were only in Cairns a day before we booked ourselves on a Cape Tribulation tour. Now, did you know that Cape Trib is called that because Captain Cook, the English explorer who discovered Australia and thankfully shared it with us all, crashed his ship there and none of his equipment seemed to work after that point. Hence the name, tribulation. Might be made up but I like the story anyway. We stayed at Cape Trib for 2 days which was long enough for me. I've tried camping and sailing which I loved, but I'm not sure if I'm a rainforest kind of girl. Becky and I stayed at a hostel right in the rainforest, in these little cabins with no air con and we almost suffocated from the humidity. We tried a few of the forest walks but we didn't last long because any time a leaf shuffled in the wind, Becky screamed and then obviously I screamed. So rainforest walking is not a good activity, at least not with Becky! We thought we'd be safe when we got on to the beach but turns out we had to cross a small creek to get to the lookout point. It didn't mention anything about crocs on our map guide so we walked across because the water was only waist high but when we met up with the others at the lookout, they couldn't believe we'd crossed it - apparently it's 'infested' with crocs! Carl might have been joking about it being infested but on the way back we saw a warning sign and a sign saying someone had been attacked 2 months ago! Needless to say, we took the main road back to the hostel. The highlight of Cape Trib for me was the horseriding though which I loved. I was out all morning and got to ride through creeks, through forest and along the beach. My horse, Gonzo as he's known to his friends, was a bit excitable which was fine while we were walking or trotting but towards the end of the ride, we got to canter which was absolutely terrifying! I felt like I was back on the mechanical bull from Kroombit!
After Cape Trib, we got back to Cairns and somehow we've managed to spend the last week doing nothing. Cairns has a big lagoon by the front, not as exotic as the one at Airlie, but it's better than the one in London. Oh, that's right, there isn't one! We've shared our time between the lagoon, shopping in the night markets and looking for a didgeredoo for Carl - don't have a clue how to spell it but you know what I mean! - and in a seedy, Jesters-like bar called the Woolshed. We get free meals there so it's become our haunt now. They have the weirdest competitions there that can't be missed. Our favourite is the one where people race fish. Basically, there are 6 fish, all of them are representatives for a country, eg, we had George Fish from America last night and Prince Windsor from England. Naturally, Nemo from Australia competes every night. Once you've bid for a fish, 2 of them race. Which ever fish wins, goes through to the next heat and the last fish standing - or swimming! - wins his owner a trip somewhere. Interesting concept... But I wouldn't want you all to think I've been taking it easy all week. Far from it. I had a hard, strenuous trip to the reef the other day. It included buffet breakfast on the catamaran, stopping to snorkel at Oyster reef, then moving on for a seafood buffet lunch and free drinks before a final snorkel at Upolo Cay. Hard day you'll agree?! The best part of the day was my intro dive. I hadn't really planned to scuba dive especially as most people learn in a swimming pool before going in open water but I thought I couldn't come to the reef and not dive! I was petrified but as soon as I got my tank on and I was in the water, I took to it really quickly. It's actually easier than snorkelling because you have a much better air supply and you can get so much closer to the coral. We had to do a couple of tests 5 mtres under which I passed and then we were taken right down to the seabed which was about 12mtrs at the reef we were on. Doesn't sound too deep but when you're kneeling on the seabed and you look up and see the surface, it looks miles away. I absolutely loved the diving, especially because I got my photo taken with Nemo and got to touch a massive clam and a reef cucumber which is some kind of fishy thing!
So today is my last day with Becci and Carl and that's it then, everyone's gone! I'm doing a day trip to Kuranda village tomorrow via skyrail so that should be good but it'll be strange to be on my own again. Haven't done anything alone for so long!
Next time I update my blog, I'll be halfway down the coast in Brisbane so I'm going back on myself now. I just hope my last month doesn't go as quickly as the last one has! Otherwise I'm tempted to delay my flight because I don't think I want to come home...only joking...well, half joking!
Let me know how you all are and what you've been up to!!!
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