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In Australia...Sydney
Cairns, Australia
Rosie's Backpackers
We flew here from Alice Springs on Quantas Jetstar. When we arrived we were told to look for an unmarked white van which would take us directly to the hostel from the airport free of charge. This was harder than it sounded so we range the hostel. They told us they would contact the driver and surely enough she soon turned up. About 15minutes later we pulled up at our accomodation for the next three nights. It didnt look too promising but wasnt awful either. We were given a tour by the 'receptionist' who was just a guest earning some extra money. It was quite intimdating as the majority of guests were staying there for a longer period of time and already knew each other.
That night we went to get our free meal with a voucher we got on check-in at our hostel. The food was actually really nice and i had spaghetti with extra cheese and sour cream. After we had eaten we asked the people who were currently occupying the pool table if we coud use it after them. They turned out to be from our hostel and after we had played one game theyu huddled round obviously wanting to play again and just put their money in before we had a chance to say anything. So we left and returned to our beds.
The next day we all had a day on the Tully River doing Extreme White Water Rafting. But Issey decided her heartburn was still hurting and so just me and Will went. So that wasnt the best start to the day. It was a pretty amazing expereicne and by the end i was used to it and having a good time. But at time it did seem treacheorus, painful and downright scary. We tipped the boat once, went shooting down a waterfall all huddled at the front so it plumetted underwater throwing us off like a log flume without the log and 'swimming' down the rapids. The 'swimming' down the rapids was the most scary. We were told by the guide before hand that we should make sure we breathe when possible and that this area was called 'lava explosion' or something similar. It started off very gently just floating down. But it soon pulled you under, bashed you against rocks before releasing you. At this point i attempted to take a mouthful of oxygen but before i had the chance and wave crashed over my head and pulled me under again. Eventually at the point when i thought i was going to die it spat me out for the final time and i just about swam to shore! On reflection it would have been better not to breathe at all and to just relax and let it take me. I didnt choose to go down the rapids again and was pleased when the day was finished! Also came with a free giant purple bruise on my hip which led to a trip to the emergency doctor!
On our final day in Cairns we went to AJ Hackett's bungy site. We were booked onto the Minjin swing and did that first. It was really good fun but i still wasnt tempted by a full bungee jump though. Seems that Issey was and she did it. We watched her come down and jump and then watched a video of her in full action. She was pleasedand really enjoyed it. After that we headed back to the hostel for our final night.
We left the next morning at 7am heading for Townsville/Magnetic Island.
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