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It seems like forever ago, but whitewater rafting was BRILLIANT! I really loved it and for Jez, it was like christmas came early! Not only was it full of adrenaline, but when the water was calmer, the surroundings were magnificent. It's a shame that there are no photographs that capture the entire picture. But then we have found that a lot over here. WE met yet more lovely people while rafting, including two sisters from SolihulL! Small world...
When we got back to Mission beach, one lady who had been rafting with us cooked us dinner, and jez and I had our first night out! Shame we chose like the quietest town on the east coast. We were the only people in the pub...literally!
Early start the next day, and on to Cairns. Cairns is a diamond in the rough. When we arrived, we didn't think much of it. As we spent longer there, we realised it has a particular character and grow to love it. It feels very chilled out for a "city" but then, North East Australia don't do cities the way the english do them!
From Cairns, we spent another day on the reef and rented an underwater camera. Keep your eye out for the pictures. It was so much fun trying to take photographs of fish that are so "am i bothered though"!! Hopefully you will enjoy looking at them as much as we enjoyed taking them.
We then took a 2-day trip to Cape Tribulation. This place did not disappoint! We stayed overnight in a beach hut. The weather was beautiful and we could hear the creatures and animals moving around right outside our window. Just beautiful. the rainforest was stunning and to top it off, we had a funny tour guide called George, who got us eating ants and stuff! He has apparently been doing the same tour for 30+ years, and tells the same jokes every time. Bless him!
(An interesting fact about Cape Tribulation...Where the sea meets the land, is the only place in the world where two world heritage sites (Great Barrier Reef and rainforest) meet. Meaning that if you stand with one foot in the sea and one foot in the sand, you are in two world heritage sites at once. The only place you can do it on the planet!)
On the second day of the tour, we decided we would go for a walk up the beach and into the rainforest. Jez and I are quite clearly awful at reading maps, and we walked miles too far, ending up on a random campsite miles away from where we were meant to be!! Oblivious to how far we had walked, we stopped at the campsite bar for a drink and asked the barman the quickest route back. He told us it would probably take 1-2hours to walk back, and we only had just over an hour until we got picked back up from our accomodation!! Very kindly, he offered to drop us back in his truck. Very kind. Australians are so chilled and willing to help you out if they can.
We made it safely to where we were supposed to be thankfully! Next, we went on a cruise down the Daintree River and did a bit of croc-spotting!! We saw 3 big crocs and a nest full of babies. It was pretty unreal to see them so close up and in their natural environment. Very cool.
We have such a lovely time in Cape Tribulation. Our only regret, not spending another night there. More time to explore the area.
Once back in Cairns, we had just one night to chill before heading on a flight to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It's funny, getting into the middle of Australia takes the same amount of time as traveling from Birmingham to Spain!
Alice Springs was different. Aboriginees and sand everywhere! But a lot more colour and wildlife than I had expected to see.
WE spent the next 3 days traveling from Alice Springs, through the outback and sleeping in swags under the stars around a camp fire! Absolutely brilliant. Our tour guide was amazing. We prepared and cooked dinner on the campfire! It was so much fun.
Day one...Kings Canyon. Unreal. And quite a walk!
Day two...Kata Tjuta. Again, unreal but entirely different. It is an aboriginal sacred area.
Day three...Uluru (Ayers Rock). This place is special. A sacred place with lots of cultural history. And 'WE DID NOT CLIMB'! The aboriginees ask people not to climb because it is sacred to them. People still so though. We were lucky enough to see sunset and sunrise over Uluru which was special.
This trip was probably the best experience we've had so far. Very different environment and lots of new things to see and learn about. We are so glad we decided to travel to the northern territory. The BEST!
From there, we travelled back to Brisbane and are now staying with Craig in Caloundra for 4 weeks. We are enjoying doing nothing and spending some time with Craig, Maria and Jenson.
Sorry about the long blog entry, but we haven't had any chance.
We hope everyone is well at home. Love you all lots xxx
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