Hi everyone have had an absolutely crazy week out in Oz. I set off for Port Douglas on Tuesday morning with two Irish guys called Phil and John (they invited me on their travels to Port Douglas and seemed like an offer I could't refuse!!). We set off at 10AM in the morning from Cairns to torrential downpour (one thing you can say about Oz is that when it rains it definitely rains!!) and collected some food. The drive to Port Douglas was marvellous as it was along the coastal road and there were so many golden beaches along the way and the coastal road is beautiful (photos to follow). On arrival in Port Douglas we parked the camper van and headed into town to discover we hadn't escaped the rain (the Crowded House song typically comes to mind!!).

I decided to book a snorkelling trip to the Great Barrier Reef as I had been previously been informed that it is the closest town to the reef so therefore you are taken to the best spots on the reef. When out on the reef we were given snorkels and flippers and allowed to head onto the reef. Forgive the cliche but it really is like a different world out there; so many different species of fish (some so bright they look like portable light bulbs in the water) and many other weird and wonderful fishes (we were later informed that one of the most common fish which I think is called a manta, actually has a female turn males when the males are devoured or killed). The corals are breathtaking, seeing how they took thousands of years to form and why it is one of the Wonders of the World. We were taken to three different sites around the reef and is definitely the most amazing surreal and breaktaking experience I've had with nature.

Whilst in Port Douglas me and the Irish guys found time to divuldge in another mad Aussie pastime called cane toad racing. This involves toads being placed in a bucket and this bucket being placed in the middle of a circular table. Each person is given a toad to race and given a streamer to blow at the toad. The main aim then is when the bucket is lifted, you have to blow you streamer at your frog and the first frog to hop to the end of the table and jump off it is the winner (I think it could definitely take off over in the UK). Also we found time to visit the Daintree national park which has some of the best rainforests in Australia. I think it's safe to see we definitely had reached the Great Outback, so much that when it came to finding a place to watch the Champions League Final, we found ourselves staying at the only hostel in Australia which had no internet, TV or access to phones (the previous night all three of us had camped in the back of the campervan which was certainly an experience but not one I'll be repeating in a rush!).

Yesterday we took the camper van to a crocodile farm about 40 minutes outside of Cairns. Here we finally got to see crocodiles up front. I was amazed how much there is to crocodiles in that there are freshwater and saltwater crocs, they can probably go about 1 and a half years without being fed as they are endothermic creatures taking their heat from the sun (I know I think i've grown a fascination with crocs!!). We got to see the crocs being fed and they can't half move fast and have one mean bite!! We also got to see koala bears, snakes and some of the endangered Aussie birds in the farm which was another surreal nature experience and can understand the late Steve Irwin's great fasincation for the wildlife in Oz!

Anyway I think I've covered most of my travels this week so photos should be up now and I'm going to get back to the task of trying to find a job!!!