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Following a way too chirpy lecture on DVT from our Greyhound driver at 3am, we arrived into Cairns at 6.30am on Sunday morning, which was pretty brutal but luckily we were able to check into our dorm straight away and had a snooze, which was amazing as it was the first time for days we had been in a proper bed! After a sleep and a shower we felt (almost) human again and could muster enough energy to go out and get lunch and a beer...Tough life!
Then we went for a wander around town but after an hour or so I had to go back to the hostel for a nap because I was just so tired! After dragging myself out of bed, we chilled out by the lagoon for a bit, cooked tea in the hostel then went out to The Woolshed which is something of a Cairns institution. It was Jonny's lucky night as there was an underwear competition on!! (unfortunately I could not partake as I had my granny knickers on that day) Although I'm glad I didn't as it seemed to be more like a lapdancing competition to me!!
Next morning we were up bright and early (Jonny having had 2 hours sleep after staying up to watch United) to go on a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was very civilised and there was no 'scrum' mentality as seems to have been the case on most of the backpacker trips we have done!
We arrived at Paradise Reef and donned some sexy blue stinger suits (complete with hood and gloves), mask, snorkel and flippers, and went out snorkelling! It was totally different from doing it in Airlie Beach as the water was a lot clearer and a much bigger area of reef, with so many different types of sea creatures, the highlights being giant clams, which snap shut when you put your hand near them, clown fish, a big box puffer fish and a turtle! We were told to be on the look out for reef sharks too, and I screamed when a saw a black shape out of the corner of my eye. I felt a bit stupid when I realised it was just the strap off my float!! Jonny went for an introductory dive (I wasn't allowed due to my asthma) and managed to get it for half price. We weren't sure if this was because the guide felt sorry for him being a backpacker with no money or because she appreciated his swimming shorts (the Brazilian ones)!! Whatever the reason, it was an amazing experience to be under the water surrounded by so much coral and fish - not bad to do your first ever dive at the GBR!!
After a pretty decent lunch (v important to us) we snorkelled at our second location where you could get so close to the coral you could pretty much touch it with your nose, which was awesome although unfortunately we didn't get to see any turtles when there were supposed to be heaps around there. There were, however some HUGE fish swimming around by the by the boat which really scared me!
We watched the fish being fed, which was pretty cool as they all went mental fighting over it, then had a talk about marine life where we learned the interesting fact that more people are killed by falling coconuts and vending machines per year than by sharks!!
That night we were pretty tired (and Jonny was pretty deaf after diving) but we went out for an amazing burger and a glass of proper wine, which was a nice change from the goon we have been having of late!
Next morning we were up early again as we were going on a day trip to Cape Tribulation, with the most super happy tour guide you have ever met, she even giggled when she was talking about people getting attacked by crocodiles! First stop was Daintree River Cruise where we went crocodile spotting, apparently there are a few massive ones that live there, and one who is over 6m long. However, we were not that successful (apparently due to high tide) and we only managed to see the back of a very small one poking out of the water. We did, however, see lots of 'log-a-diles' and a fishing boat used to catch mackerel (think the guide was clutching at straws). In truth, it was the worst cruise ever and we were more interested on getting back on the bus so that the pair of us could carry on doing some serious fly catching!!
Next we stopped off to do a rainforest walk, but to be honest think we have become jungle snobs as well as waterfall snobs as it wasn't as good as Brazil, maybe because Matheus wasn't there! We did see a Cassowary though, which is the world's most dangerous bird as they can do a flying karate kick at you if threatened (we saw it from inside the van)
After lunch at Cape Tribulation (lunch again scored highly) we stopped off at a lookout and then headed to Mossman Gorge which was really pretty and where we could go for a swim! I was straight in but Jonny was too chicken as he didn't want to get his hair wet-he's preferring the Afro look at the moment!
On the way home we were shown a DVD on 'Australia's deadliest sea creatures' which I am so glad we watched after we had been snorkelling otherwise there's no way I would have got in the water! We also called in at Port Douglas which is quite an upmarket port town. It was really pretty but quite expensive so we were glad we hadn't gone there for a few days! The beach was nice, but, as with all the tropical northern beaches you can't swim in the sea as it is box jellyfish season which can give you really nasty stings!
Back in Cairns we did the whole tourist thing and bought a boomerang and a didgeridoo (had to settle for a souvenir one in the end - really wanted a full size one but figured I couldn't justify 300 dollars for something I can't even play... Even though the guy did give us a crash course in the middle of the shop!). We also went to see The Tourist at the cinema which was a bit rubbish and, true to form, Jonny got annoyed because there was a twist at the end that he hadn't seen coming, whilst I spent the whole movie moaning about how chapping it was!!
Wednesday was spent largely being homeless (becoming a bit of a habit at the moment!) as our flight to Melbourne wasn't until midnight. Although we were pretty happy to get away from the crazy woman in our room who liked to swap beds practically every night! We sent a big parcel of stuff back home, (but somehow our bags don't seem to weigh any less) and chilled out by the lagoon for the afternoon, before heading to the airport to fly with our favourite airline, and, once again, being offered to sit in the emergency exit rows!
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