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Another horrific bus journey took us to our most Northern destination in Australia...CAIRNS.
In Cairns we stayed in a hostel/holiday park called Gilligans which was an incredible hostel to stay in for catching up with old friends you had made along the trip and meeting new people. When we got to the hostel on the first night we found out it was ladies night in the bar downstairs with 5 free glasses of champagne for each girl (when you are a traveller this is an opportunity not to be missed!). So although we were absolutely knackered from an 11 hour bus journey we headed out for our free drinks and our first night in Cairns.
At this point I also need to mention some really great people we met in our room on the first night Lane and Kyle the two crazy Canadians who made us feel a whole lot better about our crazy antics on the trip. You two are the only people I have ever met who think it is a good idea to do a bungy jump and a sky dive in one day after a crazy night out the night before.
On our first full day in Cairns we did not really do much first of all we went for lunch at a place called Lillypads which gives you an incredible amount of food, we all genuinely ate so much we had to lie down afterwards.
On the second day Hannah and Beth went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef (I was green with envy) they both said it was amazing aprt from Beth getting sea sick on the glass bottom boat.
In the next evening in Cairns we were finally reunited with the girls we had met previously on the trip Miranda and Shannon and got to go on some crazy final nights out with them and cook a amazing (if every so slightly long) pad thai dinner to remind us of Asia. Saying goodbye to people in Cairns was really hard as we already feel like we have got to know you so well and don't know when we will be able to see you again. Shannon it has been great travelling with you our token Canadian...and I am not just saying this because of the abundence of timtams. We've had some great times with you and look forward to some more to come in London. I knew we had met a gooden when on the second day of knowing you I could mention the turtle and receive laughter not a disgusted face!
Then comes the best day of our stay in Cairns for me, I FINALLY GOT TO HUG A KOALA. We got to do it at Cairns zoo where we also did an assault course and got to zip line across an alligator after watching it being fed. We were all ashamed to admit that we were scared of the assault course and the ziplining despite the fact there were also kids over taking us throughout the course...but we did manage to get some get action shots of us.
On our final day in Cairns we decided to hire a car (me being the naivgator) and drive to all the waterfalls you could see there. Although it rained continually throughout the day we still had a fantastic time. The first waterfall we drove to was called Josephine Falls and the second was Milla Milla(where Peter Andre filmed Mysterious Girl). At this waterfall one of the funniest moments of the trip so far happened. When we were in the car driving to the next waterfall we hear from Beth in the back 'OMG I am bleeding', me and Hannah assumed this would be a minimal amount of blood and Beth would have been exaggerating. However, I turn around to see a leech in the back of the car which has just attacked Beth in between her toes. At this point I am also naked minus a towel but have to lean over into the back to find the leech and chuck it out the car. It was at this point that we realised we had nothing with us to actually stem the flow of blood from Beths foot so we come up with the plan to put a tampon in between Beth's toes which she had to walk around with for the rest of the day. Turns out tampons are really good at stemming the flow of blood...who knew.
Despite the rain Cairns brought us some great memories, hilarious nights out and unforgettable views. Cairns is unlike any other place in Australia and definitely not a place to be missed.
- comments
Terry Cornelius The leech story brought a smile to my face even though I had heard it before. Sounds as if you had an absolutely amazing time and met some fantastic people. Love Mum