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G'day to you all,
Wow! Cairns...what can I say....Twas very beautiful (i'm now in Perth but this blog will just be for Queensland)
I spent a week bumbling around the main town..walking around the very pretty esplanade and quoting my favourite mantra at the mo..."that is soo expensive"! hahahaha. Now obviously, anywhere compared to Asia is expensive, but this place is like London prices!!! In the 3 weeks that I was there, I only had one 'proper' meal. The rest was sandwiches and cheap 'fill-you-up' food from the supermarket!!! So even though i'm probably eating less, I feel i'm putting on weight because it's all heavy, starchy food.hhmmmm!! Not good for the bridesmaids dress i've got to get in to when I return to England!! hahahaaha (Sorry Graham and Angie!!)
THere were LOADS of souvenir shops, which is very dangerous for me! I love buying souvenirs for people back home so I had to be extremely strict with myself and noy buy every fluffy koala bear and kangaroo that I saw! hahahaha. I've already sent a load of gifts home, so I don't think I need to buy anymore.
After that first week, I first went to spend 3 days and 2 nights in Cape Tribulation. Which is basically set in a rainforest. Now, this rainforest is very cool (I seem to be using that word a lot recently!) because this rainforest is about 90-120 million years old and it the oldest, continually growing rainforst in the world! How cool is that?? (see, there's that word again!) Also, as those of you with good maths, you'll know that it has been around since the dinosaurs! I felt quite privileged to be walking around in it - Which was when I did a night-time walk one evening (that was raining! Go figure-lots of rain in a rainforest!! all the time I was there actaully it rained!). There were quite a few moments when we all turned our torches off and stood in complete darkness to take it where we actaully were. I saw a bandicoot being released back into the wild (ugly thing really, a bit like a huge rat!), quite a few frogs even a few fire-flies, which was quite magical. Oooooh, also saw glowing bark! (think of the film Avatar-to a lesser extent) it was all the funghi on there, coming to light, at night! The tour guide said, that at certain times of the year, she doesn't need a torch to walk around in there, as her way is lit by all the funghi on the ground and trees etc. Very impressive!
I also did a zip-wire through this rainforest. Hung upsaide down too :)
On my last day I attended a fruit-tasting session, which I admit, doesn't sound hugely exciting...but it was fab!! hahaha. If any of you can try a durien fruit, then do! I won't say quite what it's like, but it's certainly something you won't forget! They were actaully banned from the hotel that I stayed at in Singapore! That should give you an idea of what they are like! hahahaa.
Then, twas off to Port Douglas for a few days. It's a boaty place (good description I know!) and extremely serene and beautiful. The coast line and park were like something out of a film! I didn't do much in that place though as....here's my mantra again....it's sooo expensive! But it was nice to walk around.
(i'm trying to upload photos as we speak, but it is ridiculously slow on this computer...it's taken from 10am-2pm to upload about 13 photos so far! hahahahaa. needless to say, most won't be up for a week or two!)
I then headed back to Cairns and my first little thing I did.................. ..was................a ride on a Harley Davidson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh yes!!! Jill rode on a Harely Davidson!! WOO-HOO!!!!!! As I was so enthusiastic, the guy - 'Chopper Mike' - gave me a free bandana as a momento. How very kind of him! God, the feel of the bike and the sound and leaning around the corners...I loved every minute of it and have a very cool photo of me on the bike! So that day, i was absolutely buzzing!hehehee
The next day, I was up at 3.50am to do a hot-air balloon ride. How cold was it?!?!?!? The answer - very! But it was beautiful to watch all the balloons being blown up and then going up in a basket above the Atherton Tablelands. Extremely noisy when the guy pulled the handle-thingy to make the hot air enter the balloon (My knowledge of these words is fantastic I know!) and I had to keep holding my ears! hahaha. It was a great experience though and the landing was hilarious! (you'll see when i finally get round to uploading those photos
The last bits I did in Cairns was to visit a few waterfalls (and me spending ages taking pictures with different shutter speeds and apertures etc! hahahaha) and a place called Paronella Park (look it up on the internet, it's marvelous!). Which is a park that a Spanish guy built a few little castle type places on for him and his family (even though they never actauilly lived in them, but a house off to the side!!). It's quite spooky as a lot of it is in ruins and has tonnes of moss growing all over. But it's amazing and i seriously recommend looking at the website just for the pics!
Anyhoo, that's it for now...Ohh, just one other thing..walking back to the hostel one day,....passed a tree.......just a normal tree in the town centre...looked up and roosting there are the biggest bats I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! About a 4 foot wingspan or something like that apparently!! Just going about their business in the town!! Very cool, but so unusual! The bats at home (named 'Nora' and 'Batty' for those of you not in the know) are about the size of my hand)
So anyhoo, my time in Carins is over for now and I now have three weeks in Perth. But that, as I said, is another blog entry!
Hope you all enjoy reading about my travels. I'm certainly enjoying doing them! ; )
Love Jill
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