Hi all - I've decided to set up a travel diary so that I can keep in contact with everyone a bit easier and keep you updated on any crazy adventures I may be having.

So far it has been mid 20's to 30's every single day. Sometimes there are clouds, mostly it is sunny. At first it felt too hot for me but I've gotten used to it. Cam and I are renting a room at a house in Mt. Sheridan which is a suburb of Cairns. The couple who own the house, Isaac and Teresa, are both teachers and Cam and Isaac actually teach at Gordonvale together (which is how Cam found out about the room). Two other guys are also renting at the house: Marcus who is 23 and Gavin who is very religious - we don't see a whole lot of him. They've got two dogs - Honey and Bee - who are part Dingo and both incredibly adorable!

Week 1:
I arrived in Australia on the May 31st around noon. Cam was there to pick me up when I got off the plane. It was so good to see him after being away for 4 months! Cam's parents came to visit Cairns on their way from Tazzy to Somoa. It was really good having them here during that first week because I was home alone while Cam was teaching at Gordonvale Secondary School (he teaches PhysEd for grades 8-12).
With his parents, I saw a place called Kuranda up in the rainforest (http://www.kuranda.org/). It was very touristy but quite beautiful. The drive up there is on a pretty windy road which is tough when you get car sick easily! You can take a train or a skyrail (gondola) to get to Kuranda which passes overtop of the amazing Barron Gorge. We also visited a bunch of waterfalls/bushwalks/etc. (because Cairns is surrounded by rainforest and 'mountains' there are heaps of beautiful things to see nearby), visited the Botanical Gardens, and went out for dinner most nights! They spoiled us quite a bit!

Cameron had a 3 day weekend so we drove up to Port Douglas and stayed for 2 nights at a beautiful hotel called the Mantra Portsea. Port Douglas is just gorgeous. It is very much a tourist town and is quite a bit smaller than Cairns. The town is right on the ocean and is a take-off point to the Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef. It's really clean and there is a lot of good shopping and restaurants. While in Port Douglas we took a trip up to the Daintree River and went on one of those Crocodile cruises (Dad: turns out we went on the exact same one you and I did!). We saw a lot of crocodiles, and even this huge old guy swimming slowly across the river. It was pretty cool to see him swing his huge tail from side to side while he drifted across with his eyes and nose sticking out. They move so smoothly and quietly through the water - I can see how so many people get caught unaware and attacked/eaten by these crocs.

Week 2: I spent the week looking for jobs while Cam was at work. Apparently the unemployment rate is going up which isn't the best thing to hear. A lot of backpackers come through Cairns as well, so a lot of the jobs I've seen only want permanent residents to apply (of which I am not). I did get an interview for a job but it turned out to be one of those mall stall where you harrass people into signing up for satellite TV and only make comission. Not so good. Over the weekend Cam and I hiked up 'Walsh's Pyramid' which is a little mountain shaped liked an Egyptian Pyramid south of Cairns. About 20 minutes into the hike we ran into an eastern brown snake which apparently is one of the deadliest snakes in the world. I didn't find this out until we got back from the hike. Luckily the snake didn't attack or anything, but the thing was ENORMOUS - it must have been 8 feet long! We didn't leave early enough for the hike so we only made it up half way before it got too (bloody) hot to keep going. Hopefully we'll hike up the whole mountain some time soon.

Week 3: I took a course on Responsible Service of Alcohol in Queensland. You have to have an RSA certificate before you can work anywhere that alcohol is served. I'm hoping it will open up some more options for me work-wise. I went to the Cairns Night Market which was kind of crap, and to Rusty's market where local farmers can sell there fresh fruit and veg which was very very good.

Over the weekend Cam and I drove down to Innisfail (about 1 hour south) to see Paranella Park. Some Spanish guy made money farming in the early 1900's and built himself a couple of 'castles' out of cement. The buildings are kind of in ruins now but they are still beautiful to see and the gardens around the place were lovely!

On the Sunday we went to the casino to watch an AFL game; Geelong vs. Western Australia. The Cairns Casino broadcasts sporting events and games on a bunch of massive screens so it's perfect for watching sport. AFL, or Aussie Rules Football, is a great game but it's not too popular in Queensland. It first started in Melbourne, VIC and so a lot of the teams in the league come from Victoria. Rugby League is big up here (aka NRL). It's really rough, more so than Rugby Union which is the game played internationally. Right now the State of Origin is on which is a Rugby League competition between New South Wales and Queensland. The teams play 3 games to determine which state is 'better', and people get really into it.

Isaac and Teresa both play squash - I think Isaac is like 2nd best in North Queensland - so Cam and I decided to tag along to one of the squash clubs' social nights. It was actually a total blast and very, very good workout. I'm thinking of signing up for the rec league when it starts up at the end of July.

That's about it for now I think. I'll try to keep updating as often as I can.

I hope everyone is doing well!
Love Lindsay