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Tuesday 1st February 2011
We got up to visit the gorgeous Rainbow effect beach today! This was simply gorgeous, there aren't too many hostels to chose from here as there really isnt much around, but the hostels all seem nice and cosy. We went to huge sand dunes with body boards..unfortunately the sand was a little wet so it wasnt too easy to body board down the dunes! We watched our friends do it before heading back to the hostel..
Wednesday 2nd February 2011
Today we decided to check out the beach...the whole reason this place is called Rainbow Beach became apparent! The colours were gorgeous. On our way back is when we heard the news about the Cyclone that was headed to Australia, just North of where we were supposed to be leaving to very soon...everyone was in a blind panic about the severity and size of this Cyclone, so we were advised to hang around for a little longer before going North.
We decided to continue with our plans as after hearing more news about the cyclone..it had gone slightly off course and we decided we would be safe to stick with the same route.
Thursday 3rd February 2011
We caught the bus today to 1770 from Rainbow Beach...
We learnt alot about Bundaberg and its famous sugar cane plantations also all about the loggerhead turtles and how they breed mostly here!
On arrival we decided to do an activity called 'Scooteroo'!! We donned our leather jackets, helmets, tattoo transfers and chose the scooter that we would be riding for the next few hours! This was so much fun, we rode all around the town of 1770, and into the sunset..it was absolutely gorgeous and I would recommend this to anyone!! We got the chance to pose for a picture on the way back, which I will never forget as i was looking to the side with one hand on my jacket trying to find the lady taking the photo instead of concentrating on how to not crash my bike lol..had the best day today.
Friday 4th February 2011
If you do the journey from 1770 to Airlie Beach...be prepared to sleep alot or take very good reading material...as this journey was 10.5 hours! We stopped a few times along the way but this was a long journey ...
We arrived at Nomads hostel which was lovely, we had our own penthouse pretty much..two sinks, two showers, huge room..was so nice. We decided to hit the town.. but as alot of people had changed travel plans due to the news of the cyclone..town was pretty quiet-however I went to a club called Mama Africas-it was small but I can imagine it being a good place to go in peak season. i will remember this night as trying to get free drinks by doing a Japanese impression ..didnt exactly work.
Saturday 5th February 2011
We pretty much spent today relaxing at the gorgeous pool in the hostel before our Whitsundays trip tomorrow!
Sunday 6th February 2011
We were up early to board the boat in preparation for Whitsundays! We were so excited about this part of our travels..once we had boarded we had a quick briefing about the next couple of days ahead of us and met the whole crew working aswell as the other people we would be spending time with. Before we even started Holly decided to sit down but failed and threw herself on the floor...this is when Lucy and I realised how much fun was ahead for the next couple of days lol!
We helped the crew raise the sails on the boat...which was good exercise ..the whole crew was amazing, so friendly and the food included was brilliant-we went with the boat called Boomerang which was an old racing boat-I would recommend this company for sure. Tonight we got the chance to sleep out on mattresses on the top deck under the stars...the sounds of the waves and the gentle rocking whilst staring as the stars..it was just a breath taking experience.
Monday 7th February 2011
Our first morning of Whitsundays..we arrived at Tongue Bay and jumped off of the Boomerang Boat on to a little Jet Boat to take us to the bay. We took a walk through the jungle which was amazing-but if you dont like spiders-brace yourself as these ones were HUGE!!! not harmful at all-but the size of your face! Words of advice-do not get too close as one sprayed some sort of unharmful but protective venom at a girl that got her camera an inch away..lets just say we all shrieked and ran away..no more photos of spiders were taken! We took amazing photos of White Haven beach from here- this beach is pure white sands and bright blue waters-wow. This is a must do visit!! if you want to enter the waters you have to put on a stinger suit-but its more than worth it..for the experience if you have never worn one..and just to say you have been in the water here! We left our little messages in the sand and jumped back on the Jet boat to the Boomerang.
The food included on this tour really was to such a high standard. After lunch we got back on the little boat and went out to explore the fish and other sea life - we had the chance to feed them and I got some amazing photos of the brightly coloured beautiful creatures in the water. When we got back to the boat we all got on our stinger suits and jumped off the side of the Boomerang into the water! This took a lot of convincing for me to do...but welldone girls!-u got me! Thanks for making me do it!
We then had our last stop at another small island where we saw baby sharks swimming in the shallow waters! This was brilliant! It was just by luck and we managed to get great photos of them less than a metre away from us!
Tuesday 8th February 2011
Today we had to leave Boomerang already! We didnt have any activities today so we just chilled out until we made it back to the dock. We checked back in to the hostel after abusing Mcdonalds free wifi and met a guy called Daniel that was in our room. We had a get together tonight with the people from our Boomerang tour at the Beaches Hostel as it had a huge restaurant and bar attached to it. We had such a fun night tonight just chatting and chilling out afterwards in our room!
Wednesday 9th February 2011
We checked out and got our coach to Townsville where we then got the ferry to Magnetic Island. The ferry was extremely rocky which was great fun for Holly as she suffers from motion sickness lol... We stayed at Base Hostel-it was its first night back open due to the closure from the cyclone. It had got hit pretty hard but considering this..it was still gorgeous, the beach was lovely and the hostel was very nice. The hostel was so quiet as no one had been able to book in and alot of people werent travelled about still at this time..but they still gave us great deals to get the atmosphere going..such as free drinks, drinking games and ladies night which meant everything was super cheap. This was a great touch.
Thursday 10th February 2011
...So after boring everyone with my story about the hollister hoody I wanted to badly one day in Southampton..we then arrived in Cairns!!
I nagged the girls to just go for the dinner with our driver and everyone as it was our last time to do this as we had just caught our last coach!! We went to the club called the Woolshed as they also do dinner here..and I had nagged the girls so much saying dont worry I dont care what i look like...so we didnt shower...didnt wash our hair or anything..I end up getting the winning raffle ticket to play a game infront of the whole club ...but then winning a Minjin Swing!! The minjin swing is a must..I have actually been back and done this again since as its so much fun. Its at the AJ Hackett Bungee Site in Cairns..they take you up into the canopee on a harness and you are attached as if you are flying. Once you get to the top you have to wait until you see a green light below..this signals when you are ready to release. You have to pull your own cord to start the swing...so scary having to pull it yourself! There is a 10m free-fall and then you get shot forwards into the sky swinging back and forth amongst the trees! Its so much fun-highly recommend, its $80 dollars usually.
Friday 11th February 2011
We were staying at the hostel called Gilligans in Cairns. This hostel is pretty much party central, if you like noise and want to meet a ton of people this is perfect, its basically living in a club...the only issue is if you are a light sleeper..it may take a couple of days to adjust to the bass! The night life here is amazing, they have a good club downstairs which is also open to the public, you get a free meal..which is usually the same thing if you end up staying longer than three days lol..but still -every little helps! The pool is lovely and the rooms all have en suite which is good and the kitchens and lounge area are all a decent size! The promo people here are good scenes as we got talked in to doing a $20 dollar bar crawl tonight .. lol. We played drinking games ...we did dance off's infront of everyone and we werent even drunk...Holly managed to win herself a Horse Riding trip today after shaking her legs to 'Cotton Eye Joe!' haha go Holly! There is also a market right next door to the hostel, its by the laundry facilities - a big entrance..and they sell everything from clothes to cheese/fruit/veg/jewellery...all the things that are so pricey here in oz!-but cheap here. Must check this out. They also have night markets on too which are great.
Sat 12th, Sun 13th and Mon 14th 2011
We chilled out these two days and i got my C.V's ready to start handing out as the girls were leaving me soon and I needed to start looking for work before my next trip over to Darwin.
Tuesday 145h February 2011
We checked out the cinema today which was great-we watched 'No Strings Attached'- This made the whole cinema experienc even better. Its very pricey though...about $18 dollars for a movie ticket..but remember..Cheap Tuesdays-$9.50
Wednesday 16th February 2011
Holly and I wanted to dive the Great Barrier Reef so we went exploring to find the best deal to suit us. We had loads of brochures and different packages and tours but we decided to book with a company called 'Ocean Freedom'-it wasnt the cheapest..but still a great price for all the inclusions
Thursday 17th February 2011
Holly and I went to book our Barrier Reef Tour which was around $160 not including $20 hire for the stinger suits (which I would recommend) and any extra cash if you wanted to do a long dive-even though you get a free 10 minute dive included in the tour.
Friday 18th February 2011
Today was the day of my Minjin swing! The cameras at the sight were broken...so they offered me two gos on the swing! This was brilliant as they still took photos and a video on my own camera! I shouted and cackelled very loud but it was hallarious!!!
Saturday 19th February 2011
We had our trip to Cape Tribulation booked for today, this was a very long drive. We stopped at the National Recreation Park along the way and got another chance to see Koalas, Kangaroos, lots of different species of bird and many other animals and reptiles. We then stopped off for lunch at a park before doing the Daintree River Cruise. This was the crocodile cruise, we saw some in their natural environment which was really cool and we saw lots of other wildlife too amongst the gorgeous rainforest and the stunning river. We got off the boat 30 minutes on the other side at a lake for a swim before going to an Ice Cream Factory-Heaven. We arrived at Cape Tribulation at 4/5pm and chilled out at our hostel called PK Jungle Village by the pool for sunset which was lovely. Whilst we were sat by the pool, the guys working there went and got us a coconut so we spent the rest of the evening trying to crack it open and eat it lol. We managed eventually with the help of a guy called 'Jay' in our room. We also decided to give 'Jungle Surfing' a go the next day, so we went to book this before heading to bed.
Sunday 20th February 2011
Today was the day of Jungle Surfing .. It is basically a zip wire in the canopy in the rainforest. You get strapped in to a harness which is basically just sat under your bum and you hold on to the rope connecting you to the wire above you which is attached to the canopees of the trees. The people that work there wind the rope round a wheel really fast which sends you buzzing along the zip wire really fast...the highest tree-tree is 75metres above the ground. They make you take your hands off and just lean back while they send you flying...and on your last go they make you put your feet up around the rope until you are totally upside-down with your arms dangling down-then they send you flying! This was so much fun..but so scary too at the same time! I would recommend this aswell! it was one of the best things i have done, and welldone to Holly for doing it as she is terrified of heights!!!!! Go girl xxx
Monday 21st February 2011
Chilled out all day today back in Cairns at Gilligans hostel
Tuesday 22nd February 2011
When Holly had won the Horse-riding day trip I had decided that I wanted to join her and pay for the day as I used to ride and hadnt in such a long time so I thought I would love the opportunity again. They put me on the naughty horse as I told them I was experienced..it was good fun and i would love to get back in to it..but the company we did it with wasnt great. They also do quad biking at the same place..but the instructor wasnt friendly and she took a long time to get us moving as she kept stopping us to fix the horses saddles..so we didnt even get the chance to trot! This was a shame but it was still a great experience :-)
We went to the cheap Tuesday cinema night tonight and saw Big Mommas with Tilly from our room in the hostel and Holly, Lucy and I. We got back to our Swedish room mates drunkenly arguing and then crashing out in bed before they could make it for their night out lol.
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