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Well folks, I'm sitting in All Seasons Hotel, Magnetic Island watching the tropical storms outside. The plus with this country is the rain is hot so everyone is still in bikinis, shorts and even swimming. Love it.
My time in Palm Cove near Cairns with the parents was amazing, the beaches were beautiful, the apartment we stayed in was great and the guys who owned the apartments were so friendly, I'm actually keeping in touch with them and apparently a discount is in order for the next time I stay there so whoever is nice to me might just be able to tag along, hehe! :)
Anyway as I mentioned in the last blog, there was a pool at the place in Palm Cove so I didn't have to venture into the dark merky unknown otherwise known as the sea that every human being in Australia swims in... well... now don't fall off your seats, but I actually went on a Reef Experience tour and I DID snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. There was no way I was going to let my fear get in the way of me doing something so amazing. It was such fun and girls, the crew on the boat really increased the amazing factor to mmm 101 :) Gorgeous they were!!! But apart from that, I got to swim with a green turtle, spotted a blue starfish, shoals of colourful fish surrounded me and oh what is that swimming underneath me, YEP IT'S A SHARK!!!! A white tip reef shark to be specific, it was about 5"5 so really a little one tbh, but big enough for me to take in a large mouthful of sea water and panic slightly. It was pretty once-in-a-lifetime kinda stuff for me though so I really enjoyed it, I would reccommend the 'Reef Experience' team any day to anyone who wanted to swim on the reef. You get tea, coffee, food and cheese & wine in the arvo, plus there's a chance to scuba dive and go on a glass bottom boat, worth every penny.
A few days after the reef, we headed to the Daintree Rainforest. We hired a car for this, I believe it was Nissan something or other, not a Holden so I wasnt that interested :) The rainforest was beautiul and the drive up there is death-defying, every corner you swear you're going to fall off the edge of the mountain but I'm an amazing driver so obviously we had a smooth ride ;) There are heaps of different options as to how you see the rainforest, either by a million different options of bush walks, board walks, beaches, etc... but we took the high tree boardwalk and it was breath taking. You are so high up, you almost reach the tip of the tallest trees in that area and there are heaps of bugs and wildlife to look out for. We didnt manage to see a croc or cassowary but apparently they are in there so might be worth the wait in certain areas to see them but we didn't have much time. The big blue butterflies are stunning and my parents managed to see a Monitor Lizard on the beach later on that arvo when I was obviously far too busy sun-bathing(burning!!!) All in all, if you havent been and you are planning a trip to QLD, you MUST do the Daintree Rainforest :)
A spider just crawled up my leg so just bare with me whilst I hyperventilate and get one of the hotel receptionists to save me...
Ok I'm back, mm embarrassed but I will soldier on with my blog, hope you havent fallen asleep on me. So, after leaving Palm Cove, it was a, now get this, 29 minute plane journey from Cairns to Townsville, laugh all you want but it beats a 4.5 hour drive. Mmm Townsville, interesting, won't say much but I'll simply list a few things and you can make your own mind up...
- The Cri (local pub) has jelly wrestling on Sundays
- Another pub down the road has Toad races on Wednesdays
- You can bring your new born baby into the Aquarium
- The buses smell bad but the people smell worse
- You won't understand anything that anyone says to you
Is that enough? Make your own mind up, hehe! I'm sure it's not that bad a place but the weather was terrible so it dampened the spirits on venturing around and I have only ever heard bad things about the place. Anyway, moving on before I get any abuse from local Townsville people who happen to be in my facebook friends.. we got to Magnetic Island in terrential rain, checked out our apartment/hotel room which is really beautifully set out and overlooks a tropical garden which we already have Wally the Wallaby visiting every day hoping for any food, he's cute (photos soon). Only one day on the Island and then we head to Airlie Beach for the last 6 days of our travels together and then the old bags (my rents) :) head back to the UK :(
My dad and I did a bush walk earlier which was hard work in the humidity, I wouldnt reccommend doing this walk unless you feel comfortable just walking around in your bikini/boardshorts because trust me, it's that humid. The walk was stunning though and the views from the top were worth it. It was a walk around 'The Forts' which were built during 1944 I believe but don't quote me on that so a bit of a historic tour which dad was super stoked about, me not so much but I did go up there hoping to find Koalas which I was promised in my guide book... I wasn't hopeful, but it is wet season so all the trees are so leafy and the Koalas tend to hide from all the peering tourists up there, much better in the dry season so there's some advise for yas.
Right, I'm going because there is a Curlew outside the window and he's been staring at me for far too long for me not to be actually concerned that I will get attacked... and for the record, yes he is being called Frank!
This rain is reminding me of good ole England so i am missing it currently, especially my London lifestyle and my fabulous family and friends, but i will be back soonish for a visit so see you all then.
Keep reading my blogs and laughing at my random ramblings, that is if I survive the sharks, spiders, sharks and death-defying curlews, oh and the drop bears of course...
xxxxx
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