After a pointless 20 minute stop in Darwin we finally got to Cairns at about 9:00am and are now 2 hours ahead of Singapore and 9 hours ahead of the UK. We got through quarantine fine but we did declare our walking boots as having soil on them as Australia get really funny about you bringing anything unusual into their country, like food, seeds, wood, shells, or if u have been in contact with rural areas which we had as we had been in the Thailand jungle. They were fine about it and just washed our boots for us and we were on our way. We called Rosie's Backpackers which is where we planned to stay whilst we were in Cairns and they kindly came and picked us up from the airport. We got settled into our room which strangly enough was the same room that Catriona and Suzanne were in (they were the 2 nurses from our Thailand trip) had a chat with them and then we slept for a good couple of hours as we were so tired after all the travelling and loosing 2 hours.

Its a really good arrangment as this hostel as there is a communal kitchen and at 6:30 am until 10:30 am they put free breakfast out which is just toast and then they give you meal ticket for the WoolShed where you go between 6:00-9:30pm to get a free meal. Its pasta/bolognaise but you can upgrade to anything on the menu for $5/$7/$10 which is really good. So we have been taking full advantage of the free meals. On our first night we went and had some free dinner and then just chilled out.

Thurs-We went down the lagoon in the afternoon which is a communal swimming pool area with Catriona, Suzanne, Stuart and Jenna (an Irish couple from our Thailand trip also were in Cairns at the same time) and then in the evening we took full advantage of Ladies night in the Woolshed which was free champagne from 10-11pm and then had a dip in our pool at the hostel at about 3am!

Fri-We werent feeling amazing after the champagne fuelled evening so spent most of the day just sleeping it off and we got up at 2:00pm, had a bit of lunch and just chilled out for the rest of the day. We decided to go on a snorkeling trip the next day so booked and paid for that and then got an early night however it was punch night at the hostel and people were getting wrecked and making alot of noise so we didnt get to sleep much before 2:00am and we had to get up at 7:00 to get to the docks but thats what you expect when you stay in a hostel so it didnt bother us!

Sat-We went snorkeling this day but decided to do an introducrory dive for $65 that took us 6meters down and we saw nemo, a sea cucumber,loads of massive fish and some beautiful coral. It was amazing to see what lives below the surface. Vicky felt a little clostrophobic to start with but got through it and we both loved the experience of being able to breath underwater. It was mad. On the boat trip however I wasnt feeling very well for the whole entire day. We were on a rocky boat and just before we went for the dive I lost my breakfast overboard but fed the fish at the same time! Then there was lunch, cheese and biscuits, wine and it was all lovely but I couldnt stomach any of it and spent the whole journey after the dive laying on the bench in the sun. Vicky and I both got a tad burnt but all in all it was a great day. We didnt do anything that night as we were both feeling the exhaustion of our day at sea! We had cheese and beans toasties for dinner!

Sun-We went down the lagoon for the afternoon but both fell asleep in the sun and I burnt my stomach and Vicky caught the sun a little bit. In the evening it was the hostels BBQ night for $6 so we did that for dinner and then we borrowed our room mates hair straighteners, got a bit dressed up and headed to the Woolshed. Its just like walkabout so we felt right at home! We were supossed to be going to our next destination (Mission Beach) on Monday but the bus was full so hopefully we will get on the wed/fri one we will just have to wait and see so we are spending a few more days here than expected.

Mon-We felt a little rough again so just went to the local shopping centre and bought a few things and found a subway so had that for lunch. After shopping we just went back to the hostel and chilled out.

Tues-We went to the shopping centre again and went to the lagoon for a little bit in the afternoon. Vicky had bought some wedged sandals as she hates going clubbing in flats and I bought a new bikini that I was going to rock at the lagoon!! That evening went to the Woolshed again for 10 drinks for $5 that was amazing!

Wed-Again not feeling too great as I was drinking vodka, lemonade and limes but I think I had had too much lime! Vicky wasnt feeling too spesh either so again we just chilled out and did nothing. You guys prob think we are doing nothing but when you have nothing to get up for (work) and its like 31 degrees outside theres isnt alot to do and we have become experts at chillin'.

Thurs-It was ladies night at the Woolshed again but we had managed to get ourselves in the bus to Mission Beach tomorrow so didnt really want to have a heavy one but we got chatting to these 2 english guys that convinced us to go out to the Woolshed. During the day we didnt do alot and then started to get ready. It was so nice to use hair straightners and our room mate was cool with us using them so we used them to our full advantage for the last time! The 2 english guys had been drinking all day so had passed out and as we were all dressed up we thought oh well we will still go out anyway. We went to the Woolshed and enjoyed our free champs and then these 2 Ozzy guys took us to this place where they sell tea pots full of drink that you have to shot. Kind of tasted like skittles but seeing as we had to be up by 6:00am they werent such a good idea. We got back to the hostel at 1:00am and just crashed out. I had already set the alarm before we left to go out to make sure that we did get the wake up call.

Fri-We got up at 6:00 but didnt feel amazing, packed up the rest of our stuff, said goodbye to our room mates and walked to the bus stop. This huge yellow bus turned up with this over enthusiastic Ozzy jumping from it and started loading our stuff on board. The coach was a beast! The driver was called Forrest Gump and he would be driving us down to Mission Beach. He was a very funny guy and was telling jokes, being very sarcastic and explaining all about Queensland which is the state we are in. We made a lot of stops and Vicky and I took full advantage of these toilet stop as we still werent feeling great, I blame mine on the lime and I'm not too sure bout Vicky, just too much drink I think!! On the way to Mission Beach we stopped at a Crocodile Farm. It was so cool. There were these Ostrich loooking things just roaming around freely, these really cute pure bread Dingos that you could hold, a small crocodile that you could hold and luckily his snappers were tied up, and a massive snake that Vicky put round her neck! At 11:00am the crocodile feeding was on and first of all this guy took us to a 5 metre long croc that looked like Godzilla. It was absolutly huge and we got some great photos. He then took us round to lots of other crocs and gave us some information. Its a breeding farm and the ones that they breed they kill for meat and skins but there are others there that have been taken from the wild as they are called 'problem crocodiles'. Crocs that kill dogs, cows and are just pests in the wild. These are captured and kept at the farm and are not killed. Some are said to live until 150 years old which is amazing. At the end of the farm there were these baby joeys jumping around and they were so cute. You were able to feed them and there were some slightly bigger kangaroos aswell. After the farm we got dropped off at Scotty's Backpackers at Mission Beach and said farewell to Forest Gump but he might be our driver again.. who knows!!