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20/07/12
Sat in a little café called 'Flags of the world' lapping up the free internet (which I can't get on to) I thought I'd spend some time out of the smeltering sun and write a little bit about Cairns so far! We got the bus this morning at 8am which was, as predicted, pretty horrible. As Luke left our bowls out yesterday, he had to 'acquire' some before we traded them in for our deposit. Slept most of the bus journey down to Cairns and checked in to Caravella. For $14.50 per night, it's not terrible, but pretty much what you expect, basic needs accounted for with a few bonuses, just a bit dated. I've already seen one for £68 for 8 days though, that's $8.50 per night. So if I get a job, up here, that's where I'll be going. The hostel owner is Scottish and gave us a map, pointed out the main places and where the Lagoon is. In his words; 'It's a target rich environment' HostelLAD. If you ever go to 'Flags of the World' in Carins...get the caramel slice. It's to die for.
The rest of day was pretty surreal, met up with Jay from Bournemouth! Went to Palm cove for a windy afternoon and text a guy who's selling a Ford Falcon! Hopefully, this time tomorrow, I'll be driving! But we'll see... I need to make sure I don't just buy it because I want a car. Right now, we're getting ready to go to The Woolshed for our free meal (a daily voucher given to us by the hostel we're in). Apparently it's only Veggie Spag Bol or Veggie Chilli, definitely not my favourite dishes! But, you can pay a couple of dollars to upgrade to a better meal, so it's still cheaper than making my own or eating out anyway! We're meeting Max and James there, so it'll be good to find out what they've done with their 2.5 weeks in Cairns, see what there is to do in this so far unimpressive (besides the weather and the women) town...
21/07/12
What a night. We went to The Woolshed for our free meal, paid the couple of dollars to upgrade to a rump steak which was beautiful. It was a pretty decent place for some cheap grub and a catch up with the guys from the OzIntro week. We then came back to the hostel, got on it and went back to The Woolshed. Man that place changes at night! 'It was crazy awesome man' Everyone was on the tables and benches, they've got shelves hanging from the ceiling so people can put their drinks somewhere. It was nuts. There were these 2 Japanese? Chinese? Korean?... There were these 2 asian girls who absolutely loved me and Luke. Obviously the cameras were out and we were dancing with them, on the exact table we ate at earlier until the wee hours. I'm lying here, at 9:22am, trying to figure out if this hangover will materialise. Hopefully not as I've got that car viewing at 11! Tallyho!
22/07/12
Looks like I'm buying a car tomorrow! Comes with insurance, camping gear and had a load of new stuff fitted. Pretty old, but it drives fine and I tell you what... driving an automatic is f***ing weird. Need to look up what the other ones do, I know P is Park, N is Neutral, R is Reverse and D is drive. But what the hell does 1 and 2 do?! Ah well. Buying it tomorrow, so looks like me and Luke will be taking a drive up to Cape Trib to have a look.
That was written this morning, I thought 'I have hardly any plans today, so this can be my main feature today'. It won't sound like much, and my memory card wiped my pictures from it, but a BBQ by the Lagoon was perfect today. 7 of us; BBQ, beer and boobs. It was perfect. Oh yeh, the talent around there is top notch. I know of a few people who wouldn't know where to look. I also bought a case for my camera which protects it up to 10m underwater. Ideal for the reef trip on Wednesday!
Aaaaand then there's the night... Got back from the woolshed knackered, got talking to a group of guys (and girls) who'd just finished months worth of farming, gave us tons of advice and ideas of where to go, what to do. Played a few card games, drank some beer and as they went out, I refused. I know... crazy right? But with buying a car and the job search tomorrow at Happy Travels, I decided it was for the best. Tomorrow will probably shape what I do over the next 4 months...
23/07/2012
What a rollercoaster of a day. If that rollercoaster suddenly crashes and burns all the passengers on board. Yes I bought the car. and yes... it's a complete wreck. Took it to the garage and the list of things wrong isn't worth mentioning. All I know is the amount I paid may as well have been burned, lost or given to a homeless guy on the street. Whether the seller knew these faults, I don't know. I hope for the sake of his conscience that he didn't. I have removed the price of the car from this entry as it's just embarrassing and I feel like crawling into a hole. STILL! This is Australia, I am out here to enjoy myself, I have a working holiday visa, so I can work that money back. That's all it is anyway; money. Hakuna Mattata! Cé Levi! N'all that.
24/07/2012
Felt a lot better after a few beers and games of cards last night. The ability to laugh at your own misfortune really is something you need for a trip like this, or at least with the luck I've had. For the record, my luck hasn't changed. I phoned to confirm the reef experience booking for tomorrow, there was no booking. Thankfully there was still a place, so I'm now booked on. What's the betting my scuba tank bursts or I run out of oxygen? Today was spent looking for jobs with Luke and with nothing in the Cairns area, it looks like we're heading down towards Bundaburg in double time. Which would mean doing my sky dive this weekend! Johny... la gente esta muy loca?
Not 30minutes ago did I write that and my sky dive is booked in for Sunday, my bus is booked to travel to mission, me and Luke have got plans for work in Mission Beach, failing that, we're heading down to Bundaburg. Things are looking up guys. *Insert Bad Luck Here* But in all seriousness, with becoming unorganised (I know...) and massively clumsy, I feel like the opposite of what I expected has happened. Instead of 'finding myself' I seem to have lost myself. That was, until today. After the organisation of the next few weeks, I sorted out my bag and my living area to an organised state and I'm starting to feel normal again, as if that's what my life is missing, as if that will change my luck. Who knows, we'll just have to see!
Tip of the day, courtesy of Rachel O'Hara from back in Sydney (which I only remembered tonight): When you're in a club / a venue with loud music... If you press your tragus against your ear when someone is talking to you, you can hear them clearer! Genius, I know. So tomorrow's the reef trip and with 12am approaching fast, I'd appreciate more than 6 hours sleep. Hooroo! (That reminds me, I've heard so many people say 'too easy' I'm struggling to keep a straight face)
25/07/2012
Just got back from the 'Reef Experience' and what I experienced probably isn't what they meant. Unless they meant spending the journey out to the reef hugging the toilet because apparently you suffer from sea-sickness? My Dad and Granddad were in the navy, how does this happen?! Ah well, I eventually found my sea legs and hopefully I'll be okay spending 2 days on a boat sailing around the Whitsundays. Either way, I enjoy the place I get to and if I have to endure an hour or so of horrendous vomiting to get there, so be it. So anyway! On the reef, I did 2 Scuba dives and snorkelled. I took my camera out and got some awesome pictures of fish and stuff. Saw 2 turtles, which automatically made me grin like an idiot, pushing my mouthpiece out of my mouth. Smooth. It was a really good trip, and the fact that I slept on the way back is hope that the 2 days sailing will be okay. I said I'd leave it on a good note, so there it is, despite all the crap, I had an awesome day without any hitches. If you're worried about my wellbeing or that I'm not having a good time, don't. It's awesome and I just had a bit of bad luck.
- comments
Dave Like the blog, love the attitude. No surprises there! It happened now move on and enjoy it. Keep it up mate.
Auntie Gill x Driving an automatic is the best! I loved our Nissan 100NX for that !
Dad Lessons to learn and all that. Guess you lost some weight on the boat then ! Great phots of your dive and good moon !