Bobbing along, bobbing along, at the bottom of the beautiful briny sea...

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Hello readers!

We are now in Airlie Beach, in preperation for our sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands tomorrow. We shall be on a boat for 2 nights which means a lot of sickness tablets for me!!! I have never been sailing so I'm hoping it'll be fun and that the sickness tablets will keep me stable, otherwise the consequences could be both messy and embarrasing...

Anyway, back to Cairns! There's still so much to tell you all! The day after rafting, after having had an amazing and tiring day- we had booked onto another trip... Uncle Brian's forest tour! This bus took us to forests and Atherton Tablelands.

Slightly later pick up time though I was nonetheless 'morningish' and half-asleep. A small minibus pulled up and out jumped a smiley fellow and told us he's our 'cousin Bob'- fair enough, we hopped on and took a seat at the back. Next thing we're being introduced to everyone on board! This was indeed a strange trip already... hmmm, could it get weirder?


YES! As we drive down the road, Bob gave us a bit of info about the roads we drove along and when he finished his driving AND constant talking on the speaker, he got everyone to introduce themselves and questioned them about their trip/their home life etc etc! I was still tired and it took until mid-morning for me to really get into the swing of things. I got a bit friendlier after a nice walk in the rainforest and our first swimming stop (of many during the day!). It was a bit cold in there but I got in eventually, of course Joe jumped straight in! We were quite amused by an older German couple who were very chatty and whom the husband of started searching for gold on the bottom of the water! Good luck Gunther!

After a chilly swim, we all took turns jumping from a rock into the water. I needed quite a bit or persuasion but finally threw myself off. I really need to get over my fear of heights!

Our second stop was EVER better! Another short drive and a walk through the forest later, we arrived at our next swim spot. It was also a bit chilly but we got in and had a challenging swim to the other side, where slippery rocks made it impossible to stand up. The group had to reach out and grab eveyone to help people out of the water. Then after a cautious climb to the top of some rocks, it was time for rock sliding!!!! It was bascially just a massive smooth rock with water running down from a preceding waterfall. It was amazingly fun just throwing yourself down and the group were all good-natured. We even did a group slide with about 7-8 of us and had a great tumble at the bottom!

We've found the tour guides on our trips to be excellent! And although cousin Bob seemed a bit mad at first, it was actually a really friendly tour and if you joined in with the silliness, it made the experience ten times better! Bob really knew his stuff and told us lots about the area, lots of quirky facts too. He also got us riled up for a great singalong on the way home! At the end of the day, he revealed it was only his second day in the job!

The third swimming stop was gorgeous! It was called Milla Milla (hopefully spelt right...), which simply means 'Water Water' apparently. It was a massive waterfall and we all swam over and sat under it. It was a completely different thing to do and a sensation that you don't have every day! We could swim under it and look up at the water falling towards us which looked fantastic and a beautiful sight. Then, to lighten the tone again- Bob suggested we take model photos of us flicking our hair behind us (pictures to follow...). It turned out pretty good and everyone had a laugh. Even Joe (despite his obvious limitations in the hair area) tried his hand at it and showed everyone else up of course! 😉

The day also had a lot of food! Bob's motto was swimming then food swimming then food etc etc. We had biscuits/muffins/dairy milk/hot choc and marshmellows and stopped for some chicken and cous cous with desert! Marshmellows are a wonderful creation indeed...

I now bring you to the funniest part of the day! We were driving through a town and Bob told us that if we're lucky, we might get to see a rare creature. But to do so we first had to bend our heads down and close our eyes, though I had to keep pushing Joe's head down so he didn't ruin the surprise! After a count to 5, we all raised our heads and looked to the right...

Now, we were all expecting to see some kind of animal. But what did we see??? = A crazy old lady with a basket! Seconds later, she pulled out a stuffed caterpillar and started waving it around! Everyone on our bus was in complete hysterics and cheering loudly. So she pulled out another stuffed animal and another!!! Then she waved around streamers until we were out of sight. Cousin Bob informed us that this lady was NOT a part of the tour but for years, every afternoon, she has been coming out to entertain the bus! Apparently they have never even spoken to her... Whatever the circumstances, that was hilarious and I shall attach a photo of the funny lady soon. It's a shame it can't really convey the moment though... 😞

Cairns was a nice place but mainly, it's good for day trips. So what did we do? You guessed it- went on ANOTHER day trip! We took a boat to the reef (Michelmas Cay) and Paradise Reef. Of course, this trip is a must really. We did some great snorkelling and the colours of the reef and the fish were so vivid and fascinating. The fish were swimming literally a feet or two away from us at times and we also got to see a manta ray (if I'm correct there, not sure I am)! The second bout of snorkelling was a bit harder as the waves were stronger and my mask kept filling with water. All in all, another great trip. We also met a great Irish girl called Laura who we went for a drink with after.

We've met a few people along the way and some have gotten in touch which is good and we may bump into them along the way or in Sydney. We're hoping the boat trip tomorrow will be good and nice people will be onboard. We'll just have to see I suppose.

Sorry to go on but... we also visited Townsville! Joe's relatives, Ros and Tony live there and kindly let us stay with them for a few days. It was nice to meet them as I've heard so much about them and there were extremely hospitable. We had an excellent day out to the Billabong Sanctuary where we saw Koalas/Wombats/Birds (mostly ones chasing us for seeds!)/ Cassowarys/Snakes and Crocodiles. We even had a hold of the croc and the snake! They weren't the biggest ones ever but it still felt strange. Snakes are kind of slimy and very muscley! I never realised how many muscles snakes had. We even got Joe to hold the slimy thing and he hates them, so well done Joe. The little croc we held was alright, much less scary than the huge evil looking ones we saw being fed. Urgh!

We also took a trip to Magnetic island where we walked around the beaches, had a swim in the sea and climbed some rocks. It was all very beautiful and some bits were quite secluded. We also had a great chat whilst eating fruit salad! Later, we got some nice roast at home and the taste of gravy was a great one to revisit! I hope we can find somewhere that does xmas roast in Sydney... oh please!

Ros and Tony were very welcoming and it was nice to have a break from backpackers places for a few days and have such expert knowledge of Townsville so close to hand. We also met two of Ros and Tony's friends- Chris and Steve, who also gave us some tips and just had a good chat really. We'll hope to see them in London when they come to visit next year and give them tips on where to visit and where to avoid!

Overall, thanks to Ros and Tony for a nice interlude to our backpacker trail! We had a great time.

So everyone, if you haven't fallen asleep on your keyboards, thanks for reading! It just seems like theres so much to cover and I want to tell you all about it, even better would be to bring you all over for a few days and show you some of this.

Thanks for the recent messages all! I loved the Millie pics and was great to see Mike/Amie and Gary are online now.

Loads of love! Nikki the sailor xxx

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Comments

[marbles]

Blogging brilliant
I need an antidote for blog addiction - great pictures and commentary that makes you feel a traveller too - sadly the feeling doesn't last. Love to J and N - Marbles

[cath armstrong]

catching up
Hi Nikki Only just realised from talking with pIp that you had a separate blog ( OK Joe - I know you told me !) Anyway I have just been catching up - it all sounds great and I am enjoying all the stories and experiences second hand Loved your photos of rafting - count yourself lucky that you only had to wear an unflattering hat and jacket - when Bob and I rafted in NZ we had to wear all in one suits that made us look like michelin tyre men - - I looked suare -not good at all. Our fellow pasengers were german and japanese - the german lady didnt want to do it in first place and was miserable throughout - her husband - a large man - was opposite Bob at the front and whatever instruction was sent threw himself over to Bobs side and in the meantime the japanese girsl had forgotten every word of English and panicked continually!! Bob and I in contrast to those around us thought it was fantastic, enjoyed every minute, and were sad when the trip was over Now I am accessing both blogs I look forward to the next epistles Take care Enjoy Love Cath