Trauma on the Tully River, climbing the walls in Cape Tribulation and cavorting in Cairns!

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G'day possums!

It feels like ages since I wrote a blog but I know it's only been about a week - time really stretches out when you're travelling!

On leaving Townsville we headed to Mission Beach, a coastal town two and a half hours north that's surrounded by rainforest, banana plantations and long stretches of white sandy beaches. First impressions of the town weren't the best since it was lashing down with rain when we got there! It's definately a "beachy" town so it looked pretty dismal in the rain but Brenda and I were happy enough to settle into our hostel, cook some dinner and then head straight to bed since we were knackered from the night before.

Although disappointing for sun-lover Susan, the rain was perfect for the activity we had planned for Mission Beach - white water rafting on the Tully river. We booked it for the next day and were really looking forward to it as we'd been told that the Tully River is the ultimate full day white water rafting experience in Australia with 45 rapids over 5 hours through World Heritage Rainforest, in the middle of the magnificant Tully Gorge National Park.

And it didn't disappoint! Compared to the rafting I had done previously in Thailand this was scary stuff. Not helped by the fact that my helmet constantly fell down over my eyes so half the time we hit the rapid before I was even aware it was there! I also had my first near death experience (or possibly second if you count the time i accidently somersaulted over Chaela's bannisters and nearly broke my neck when I landed on the ground at the bottom of her stairs). We had just gone through a grade 3 rapid (they range from grade 1 to 6 with 6 being the most dangerous) when our guide Dean directed us to the side of the river bank and tied our raft up. He then said if we wanted we could walk back to the top of the rapid and swim down it. The girls sensibly declined but I decided to go for it and headed off with the boys full of bravado. Once we reached the start of the rapid we were told we had to throw ourselves into the river and swim across to the otherside so that we went down the side of the rapid rather than through the middle of it which could be pretty dangerous. When my turn came I threw myself into the water and swam across but didn't manage to swim far enough before the current pulled me into the rapid. So I went straight down the middle of the bloomin' thing and it was not a fun experience let me tell you! The fact that my helmet was half way down my face didn't help my increasing panic nor did it help when I realised that my flip flop was coming off and I had to move out of the position we'd been told to adopt to catch it, resulting in me going through the whole thing more or less under water. It was horrible! When I got through the rapid I was too panicked to realise where I was and didn't start to swim to the side where everyone was waiting so they threw out ropes for me to catch. I missed the first two and was convinced I was heading down the grade 6 rapid that was next but to my relief I caught the third rope. What a calamity! However the most embarassing part was still to come - they'd filmed most of the day so we could buy a dvd of it if we wanted and when we got back on dry land they showed it's highlights. And yes, you guessed it, my specatcular performance was right in there. I've never seen such a look of terror on my face! Needless to say I did not make that particular purchase!

The following day it was still raining so we decided just to make a beeline for Cairns in the hope of better weather. Which we didn't get. Apparently it had been raining for a couple of weeks up there and, combined with the humidity, it wasn't a particularly nice place to be. But Cairns is a nice city, though it's extremely touristy. We spent our first couple of days getting acquainted with the town and were thrilled when Jessie and Anna (girls we had met in a few places now) turned up and stayed in our hostel. Though it didn't turn out too well for Jessie who got eaten alive by what looked suspiciously like bed bugs so they moved out after one night. The five of us also spent a day in Kuranda, a pretty market town about 20km out of Cairns, where I found a pair of hair straighteners for $10 - result!

After a few days in Cairns Brenda, Suze and I booked a three day trip up to Cape Tribulation which is in the heart of the rainforest. And it turned out to be a disaster! On our first day we did a croc river tour but all we saw was a baby croc who Brenda was convinced was a plant anyway. She amused us all by jumping to her feet at one point and shouting out "I see one - over there!" but it turned out to be a log so she sheepishly sat back down again! The hostel we stayed at was literally in the middle of nowhere, it was a 45 min walk to the nearest shop and even longer to the off-licence, disastrous! And though it had a bar it was ridiculously expensive to eat and drink there so we found ourselves outside our cabins playing card games with our equally depressed neighbours to while the hours away. On our second day there the sun came out so the girls hit the beach and I took myself off on a walk through the rainforest, determined to make the most out of the situation. Not being keen on my horticulture I can't say I was all that impressed with the rainforest but I'm glad I've seen it, if only to know that I never need to go back!

Both of the girls got eaten alive when we were up there, poor Brenda had 11 bites on her face and we stopped counting the ones on her neck at 14 - not pleasant at all. We were all extremely relieved when our bus arrived to take us back to civilisation on the Sunday afternoon! On the way back we stopped at a point and were shown the spot where Steve Irwin was killed by the stingray and I had to laugh as Suze got me to take a pic of her posing infront of it with a beaming smile on her face - always the beauty queen! We also stopped at Mossman Gorge which was nice to see and in the town of Port Douglas which looked lovely but was more or less closed down because it was Sunday. We all gave a cheer when we reached Cairns but our delight was shortlived. We had booked into the YHA this time to be near Jessie and Anna and quickly got settled into our room. There were a few Danish girls there, taking pictures of one of their backs which looked as if it was covered in bites. When Susan asked if it had been bed bugs the girl answered, cheery as you like, "Oh no, not bites. Scabies!" Eeek! So after going to dinner with Anna and Jessie we went straight back to reception to sort out another room, which luckily they were very happy to put us up in.

Luckily by the time we came back to Cairns the weather had cleared up so the following day the girls went to the lagoon for a bit of sun worshipping while I hit the internet cafe and wandered around the town for a bit. That night we met up with some other girls who had been on our boat round the Whitsundays and headed out. We found a bar that had a "power hour" - all you can drink in an hour for $10. Sweeeeet! We hooked up with a group of Irish lads and had a fun night out, though every one of us was feeling a bit worse for wear the following day. So Tuesday didn't amount to much, Suze and I just wandered around some shops and stocked up on our souvenirs for everyone at home. Then we met up with Brenda, Jessie and Anna and we all went to the cinema to see Spiderman 3 which I cannot recommend strongly enough to avoid, it was awful!

The next day was an early start for Suze, Brenda and I as we had a day of snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef infront of us. It was amazing as the visibility was so much better than when we had snorkelled at the Whitsundays. As well as snorkelling we got a trip on a glass bottomed boat but the visibility was much better when we were out on our own in the water. At the second site we snorkelled at we got to swim with, and touch, sea turtles which was just fantastic - they're so friendly! Although I'd initially had a wetsuit on I had been told by the boat's photographer that I'd get much more contact with them if I dove down away from the surface of the water so I left it off at the second site to get rid of the added buoyancy. This enabled me to dive under the water away from everyone else and interact with the turtles for as long as I could hold my breath, awesome! Following the second snorkel we all had a go at "boom netting" which is basically sitting in a net that's attached to the boat and trying to hold on while they drive the boat faster and faster. Funny stuff but I can't say I was too keen on the water rushing at me after my experience when white water rafting. Brenda was the first of us off as she had a bikini escape emergency, then me and then Suze who held on till the very end. It was a really good day though and I'm just delighted I got to swim with turtles!

After another chill-out day in Cairns the moment of truth had arrived - Brenda and Suze were leaving me to head off for five days in Hong Kong before going home again. We had a relaxed last night out with Jessie and Anna and I finally got the indian I'd been craving for for weeks. The girls had to get up at 3.30am so we stayed off the booze and were all in bed pretty early. Then me, Jessie and Anna got up at 4am to wave them off and that was that. I leave Cairns tomorrow (Saturday) and head off on a three day bus trip to Alice Springs so I'm hoping there's a good bunch of people on the bus or else it will be a very long trip! Not that anyone will want to speak to me at the moment anyway - I've taken a really bad reaction to some insect bites and have come out in a minging rash all over my body, John Merrick eat your heart out! So I have a feeling I will be banished to the back of the bus on my own but hopefully not. I'm really looking forward to getting to see the Red Centre of Oz, though I've currently got images from Wolf Creek running through my mind, hope I survive to write the next installment of the blog!

Happy Birthday Mum when it comes, I love you lots and hope you have a fantastic day.
xx

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Photos

Mission Beach 1
Heading down one of the rapids on the Tully River - I'm in the red on the left although it's tricky to identify me since the helmet covers half my head!

Mission Beach 2
Brenda lets out a war cry as we head down another rapid. Suze still manages to smile for the camera - you gotta love her!

Kuranda 1
Me and the girls in Kuranda - l-r Brenda, me, Jessie, Anna and Suze

Cape Tribulation 1
Can you guess what it is yet? A baby croc supposedly but Brenda wasn't convinced!

Cape Tribulation 2
The start of the Dubuji boardwalk heading through the rainforest at Cape Tribulation

Cairns 1
Out for power hour with the girls - Jen, me, Suze, Jessie, Brenda, Claire and Lucy

Cairns 2
Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef with Suze and Brenda. Not too sure what we're holding, the photographer gave them to us obviously thinking it makes for a better pic!

Cairns 3
Swimming with Cheech the sea turtle

Cairns 4
Giving Cheech a wee rub

Comments

[Chaela]

Somersaulting
Hey Babe I was only thinking about you practicing gymnastics on my stairs the other night. Its great to read you again I couldnt get into my emails to get the link. Your pics are fantastic and im so jealous. Cant wait to read the next installment take care mwaaaaaaaaah ;o) x