Aussie Pt I Cairns > Airlie Beach

---

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie!

I Love Australia! Cairns is rather touristy but very pleasant! It's really nice to be able to climatise in such nice conditions! We're staying
at Carvella Backpackers which is very nice and cute, with pink and purple wooden huts surrounding a communal area and swimming pool.
I was also able to access some home comforts here, Earl Grey Tea with Marmite (well vegimite!) on toast. Although Vegimite is no
marmite, I have to make sacrifices whilst I'm backpacking, therefore I bought a squeezy tube of vegimite...we'll get through these
hard times together! Our Hostel also provides us with a free evening meal at the 'Woolshed' and it's nice to be able to chill out in a cool bar, drinking XXXX and listening to good music 😊

Yesterday was awesome, we went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. First snorkelling from an island to the boat and then over Paradise Reef.
It was amazing! Lots of fearless fish swimming within inches of your face and an abundance of colour. We saw jelly fish (good job we were wearing (head to toe blue) stinger suits, sting rays and one reef shark 😊 Both locations were impressive but on Paradise Reef, the Reef ended and there was a sheer drop into the ocean which felt as though you were about to take a sky dive or something!

Today, we've chilled out most of the day. As Cairns doesn't have a 'beach'as such, everyone congregates at the 'Lagoon', a great big swimming pool which overlooks the ocean and the hills surrounding Cairns. We started the Oz Experience bus last Wednesday and met some pretty nice people that we keep bumping into along the way which is pretty good 😊 En Route to our first stop (Mission Beach) we visited a Crocodile farm
and fed a kangaroo ('when in Rome.....')

Whilst in Mission Beach, we were lucky enough to go white water rafting on the River Tully, which apparently is one of the best places to do it
in the world 😊 By the end of the day I have to admit I was beate, battered and burnt but had a great day 😊 They let you jump off the raft and
float down stream in currents, through water falls and climb cliffs and jump off them (must explain the mysterious bruises!). Also had my first Aussie BBQ in the Rainforest 😊

From Mission Beach we headed to Townsville...but that's a little too depressing to talk about! From there to Airlie Beach which is famous
for being a bit of a party town 😊 We're at a hostel called Beaches which is really sociable with everyone congregating there before heading off out drinking beer, listening to live music and eating cheap meals 😊 pretty cool. James and I ended up making friends with a load of Aussies on a 'bucks night'. Next up in Airlie was a two day boat cruise around the Whitsunday Isles which we were told were something quite spectacular...very true..
when it's not raining! (The East Coast is on a cyclone warning at the moment!) It was a nice few days though 😊 great crew and we were able to go to Whitehaven Beach (in the sunshine) which really was beautiful 😊...

Off to a Cattle Station in Kroombit tomorrow...oh heck!

---