Out of the Bush!

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We're back! And after 12 days of work, we're glad to be. By the end of the trip we couldn't wait to get back to travelling, meeting new people and seeing new sights. WWOOFing was definitely an experience we'll never forget, but let's just say we're glad it's over. We did manage to see some sunshine out in the bush though, the weather cleared up for a few days and the heat was a nice change. On the second last night in five star camping we were awakened by Amy around 4am, "wanna see a snake!?" groggy eyed in disbelief we stumbled out of our bunks to see Amy holding a 3 meter python by the neck. She'd heard the animals going crazy, chickens screaming, cats hissing, dogs barking, and a parrot yelling "SHUT UP!" and found the snake in the middle of the kitchen (apparently this is their favourite room and frequent it often) strangling a cat. She managed to free the cat after a few bites and scratches, punching it continuously in the face. Suzie woke up and found a bag and they tied him up in there for the night. The next day we headed down to the local swimming river (no crocs here, it's too high up in the mountains and they don't climb) to release the snake and relax with some beers and sandwiches. We indulged ourselves in the pleasures of the "freezing" water - it was warm - and the mini rope swing. Suzie suggested we leave a day early in case of flooding so we packed up the next day and got dropped off at Dougies, a backpackers inn, in Port Douglas. The hostel is pretty great, hammocks and even a pool, too bad the rain won't stop or we could actually indulge. Yesterday Hill and I made the mistake of walking into town without our umbrella. It started to pour down buckets and we were forced (as all the shops were closing) to walk back in the monsoon. At first it was a little unpleasant, but 10 minutes in we were wet past the point of caring, ankle deep in flooding sidewalks, hair matted to our heads, clothes sticking to our skin. We made it home okay and fashioned ourselves a clothes line (thanks for forcing me to bring string dad, it did come in handy after all). Today we woke up early for our tour of the one, the only, Great Barrier Reef! We sailed out on the Quicksilver for an hour and a half into the ocean, no land in sight. The weather wasn't exactly inviting, but we didn't care, it was stunning nonetheless. We sailed all the way out to the edge of the continental shelf and did 3 seperate snorkling trips along different parts of the reef. We also didn't mind the buffet breakfast, lunch and snacks provided! Hillary had never been snorkling before, so she was pretty excited that one of the seven natural wonders of the world could be her first opportunity. The reef was stunnning, we saw a variety of fish - big, small, skinny, fat, colourful, camoflagued, black and grey, a giant sea cucumber, plenty of anenomes and a GIANT clam. We took some breaks from snorkling to flip off the top deck of the boat into the sea below, and managed to meet some friends in doing so. The photographer of the trip is actualyl from Vancouver Island so he printed us a free picture and invited us for dinner and a movie at his place tonight! This is our third night here before we head to Cairns, then off to Brissie and Byron Bay! Northern Queensland has been a stunning mix of tropical rainforest, beaches, monsoons and heat. Missing you all at home. Love from Hill and Grace

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Photos

The Farm
sunset on the farm

Kittens!
Jasmine's kittens - adorable

Red Ted
our favourite dog of the bunch

Rita
their only donkey.. she's quite cranky but she did venture up to the kitchen in our last days

Hillary
starting to get frusterated with how much of her food is being sacrificed

Amy
the parrots love dark hair

Amy and the snake
Suzie preparing the bag to contain it

Children and snakes
they're all fearless up here

local swimming river
looks daunting doesn't it? captain hook would be scared

Hill swinging
great form

Hill swinging
the tuck

Great Barrier Reef
lovely day for a snorkle

Hill and Grace
in our wettys

Our free picture
pre-snorkle