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Published: November 23rd 2012
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After leaving the Whitsundays and Airlie behind we went to a place called Magnetic island. We didn't know much about it but after a hectic few weeks we were happy just to chill out. When we got there we were blown away by our (Base) hostel; it was right on the beach and had its own pool overlooking the shore. It was so pretty and the weather was fantastic. It got even better later on when we won $100 in the bingo at our hostel.
Unfortunately it rained for the rest of our time there but it was nice to have a lie in and just relax without drinking.
After leaving Magnetic Island we went up the coast towards Cairns where it was also bucketing it down with rain (why did no one tell us that Queensland's summer is also the wet season?!) It was really strange arriving in Cairns as it's so green and tropical compared to the south. We had trips booked everyday while there, although our white-water rafting got cancelled due to the weather.
On the first day we did a rainforest tour called Uncle Brians. This was honestly one of the best trips I
have done. We were slightly hung over from our first night in Cairns but were soon bright and breezy all thanks to our enthusiastic guide. The first place we visited was called Devil's Pools where you can see water rushing over these huge boulders. After, we were able to have a little swim in another pool and saw a little turtle. Following this, we left for a place called Josephine Falls where we weren't sure if we were going to be able to swim. Our guide said it could be a bit dodgy but if we were strong swimmers he was happy for us to go in. I was panicking a bit but decided to go in and I'm so glad that I did because we got to climb up and slide down these smooth rocks which were a lot of fun. It was a bit trickier when it came to getting back to the bank. The first girl to try had to be dragged in by a rope after panicking in the current and screaming for help. I got dragged under as well but thankfully managed to fight my way to the side. It was only after we got
out that our guide told us that two people in the last couple of months had died in a spot just a little further downstream (not on the Uncle Brians tour).
After a delicious, huge lunch and pudding we went to the waterfall where Peter Andre filmed mysterious girl and they shot the timotei and herbal essence shampoo adverts. This, of course, meant that we got straight in belting Mysterious Girl at the top of our lungs and dancing in the waterfall. We also took pictures doing the famous timotei hair flick in the water.
Our last trip in Australia was out to the Great Barrier Reef. We had to get up at 6.00am for our boat but they had provided some nice pastries and fruit to keep us going. We were also looking forward to our trip because we were on the same one as our Canadian friends. We tried to have a bit of a snorkel at the first stop but the waves were quite choppy and there were jellyfish everywhere. One went into my hand and I accidentally squeezed it before I realised what it was. Luckily for me it didn't sting me. Loring also
thought he may have swallowed one so we thought it best to get back onto the boat after that.
I was a bit nervous about the introductory dive we were going to do because when I did it in Turkey I felt quite panicky about it. There was no need to be nervous though as it was amazing. It was so easy to breathe and they talked us through the whole thing and looked after us. The coral was incredible and we could pick up sea cucumbers while the guides showed us which corals were safe to touch. There were also giant clams under the water where you could put your hand over the top and they would close up.
After lunch they took us to this tiny little sand island which was really beautiful and we saw a huge turtle bathing in the shallow water. Chad also had his most unpopular moment here when he chased the turtle away.The next snorkelling stop was a bit calmer and we saw hundreds of fish and some really weird coral, including some that looked like it was covered in flowers. One of the crew was also in the water with
us and he kept diving down and picking up sea cucumbers for us. One of them was massive and it was covered in star shapes. I put it on my head. It was so heavy and huge that it was dragging down my snorkel. It was making me laugh so much especially when the guide put it on his head because he had dredlocks so it looked like an extra massive dred. Laughing in the water is not really a good move though because you're soon choking like an absolute maniac and I also ended up with a load of snot in my snorkel.
That night, as part of our east coast package and because we were staying at the party hostel Gilligans, we went out on the Ultimate pub crawl. This night was amazing because A. our uni housemate Carly had joined us B. it was St.Paddy's and C. Wales won the Grand Slam!!! Woooohoooo!!
As well as this, it was our last couple of days with the Canadians we decided to do something to commemorate and got group piercings. Not the most radical thing but we wanted a token. Gwenda got her nose, Luce her tragus,
Chad and I our top ear and Matt got both his ears. Chad passed out getting his done.
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