21. 03/11/07 - 15/11/07 - Cairns, Cape Tribulation and Crocodiles

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03/11/07

After seeing Pete and Kellie off at 1 Amy and I decided that we were bored of sitting in the sun so we killed the afternoon on-line, before heading back for a 2 hour kip. In the interests of our waistlines, we decided a power walk was a good option, and enjoyed the scenery on the Centennial Walk along the coastline. Along the way we both hinted at being a bit homesick and generally danced around the subject of going home, although neither of us actually came out and said we wanted to go home for Christmas. I nearly had a coronary whilst we were stood looking out to sea as I heard a rustling in the bushes, jumped out of my skin, only to find it was an enormous lizard crawling through the undergrowth. I tried to laugh it off but Amy knew what a coward I was.......the shame. We headed back for dinner, some cards, and stayed up to watch the travesty that was Arsenal snatching a late goal in the Man United game. Needless to say I had a slightly un-settled night, those lucky gooners.......

04/11/07

We slept in until 10, still on go-slow mode, and headed for the lagoon early for some sun-baking, before heading back for a salad for lunch (lets shed those holiday pounds!!). On the way back to the lagoon we cotinued our conversation from last night about home etc and decided that we would change our flights and come home for Christmas!! It has been a decision a long time coming, as we've chatted on and off for the last few weeks about when we were going home, and to us, returning before, rather than after Christmas just made sense. The only downside was going to be that we wouldn't spend xmas with Kathryn and Andy in New Zealand, but we would still spend a couple of weeks with them so all was not lost. The financial benefit of saving a few weeks spending money and starting work a few weeks early made sense, and Christmas with family and friends swung it. It might have cost us a couple of weeks on a beach somewhere but who cares. We stayed at the beach til late afternoon and killed the next few hours booking our journey to Cairns on the 6th, going for another power walk (plus Amy ran too, i'm impressed) before heading out for fish and chips (hmmmm, not quite fitting in with the health kick, but honestly, Australian fish and chips ain't that greasy!!). A powercut put the kybosh on the film we were watching so we decided an early night was in order and yet again my ridiculously over-powered, clearly making up for something torch was useless. The thing is so powerful it runs through batteries in minutes, since we've been away I don't think we have used it once.....

05/11/07

We didn't make it up til 9, which, alongwith the fact that we've had 2 decent night's kip in a row, meant we were feeling a bit more normal. I worked out that it was the first time in nearly a month, since Melaka in Malaysia, that we'd had 2 good night's sleep in a row, so if you reckon our trip is one long lie-in and day at the beach, you are 50% wrong!!! We were due for some interwebbing but the powercut had taken care of everyone's servers so we headed for the lagoon. Since we've been in Queensland the weather has been hotting up, and its getting to the point where our British mettle is failing. We managed a couple of hours before we bailed and did some shopping, via a banana shake. After chilling in the apartment for a couple of hours, both of us fighting for the prime spot directly in front of the air-con unit, we decided to give it another go in the sun, but only managed an hour.....The afternoon wasn't wasted though, as I finally worked out why my new flip flops were giving me a blister, one is smaller than the other!!!

After our lame effort back at the lagoon we dusted off our New Zealand book at spent a bit of time planning our time there. In fairness NZ looks spectacular, the scenery magnificient, and mercilessly, the climate is much cooler. After an early dinner, another walk and the TV provided the night's entertainment, before we packed for our trip tomorrow to Cairns, and onwards to Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation and Crocodiles!!! In keeping with our risk-taking, 'lets just wing it' attitude to travelling we made sandwiches for our bus journey tomorrow.....well, you never know if you are gonna be able to stop and get a reasonably priced and nutrionally balanced meal......

06/11/07

Clearly we've had too much sleep over the last couple of days as we were up and at 'em before the alarm. We had a hearty breakfast, finished our packing (including the sarnies) and checked-out. We were at the bus stop early, and due to experience of bus travel and the relative youth of our travelling companions, we quickly out-witted them and found ourselves first on the bus (I may be 27 but small victories like this still give me a beaming smile, Amy just indulges me, as all good girlfriends should, please take note ladies.....). The journey was very un-Asian, it was organised, health and safety conscious, and featured regular toilet breaks....luxury. The packed lunch was a bonus and saved us a fortune, as the other passengers were forced to eat food from a garage in the morning, and over-priced greasy fayre from a roadside cafe in the afternoon. My smugness was almost sickening, I sported one of those smarmy Ronaldo-esque grins you just want to smack!!!! Our only bugbear on the trip was the late arrival of an Aboriginal lady with a serious BO problem. I kid you not it was horrific, i'm sure it could be classed as chemical warfare, certain Middle Eastern countries have been invaded for less, and we had to endure it for hours. By the end of the trip there were quite a few sick looking faces, Amy amongst them.........

We arrived in Cairns about half 7, and were quickly back at the guest house due to our complimentary pick-up from the bus station. Cairns itself is a fairly non-descript city, it looks a lot like the Australia I imagined before we left, not like the buzzing modern cities of Melbourne and Sydney. Also the 'mullet, short shorts and work boots'-ometer is on over-drive up here, as we have certainly taken a big step away from stylish, modern and cultured southern Australia. Needless to say i'll be publishing this blog from the airport, if anyone finds out, i'm a dead man..........After fixing some food and un-packing an early night was in order.

07/11/07

Man alive, what is wrong with us, no deadlines and yet 2 days after we decide that we'll be home for Christmas we are in 'home' mode, waking at 7:15 and going for a run!!!! We must be mad. After a quick dip in the guest house pool to cool off, we got stuck into some porridge and headed out early doors to arrange our trip up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. Our efforts to rent a car were thwarted by the cost, as Australia proves to literally be the UK with better weather, everything is just as expensive!!!! I would say that if you want to travel Australia get a working visa and intersperse travel with earning a few dollars, because you can quickly haemorrhage a few thousand bucks here, and you don't get that much for your money. I reckon Australia would be a great place to work and live, but to just travel (?), its a one-way ticket to personal debtsville!!! After a couple of hours wandering around in the heat, frustrated, sweaty and with tempers frayed (we forgot to take a map as well which just made things oh so much fun....), we jumped on the bus back to our place, and after a bit of food and a couple of hours shut eye (see, we are lazy travellers really, an early start can't mask it..), the world seemed a better place, and we ended up just booking a trip through reception, a measley 10 feet from our room!!!!

We have gone for a 2 night stay up in Cape Tribulation, a remote and beautiful rainforest region, and a couple of night stay in Port Douglas, a formerly small sleepy fishing village which has been transformed by a stack of cash into an upmarket, chic seaside town. We also finally came up with a final plan for our New Zealand trip, which quickly became a case of trying to fit everything in, so today proved pretty productive, and swept along by the momentum, we even booked the accomodation for the rest of our stay in Australia. Late afternoon we jumped on-line and let people know about our early return plan, which we were supposed to save until we left Australia on the 15th, but we've got the breaking strain of a kit kat, and excitement got the better of us. In truth we were on a roll today and so wanted to get in early and confirm a pick-up from the airport and accomodation back in the UK (cheers folks!!!).

We packed, again, (I will not miss living out of a bag...), as we had an early start tomorrow, the bus leaving at ten past seven for Cape Trib. For dinner we decided that we would take advantage of the free meal we get everyday via our guest house at the city centre grill/bar/nightclub, The Woolshed. My suspicion was pricked by the 'free' tag, which always makes me wonder, there is no such thing as a free meal....literally. We jumped on the complimentary Woolshed bus and made it into town not long after 7, and joined the queue, feeling distinctly aged surrounded by 21 year old nippers from England, Ireland, Holland, Germany etc. The queue wasn't a great start, I may be British, but queueing for food, that just ain't cricket, but we stuck with it. We made it inside the door after about 5 minutes only to be surrounded by people at least 5 years my junior, whilst the joint reminded me of every dodgy, run-down town centre night club you can imagine, Prague Junction meets Skandals meets Lush and Bliss meets any student union!!! It was dire, and loud, 'how could we sit and have a proper conversation', errr, 'go elsewhere grandad', so we quickly decided we'd pop to the supermarket and buy food to cook at the guesthouse!!!

08/11/07

The alarm went off at half 6, waking us from our slumber, and signalling the third day in a row we'd got up before half 7, which is something I DID NOT sign up for. After a quick shower the time difference meant I could watch last night's UEFA Champions League live (!!), and the sight of United 2 up and flying made the yawns disappear. We were off to Cape Tribulation today, via a few sites, so with our lunch box primed and loaded, we jumped on the tour bus just after 7. Now our tour guide was a weedy ginger version of Steve Irwin, but to his credit, he was somewhat of an Australian wildlife and husbandry expert, specialising in snakes and crocs, ideal!!!! When he got in full swing he was great entertainment, which took some doing because he was a bit of a social hand grenade. One of his classic lines, which he delivered deadpan, was, 'kangaroos are better for the environment than cattle and sheep.....they don't shit in the waterholes...'!!! He enlivened our visit to the Mossman Gorge (pre-wet season so the water was more babbling brook than rampaging rapids), but was in his element when we entered a small zoo, complete with pythons, crocs and cassowarys (similar to the Emu). We got some anecdotal stories about pythons attacking people in their back gardens, the fact that if a croc grabs you in the water you are basically dead, there is literally nothing you can do to fight it off, and a graphic explanation of how a cassowary could jump up to chest height and rip your chest open with its claws......'Ok Amy, we won't be going for any forest walks in Cape Trib'.

By midday we had made it to the Daintree River Crossing, and as we slid across the croc-infested river on our car ferry I had more than one anxious glance at the water.........luckily no giant killer crocs attacked the ferry!!! The landscape shifted from rolling countryside and huge farm steads, framed by huge mountains, not unlike mid-west USA, to dense tropical rainforest, as we snaked along the coast road. Our next stop was a rainforest walk, which Amy bailed from as she had been feeling increasingly pukey during the day, which culminated in the act itself being performed at this stop. Whilst Amy sat in the shade we wandered into the rainforest for half an hour, seeing a lot of nothing, although we did get yet another warning about yet another deadly or hugely dangerous animal or insect, this time the peppermint stick insect. Apparently this bad boy is to be avoided because if you wind it up it squirts a peppermint smelling liquid into your eyes which will leave you blind.........great, final nail in the forest walk coffin!!!

The final leg to our accomodation was broken up by 5 minutes at the Alexandra Lookout as we got to enjoy a spectacular view of the rainforest, coastline and islands in the horizon. The only downer was the multitude of tourists who were clearly on the same trail, which left things a little close for comfort, and many an elbow or barnet in the corner of our snaps. Cape Tribulation itself is essentially a remote, rainforest retreat, framed by mountains and impenetrable rainforest, accessible by only one road. The beach is a deserted paradise due to the plethora of stingers and salt water crocodiles which patrol the estuaries and beach, which kinda defeats the object for me. In fact, the entire East Coast of Australia is un-swimmable, or at least at your own high risk for 6 months of the year due to stingers and all the other wonderful sea life. Its 1 reason why tropical paradise has lost its allure for me.......it just isn't practical. I can see why we dumped the convicts and left. Apart from Southern Australia, sadly I can't offer my opinion on Western or Northern Oz, which I know will be a blow to many people, its un-liveable!!!!

By 2 we had checked into our new accomodation which was set back from the beach, amid the rainforest, and was a luxury resort. Being a bit tight, we had gone down the dorm route, which was in itself a bit short-sighted. The room was clean, shower hot, fridge cold and people friendly, but ultimately we had to share, and 2 factors made this a bit of a mare. 1, we are both light sleepers, so every middle of the night pee means we are wide awake, especially as we were on bunks, which shook with San Andreas vigour every time you dared to move!! 2, we've had our own house for over 2 years, so both of us appreciate, want and need our own space, so sharing was hassle. I'm all for communal living, but only if i'm the king of the commune and everyone dances to my tune!!! After a quick dip in the pool where we got chatting to a coupe who had done a similar route through Asia to us, giving us stacks to talk about, we showered and headed out for dinner. Being a luxury resort, our restaurant cost a fortune, so we wandered down the road in the pitch black to the back-packer joint, hoping for some cheap and cheerful grub, whilst watching the enormous fruit bats filling the dusky sky. Dinner was indeed that, and due to our early start we bailed and were tucked up in our bunk beds in our pyjamas by 10. The only thing missing was a bedtime story......

09/11/07

Despite an early one and not making it up until half 8, we were both still knackered due to a disturbed night's sleep. Tightness was seeming more and more short-sighted by the minute......Ingrid and Armando, our house mates, were up first, Amy and I not far behind, and being a insanely hot day, coupled with 90% humidity, we decided a morning walk was a great idea. We stuck to the roads and footpaths, the stories from yesterday keeping us out of the forest itself, and we plodded slowly along the mainroad to Cape Tribulation beach and the lookout. Despite losing 3 stones through perspiration we made it to the beach, which was adorned with the usual warning signs about recent croc sightings and stingers.....no swim then! As we enjoyed the view of the beach, from beach level, we decided to trudge up to the lookout to see a bit more of a panoramic view. It was only a 400 metre walk but it seemed so much further, although we did get to see a 1 metre plus Lace Monitor ambling across the pathway. The view form the top was pretty jaw-dropping, and worth the sweat, although the only problem with walking somewhere, is that you've gotta walk back. We decided to wander back via Myall Beach, although we were sure to avoid the water inlet highlighted on the map which has a fair bit of crocodilian traffic.

We risked life and limb getting through the rainforest down to the beach, every noise was greeted with a neck-snapping head movement as we were sure to steer clear of the spiders, crocs, stick insects, lizards etc etc, but our arrival on the beach made it all worthwhile. As far as the eye could see there was white sand and rainforest, and it was practically deserted. We sauntered along the beach, ridding ourselves of the last few drops of fluid in our body, before, to our dismay, we reached a water inlet!!! Now we'd walked a long way, and to go back would be painful, so we had a choice to make, get attacked by crocs or turn back. We took one look at each other and decided potential death was the best option, although I was more than a little concerned that Amy seemed un-perturbed because I was bricking it!!! Shoes came off, and we waded into the water which made it up to our knees and was fairly clear so surely we could see anything coming. We didn't hang about and got across in no time, in one piece, where we finally admitted to each other that we were petrified!!!! It wasn't until later that we learned that our map reading skills needed some work, we had stumbled across a different croc-free inlet!!

After the morning's exertions we spent the afternoon by the pool til about 4, before we finally came up with our route through New Zealand. After a quick shower and some packing, as we were travelling down to Port Douglas tomorrow, we headed out for dinner and had a taste of home, Bangers 'n' Mash!!! It was a little dis-concerting that the food literally arrived in minutes...hmm...pre-cooked (?), but with cauliflower cheese on the side we didn't worry about such insignificant matters. Being 'locals' night at the bar/restaurant we were provided with some serious entertainment, which Pete and Kellie had actually pre-warned us about, the locals. The 'mullet, short shorts and work boots'-ometer has been on overdrive here, and the % of utes (pick-ups) to saloons is unbelieveable. Clearly this is a fairly 'tight' community up here, isolated from the modern world, i'm just surprised we haven't seen more people with webbed hands and feet.......

10/11/07

Another early night last night and half 8 wake up failed to do the trick, we were still knackered from disturbed sleep in the dorms. We were packed and out the door by 10, and decided in our infinite wisdom that a 15 minute walk to a nearby swimming hole was on the agenda. We managed to sun dodge most of the way, seeking sanctuary under the trees, and we made it to the swimming hole in one piece, despite a brief encounter with some rainforest. The watering hole itself was beautiful, serene and packed with fish and turtles, in part, no doubt, to the no fishing sign. A swim was a step too far, water and queensland equals crocs for us so we stayed dry and enjoyed the peace and quiet. On the way back we stopped for a drink (diet coke, we are still off the booze trying to get back into our Asia physiques........losing battle) and enjoyed the sun, before the hot and humid return march. The tour bus to Port Douglas collected us at half 1, and to our delight, we were informed that we had enough time to squeeze in an un-scheduled home made ice cream break!!! The bus ride seemed to take forever, but was worth the wait, although the sight of me, with melted ice cream all over my hands and the seat was a picture. Maybe the bunk beds have regressed me back into childhood......

We also enjoyed the final part of our tour, the Daintree River Cruise for some croc spotting. We arrived to complimentary coffee and tea, with us being the only tea takers, prompting some 'typical English' banter, ha ha convict.......We got another education from our guide on how screwed we'd be if a croc got hold of us (could have saved it for after the cruise), and we also learnt that whilst the record croc was 8 metres long and weighed around 1000 kg, the biggest in this river system was Fat Albert, a 5.5 metre long, 1 metre wide, 600 kg bad boy!!! As we jumped on our boat I suddenly came across all vulnerable, although almost the first few words from the river guide both re-assured and disappointed me, as we were told that it was perfect not seeing croc weather. In true form, we didn't, spotting only some poxy birds which everyone seemed excited about, I couldn't give a toss. I'd come for crocs and seen kingfishers, woo hoo!!! After an hour or so we were back on the bus and arrived in the moneyed mecca of Port Dougals by 5 (one glance in an estate agent's window told the story, 'reasonably priced 3 bedroom home available.......$1,200,000'). Our guest house was spot-on, huge kitchen (in the interest of health and wallet we've been cooking for ourselves more and more), air-con, fridge, tv, 24 hour sports, a bar and internet!!!! The only downer was the sprinkling of muppets which seem to inhabit every back-packer joint I have been to in Australia, and to my dismay, the pinnacle of everything I despise in a human being......a traveller with dreadlocks!!!

After cooking dinner, and dodging all the dirty dishes and food smeared work tops and tables (bloody students. You may have learnt the meaning of post-modernism and the relationship between early 20th century literature and the rise of anti-semitism in continental Europe but you have learn't the bloody basics i.e. to wash-up!!), we settled in for a classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!!!! I pumped out a few ruck sack curls to keep in trim before we bailed out for an early night.....again, although if I did wake up during the night I was gonna get my ass to the big screen and the English Premier League!!!!

11/11/07

The footie never happened, we were too tired, and half 8 yet again meant 'wakey wakey', but this time it was followed by a run!!! Luckily as we walked out to the main road there was cloud cover, although as soon as we burst into full flight, Moses Kiptanui-esque, the bloody sun came out. Amy was sensible and mixed up running and walking, interval training if you will, I was a little more gung-ho and bearing in mind the lack of activity recently, bit off a little more than I could chew. I ran all the way to the village and pushed on to the marina, before realising, as I turned to come home, that my mortal enemies, dehydration, low blood sugar, lactic acid and a desk job, had landed a fatal blow. A mix of jogging, walking, crawling, even sprinting (somehow I thought it would be easier as i'd cover more ground...) got me back, although I was definitely ready for a dip in the pool, cold shower and a big hearty breakfast!!

By now the weather had become even more inconsistent, cloud and sunshine had been joined by our English cousin, rain, and we had to take a big risk walking into town. We could have got the $2 bus, but tightness and insanity (bearing in mind we'd already run this journey) forced us out on foot, and we avoided the rain. In fact, yet again, as soon as we got going the bloody sun came out, with avengeance, and the cloud disappeared, leaving us to fry. We were on a mission to see the village at walking pace, the sunday market and wander up to the lookout, before chilling back at the guest house, so we pressed on, despite the heat, consoling ourselves with the fact that we'd be burning a fair few calories on this death march. The village was fairly unimpressive, Whiteley Village-esque, although the market was more interesting. There were a variety of handicraft stalls and somewhere to get a Thai massage, although I can safely assure you it was nowhere near 3 quid for an hour. Seeing as we weren't buying, the market got boring, so we headed for the lookout, which was atop a bloody great hill. Needless to say we felt the burn, but the view of 4 Mile Beach (Damn, I never did find out how long it was.......) was worth it, and the return journey, downhill was a little more civilised.

We stopped at the supermarket and a smoothie cafe for a quick boost before we ambled back, although not before Amy had explained that i'm going on a diet!!! Apparently i'm looking a bit scrawny, and could easily star in an all purpose cleaner advert, so i've been put on the 1 cake, chocolate bar or pint a day diet, until I can be trusted to eat (sorry miss!!). On the way back I was led by the hand into a bakery and forced to buy a chocolate mud cake......which doesn't seem the worst diet in the world, although my Alta Ego Monsieur Vanity didn't seem too happy!! By the time we were back and in sun-bathing mode the clouds had come over, so we chilled in the room and attempted to cool down. We managed some intermittent sun-baking and attempted a kip, but basically killed the day in front of the TV and playing some cards. Dinner and an early night followed....

12/11/07

Our first decent night's kip in a while meant we woke at 8 feeling fresh. Another run was on the menu, although the sun made it a bit of a struggle and we went for a more manageable distance. Once we were back we showered, breakfast'd and packed as we were travelling back to Cairns today before our flight to New Zealand on the 15th. Our appetite for NZ has been well and truly whetted by our guide book, and bearing in mind we will escape the incessant heat of Oz, we are really looking forward to it. I've gotta be honest, as far as the heat is concerned, stick a fork in me, i'm done!! I've realised whilst i've been away that I couldn't live in a hot country for 12 months a year. Whilst there is a certain appeal to having a year long tan and saggy, leathery skin, to me this is somewhat out-weighed by the fact that you can't do anything outside because its too hot, and consequently you spend your life in an air-conditioned bubble, AND the wildlife is always 10 times bigger and poisonous!!!!! Don't get me wrong, I could cope for a few months a year but 30 degrees every day, roll-on England in January?!

Once we'd checked out this was little left to do but sun-bathe, the sun well and truly had its hat on, and dive in the pool every 10 minutes. Amy aka The Bitch (read on...), didn't stay in the sun too long and ended up watching the box. In fact, she hasn't sun-bathed for a couple of weeks, and yet she still has a better tan than me, which is winding me up no end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I lined up the Man United game for half 1, and watched our latest impressive win over one of the strongest teams in the Premier League, with the ever-impressive Ronaldo doing the business. After some cheese on toast, mmmmm........saturated fat....., we limped into town, although at no great pace due to a couple of runs and yesterday's walk. We stopped on the way home for a smoothie, as our detox continues (although all I can think about is doing another 50 crunches to help burn off that mud cake......), before we got back and hung about for ride back to Cairns at 5. The extent of our boredom was illustrated by the 'entertainment' we stooped to enjoying, women's netball!!! We watched the Aussies kick Trinidad and Tobago's arse before sanity returned and we walked away and waited for the bus. Women's netball........we've been away too long!!!!!

The bus turned up shortly after 5, and after a quick drive through Port Douglas, we were on the road. On the way back we stopped at Rex Lookout (last few days has been a bit lookout heavy) but a mix of tiredness, heat and boredom meant we got a couple of snaps and jumped back on the bus. By half 6 almost everyone had been dropped off, our's the penultimate stop, and every time we pulled up I marvelled at how girls, with ridiculously large back-packs struggled to get them on their backs. It just made me think how much hassle a big bag would be, I mean do you really need GHDs and a huge wardrobe? By just gone 7 we had checked in, enjoyed a cuppa and were on our way back from the supermarket ready to rustle up some dinner. After some pasta and a couple of hours watching the Longest Yard we headed back and were asleep by 12.

13/11/07

Despite a relatively late one we were up at half 7, arrgggh, meaning we still hadn't caught up on our kip. Feeling a bit knackered we guzzled our porridge and made our way to the internet cafe to pass the morning catching up on our e-mails and the footie news. Frugality meant that both Cape Trib and Port Douglas were a non-starter on the net front, especially at $6 per hour i.e. over 2 quid, so it wasn't til nearly midday that we had re-entered the real world. We had a brief wander around the shopping centre, enjoying the air-con, before we got back for an early lunch and a kip til 2. Albino time beckoned again, and the tan continued to drain away (not bloody Amy's...), before we stopped for a coffee on the way home.

After a few weights had kick-started the metabolism we tucked into an early dinner, a real protein fest, before we settled in with a few guys to watch Napoleon Dynamite. Being a, 'love it' or 'hate it' film, the marmite of the movie world some would say, I was a little nervous that I would be subjecting them to their worst nightmare, but everyone enjoyed the comedy genius that is Napoleon. Even Amy was won over, her first viewing at home left her a bit non-plussed but not this time, whilst I lol'd at my favourite film of all time, step aside Zulu!!!!! And I think we can all marvel at Napoleon's wisdom, 'girls only want boyfriends who have great skills'.......FACT!!!!

14/11/07

We had a seriously early night last night so at least at half 8 we weren't knackered today, although I saved the run til later. I definitely need to go to keep in trim, especially as Amy persuaded me to get some chocolate last night, although we didn't go mental, we only had 1 bar of dairy milk between us!!! Albino time beckoned again, and by 10 I had settled in for a couple of hours on-line, whilst Amy did some shopping. We met up at midday for a banana shake, before I re-albino'd, and Amy went back to put her feet up and get stuck into Ok! magazine. I was back at 2 and we tucked into lunch before we finished up on-line in the afternoon. The afternoon was completed with a run, and our increase in activity and healthy eating has reaped its rewards, we ran further and faster than normal. We got back and rehydrated for a bit before cracking on with dinner and watched Catch Me If you Can before settling in for a serious cards session. Cup of tea in hand we hit the hay early in preparation for our day of travel tomorrow.

15/11/07

Bloody hell, woke up pre-alarm, at half 7, so tea and sudoku kept us out of trouble for a bit. After showering and packing in record time we scoffed breakfast and I headed out for the internet cafe to use up our pre-paid minutes (nothing will go to waste). Unfortunately some server issues meant I had walked half a mile in the morning heat in jeans for nothing, although I did learn that a cyclone had hit the North Coast of Australia, which usually signals the beginning of the rainy season. Our timing couldn't be better, 4 hours and we'd be heading skyward. After a sweaty return trip Amy and I killed some time before our 11 o'clock bus to the airport and ultimately a new chapter, New Zealand.....

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Photos

Cairns
Outback on the bus to Cairns

Cape Tribulation
Mossman Gourge

Cape Tribulation
Croc farm, don't get too close

Cape Tribulation
Orphan joey

Cape Tribulation
Cape Trib Beach - No swimming

Cape Tribulation
We decided not to go swimming at this beach!!!

Cape Tribulation
Amy upset coz she walked for half an hour in the boiling heat then couldn't swim

Cape Tribulation
Lace Monitor just wondering around

Cape Tribulation
Oz humour road signs

Cape Tribulation
Daintree river - Croc spoting - We saw none!!!

Port Douglas
THe walk to the lookout point it was worth it!!!!

Port Douglas
4 mile beach