Days 29-30

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Day 29
We picked up our new camper today and it is another Sandman! We are loving it! We picked the camper up at about 10am and then drove back to the hostel to pick up Yassine, Jackie and Tisha and we all headed out of town to the “Crystal Cascades” which is an uphill walk (only about half an hour) with a series of waterfalls to look at and pools to swim in as you go. As Cairns is in a tropical area the waterfalls are in the rainforest so all around us were the tallest trees and we saw some lizards and huge spiders and the birds were calling out all over the place, it was really fun. There was also an area where you could swim to the other side of the river, climb the cliff and then jump into the water so obviously Andy was right in there followed by Jackie and Yassine. I knew I wouldn’t be able to climb the cliff (they had to hoist themselves up using a rope and stuff) so I stayed on the other side of the river and took pictures for everyone. Tisha was going to jump but when she got to the top she couldn’t do it so everyone was jumping in and out for about half an hour then Yassine helped Tisha climb back down and we moved further down the river. We came to one of the pools and there was a sort of mini waterfall which Andy tested for sharp edges and then himself and Jackie used it as a natural waterslide; they had wicked fun. Interestingly today was a national holiday in Australia as it is the Queen’s birthday (not sure if it is official or unofficial) - how does that work?! We don’t get a bank holiday to celebrate the queens birthday and Australia is an independent country now! I know it is part of the Commonwealth but still! Tonight is Paul’s last night in town so we are heading out somewhere to say goodbye to him; luckily we have nothing planned for tomorrow

Day 30
As predicted Pauls send off was pretty heavy but it was a really good night, Ciaran had moved on and was replaced by a William Corvenus; this was not his given name but he had changed it from David William Bourke by d-poll for no apparent reason. His new name, he told us, was the same as the leader of the werewolves in Underworld. He entertained us by saying some pretty random stuff and finishing off by sticking two chopsticks up his nose (riiiiiight....). I guess it all comes with hostel living - you meet some great people and you meet some slightly odd people. We spent the next day having a wonder round Cairns and chilling by the lagoon. We actually managed an early (ish) night as well. Tonight we are being a bit cheeky - the beds here are huge so this morning I checked out and me and Andy are just going to double up. I know we have the camper but we can park in Gilligan’s for free and a bed is so much more comfy! It also means that we get the free dinner meal; well, strictly speaking I am not supposed to get it but how else are we going to make our budget stretch?!

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