Up, up and away!!!

---

The morning after getting back from the diving trip I had a 4.15 am pick up, so despite us getting back on Australia Day and all meeting up with the crew for a meal and drinks, i tried to make it a relatively early night! The reason for the early pick up? I was going hot-air ballooning!! I really enjoyed this, it was so gentle and everything was so small, like a childs farmyard animal set! The one thing that really surprised me (and this may sound completely naive!) but i could not believe how hot it was in there! I was expecting it to be rather cold due to the altitude but it was the exact opposite because of the heat from the gas burners, and it felt like our scalps were on fire. After the ballooning, we were taken to an Aboriginal centre for breakfast, and then the rest of the group headed back to Cairns but i got on the Skyrail, which is a cable car that takes you across a lot of rainforsts and past a dam called Barron Falls, which is effectively a man made waterfall from what i could gather. After about an hour, I got off in a village called Kurunda where i had some lunch and a bit of a wander (and bought an opal pendant necklace which i think might match the ear-rings from the Ayres Rock Airport - don't think i mentioned those!! thank god for commission thats all i can say!!) I then boarded the Scenic Railway, which is a very quaint olde world train/carriages that meanders through miles of rainforest and countryside but if i'm honest, I missed a good deal of it as i was so tired that i nodded off!

After heading back to the hotel to freshen up, I headed to a place i discovered called Global Gossip to post some more stuff home! For anyone thinking of travelling, this is a great chain where you can earn points for topping up phone cards, posting stuff and using the internet, and then you can use the points against these services, plus they seem to be cheaper than most other internet places and they do cheap overseas calls too! I then headed back to the hotel where i had 3 much needed hours of sleep before catching an overnight bus to Airlie beach.

---

Photos

the scenic railway train - whilst moving
we took an almost 180 degree turn and managed to get this shot from the rear carriage that i was in!