Snorkelling and up to Cape Tribulation

---

I thought diving was supposed to be fun!?!?!? The Great Barrier Reef was a place I've always wanted to visit and decided to learn how to dive there. I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I signed up. I'm not the best swimmer but everyone assured me that if I like snorkelling, diving would be even better. I lasted one day : (

The morning of the first day was just watching videos but in the afternoon I had to start the pool training. Those tanks are freaking heavy and I was afraid I'd drop it on my foot carrying it the pool! I could barely control my body movements in the water and my ears weren't popping during ascent/descent. Then, my instructor started on the emergency skills and that's when I freaked out!!! He just kept running though scenarios of what if's, I could barely remember anything. I just kept thinking that I never wanted to be in that situation. The whole afternoon was horrible for me and once I got back to my hostel I made the decision to bail on the course. I knew I would lose some of my money but I didn't care at that point. The thought of another day of pool training plus 3 days of open water diving was like a nightmare for me. I did get to the Great Barrier Reef but as a snorkeller. I was quite happy floating at the surface of the water knowing that I could lift my head up and breathe air.

Since I had a few days open after leaving the diving course, I decided to go up to Cape Tribulation from Cairns. Our first stop was a short boat ride down the Daintree River. Unfortunately, it was too hot for us to spot any crocs. There was one tiny croc but it was barely visible and that hardly counts. Once I checked into the hostel, I had the afternoon free. I explored the surrounding beach area with three people who were in the same dorm. It was a lovely area with few people on the beaches. At one point, my pants got soaked when we crossed a small river. It only went up to the knees of everyone else but for me it went up to my thighs...damn my short legs! Later that night, I had missed the dinner service at the hostel. I was absolutely starving, so I headed out to find a place to eat. None of us bothered to bring a torch with us which would have been a good idea since it was pitch black. There were no street lights of any kind except far off into the distance. We stumbled around in the darkness, hoping that we didn't fall into a ditch or get run over by a car. We finally found a cafe and I ended up paying twenty dollars for fish and chips. I was so hungry, I didn't really care.

The following day, the bus driver taking us back to Cairns was a maniac on the road. It was his first day on the job and everyone could tell. We had a couple of close calls when he didn't slow down on the corners. I was quite happy to get off the bus after encountering the real life version of Otto.

---