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Hi again folks from sunny Australia! We arrived 2 weeks ago after flying from Singapore via Darwin to Cairns. We arrived to beautiful clear blue skies and not the intense humidity we found in parts of Asia.
We got a transfer to our hostel and slept because we were knackered! We got up mid afternoon and went for a stroll around Cairns.It's a lovely place with a nice seafront boardwalk packed with people. The sea is full of crocodiles so we weren't able to go for a swim!
The next day we had our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We were picked up pretty early (as we have been for everyhing we've done so far!) and headed out to sea in a pretty big boat. We made several stops at different points inteh reef where we jumped in and snorkeled. The highlight however were the two scuba dives we did. It was amazing the amount of life just below the surface. We were lucky enough to see turtles, a Maori Wrasse (google it) and a reef shark. An unforgettable experience!
Next up was the skydive!! We were due to do this at Mission Beach just down the coast but due to high winds and our tight schedule we decided to do it in Cairns. When I say we I mean me (Brian) as Laura decided that jumping out of a plane 14,000 feet up, above the clouds wasn't the best idea. In hindsight, I'm glad she made this choice. While Laura waited in comfort on the ground, I got suited and booted and did a short stint of training after which I was taken to the airport to see a tiny plane with no door. My excitement quickly turned to anxiety. But there was no turning back. Up the plane went...and up....and up. Above the clouds. I was distracted in the plane as I was getting instructions. When it was my turn, we shuffled to the edge of the door and I looked down and nearly crapped myself! No sooner did I look up again but we were falling out. It is the most amazing feeling-scary but amazing! Would I do it again? Maybe...
After Cairns we travelled to Mission Beach, a quiet chilled out place and after a lovely stroll along the beach we cooked dinner and conked out (too many early starts!). We were on the move again the next day heading for Airlie Beach-a long day ahead on the greyhound bus! We got in about 8 and checked into Koalas resort. Upon reaching our room we found it to be flooded. We tried to contact reception but they had shut for the night. Flooded room it was then!
Next morning we had our 3 day Whitsunday sailing tour...after purchasing a few beers for the journey we walked to the pier and boarded our small sailing boat. We spent the first day snorkeling and swimming in the sea in between helping sail the boat. The sun was splitting the blue sky and after exhausting ourselves in the sea we settled to watch an amazing sunset with a well earned beer. The second day was much the same, however we stopped off at Whitehaven beach which was like something from a movie...paradise!! Sunbathing, swimming and a stroll along the white sand were the order of the day. We watched another beautiful sunset and capped of a great day with.......yes you've got it....a beer!
We reached shore at lunch and returned to Koalas dump of a hostel where we had a free nights accomodation on account of our flooded room. We tried to go to sleep but there was a man in fixing the air conditioning. I was still swaying from the boat.....is land sickness possible?? I took some motion sickness tablets anyway to try to stop the world from moving! We eventually got moved to another room (5 hours later ) and headed out with the rest of the crew. We returned to our room to find that it had been burgled!!!! Some b#@*!$d had taken my Ipod, phone and new Billabong shorts (they were bloody expensive). We rang the police but they didn't show till the morning and what could they do anyway!!
We spent our last day in Airlie Beach at the artificial lagoon topping up our redness(Laura mostly!) and swimming. Despite the crappiness of Koalas hostel, Airlie is a quality spot.
News of Fraser Island and our whale watching trip coming soon. Don't change that channel!!!
Love,
Brian and Laura
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