Weds 12th - Sat 16th August - Sindy, the Last Greyhound and a Lagoon

Wednesday 12th August

Still on Magnetic Lsland. We got up and had our complementary english breakfast - yum! Then I went to go pick up our little topless Moke car (Barbie Jeep). It was really fun to drive! Felt so good to drive a car again too! Mokes are allowed around the whole island - too hilly they'd get stuck! But the whole island was only 12kms bottom to top, so it was easy to zoom around! Me and lil both drove but as Rachel lost her purse back in Agnes Water (whoops! - the hostel found it though and are posting it to her family in brisbane!) she didnt have her license! We hired out some snokel gear and stinger suits and headed up to Florence Bay. We are up in the north now so the sea is full of sting rays and jelly fish - they are out of season but still a risk! We parked up and it was a 2km walk to the bay - all up and down hill as well! I managed to fall out of my flip flops and get a black pinch on each big toe! The Bay was lovely tho and we got our snokel kit straight on and got in the sea. We were a bit spoilt with the tropical Whitsundays, the water here was a bit murky. However in the end we did manage to find a bit of reef, we also saw some stingrays lurking at the bottom! Lil and Rachel then saw some little jellys, so we quickly swam away from that bit! We then walked back to the Moke, 2km in the heat again was not too fun! Although we did see a koala in a tree with a little baby on it's back - was so cute! and amazing to see in the wild! That evening we drove to the top of the Island to Horseshoe Bay and watched the sunset on the beach (with a bottle of cider in hand). We have so many sunset photos it's ridiculous, we could publish a book 'Sunsets of the Eastern Coast of Australia'! We then took Sindy (that's what we named our car) back to the hostel, it took us a good 10minutes to work out how to turn our lights on! We covered her up for the night and had the hostel's BBQ. We stayed up for a bit and watched a drag competition - very funny! Then we went to bed.

Me and Sindy

A lookout on the way back from our snokelling

Me and Rach in Sindy

Thursday 13th August

We had an explore round the island, stopping at the little shops and sights along the way. I then took Sindy back, expecting a ride back to the hostel, and they wouldn't give me a lift! So I had to walk half an hour in the heat back to Base! We then had some lunch (Humous, Carrots and Crisps!), and hired Kayaks for an hour. The sea in the bay by the hostel was so calm it was like being on a lake! We paddled around for a bit and enjoyed bobbing along! Was different thing to do, did hurt our arms a bit! We then made some dinner and had an early night.

Us saying goodbye to Sindy!

Friday 14th August


We got up and checked out of our room. We got a shuttle to the Port, A ferry to Townsville and then a 6 hour Greyhound bus ride to Cairns. Our last Greyhound bus :o( . When we got to Cairns we could already feel the heat even though it was late, it's a tropical heat beacause of the rainforest. We had to wait ages for our hostel (BeachHouse) to pick us up, but we finally got there and got settled. We then got a voucher for a free dinner in Rhino Bar, I had Chicken Satay, it was quite a small protion as it was free - but perfect size for me!! We checked out the town for a bit, found a live band at one bar which was really good, and then headed back.

Our last Greyhound bus!

Listening to the band in Gilligans.

Saturday 15th August

We explored Cairns a bit and then booked some rainforest trips and hostels in Peterpans. We also managed to collect some more free dinner vouchers! Cairns is a real backpacker town so the bars compete with free meals - brilliant! We then lazed by the lagoon - a big outdoor swimming pool, with fountains, a beach and big grass sunbathe area, right on the sea front. You can't swim in the sea here because of the Crocodiles!! So you have to swim in the lagoon! The beach is pretty marshy anyway so you wouldnt want to sit there even if you wouldnt get eaten by crocs! There was a market at the Lagoon which we had a browse around, there was also bands playing which was really nice as you're sitting around the water! We then went in hunt of a supermarket to stock up on our supplies. We ended up walking for ages only to find out it's right near our hostel - idiots! We then got ready to go out and waited for the shuttle to take us back into town - we wern't walking again! We went to Gilligans, a really big hostel with a bar and club etc. We're moving there next week. There was a happy hour with 2-4-1 drinks so we took advantage by getting 3 drinks each - and 3 free! We nearly got chucked out as it's meant to be only 1 and 1 free per person! They lasted us for ages though! There was a famous Aussie DJ in, not my kind of thing but lil and rachel seemed to really like it, so i just bobbed along to the music! We had a good night and got back about 3am.

The lagoon area with market and live band.

Making the most of 2-4-1 drinks!

In the club

Sunday 16th August

We checked out and moved hostels, we booked one more in town. We're now at Global Palace. The rooms are ok, the hallways are a weird combination of a museum, an old boat and a law firm - very strange! But they have cheap internet and quite fast computers so im happy! We had a walk around the town, much easier now we're already in the town! Lil bought another pair of sunglasses - about her 4th pair - she keeps breaking them!! And I got some sandals as my flipflops are about to fall to pieces! We sat by the lagoon again which was nice, plus there was a band again too, this time a jazz band. We got a free meal voucher for P.J. O'Brians, so we all had a bit of Spag Bol. Tonight we're having quite an early night. Getting picked up at 7am tomorrow for a 2 day trip to Cape Tribulation. Right in the rainforest, we're doing some walks, jungle swinging (looks terrifying), a midnight bush walk (again looks terrifying), and the girls are doing a horse ride (I dont do horses!). Should be good fun...or terrifying!

Will write again soon. Only 2 weeks to go, looking forward to seeing everyone!

H xx