Getting to Cairns was simple once I got through the ticket gate... though that took a long time; check out the line below.
The plane arrived way late, but I went exploring quickly in search of food and discovered a quaint though extremely touristy town. Every which way you went, there were restaurants mixed with shops; real to just souvenir. Below are the highlights of the town, since let's be real you go here to dive or snorkel.
The next day, I was picked up very early and was ready, bright eyed and anxious. After a quick stop to double check our rentals and finish paying up, I had joined the group and everyone was on board. Luckily, it was a stunning but winding thus choppy day, regardless everyone enjoyed the boat.
On a sunny day, this is not hard to do. Even myself who loves over 103 degrees, enjoyed the water spray and a bit of wind. Plus the accommodations were OK. The room small but sufficient, and the decks were the same.
I was on the boat for three days and two nights, the food - what I could eat - was good. Really it was all about diving. Sadly, neither the camera I bought or the one I rented from the boat worked well! This bummed me out but... here are the pictures:
I did see more, like sharks, turtles and a whole lot of other fish but again the cameras. Then it was back to main land, a random wandering and hanging with some people from the hostel. The next morning, I flew out to Darwin and arrived in the early afternoon. Perfect to explore a bit before my tour the next day. Sadly since my camera died in Cairns and my phone was not functioning well in Darwin's humility I did not get many photos. Luckily on my tour, I met a fun, warmhearted, easy going Aussie to hang with amongst a small group. He was happy to help share some photos and even braved holding the snake below!
These photos show the jumping crocodiles and the hawks that also come to feed on the scraps.
Then the tour moved on to the waterfalls and after lunch I found a nice warm rock to perch on for some well deserved R&R. Below are some of the photos:
The next day was kind of a wash but Mr.M from the tour the day before saved the day. We just chilled hung out by the pool then got some food. Afterwards I flew to Adelaide where it was drizzling the whole time. Found out that city was very sleep and was very thankful to a friend online Ms. M. I played chauffeur for her and drove her to work, enjoyed the car while she was at work then picked her up and we went to a party when I played DD. Having a car to drive around Barossa Valley and enjoy wine country was amazing, I got to do some tasting and eat lunch at the famous Maggie Beers. A perfect ending to a crazy trip.
