February 6th – Arriving in Airlie Beach at 7am following a ten-hour coach journey an ever larger group of us headed to our hostel in search of a comfy bed to catch up on some of the sleep we had missed out on, on the coach – this was not helped by the fact that the only person on the whole coach to have a reading light on for the majority of the journey of course was sat in front of us. The remainder of the day was spent rebooking our Whitsundays trip (cancelled due to Cyclone Yasi) before heading out for a few drinks in the evening with Steph and Mark.
February 7th – McDonalds breakfast…lush followed by watching the Superbowl with Mark – a Green Bay Packers fan (who happened to win!). The afternoon was spent by the lagoon since swimming in the sea was prohibited due to deadly jellyfish! In the evening we hit the town for a girl’s birthday in our dorm – Rachel.
February 8th – Day 100 – Moved our bags into storage before setting off on the Atlantic Clipper for 2 Days and 2 Nights of fun and frolics. Following a brief safety talk (where Soph modelled the life jacket). The views over the Whitsundays were incredible as the sun set before the drinking games began. Following various types of games our team eventually won (winning us a chocolate bar each…wooo!). The remainder of the evening was spent drinking goon with “the three Danes” before nipping in the ‘hot’ tub - which was actually a cold, saltwater tub.
February 9th – 6-30am wake up call, always one of the nicest following a late finish, however by 9 we were looking over Whitehaven Beach – one of the only pure silica sand beaches in the world. In the afternoon we went snorkelling before having a go at diving which was absolutely incredible. With such clear waters, both the coral and thousands of fish was an incredible site. The evening was again awash with various games, however this time the lads had to dress in ladies clothes, kindly provided by the tour guides.
February 10th – Another early wake up call and me and Soph were off diving again. This time both the coral and types of fish were different from our previous and we were introduced to Elvis the Napoleon Rasp fish. At about 3 foot long, he was the tamest fish we’d ever seen. The remainder of the morning was spent jumping into the sea in our rather funky Stinger Suits (due to the nasty killers in the water) before heading back to land for the evening return party.
February 11th – Took the bus from Airlie Beach to Cairns…the small matter of 10 hours, however we did see some of the devastation from Cyclone Yasi – especially present in Cardwell. Arriving so late, we checked into our grotty hostel before meeting up with Mark, Steph, Troels, Bjorn and Mikael (the 3 danes). That evening we ended up sleeping in their hostel room as it was far above what ours had to offer.
February 12th – Waking up at 11.30 – our first lye in for months – we set off on trying to arrange a few activities with Mark and Steph and eventually booked a day trip to Cape Tribulation followed by a day on the Great Barrier Reef. After lounging around Cairns Lagoon for the remainder of the afternoon we headed to the Casino in the evening. As Troels was a big Man Utd fan, we spent a couple of hours watching the Utd – City game, and what a goal I have to add. With us and the Canadians not wanting to spend too much me and Soph came back $30 up, unlike the Danes who between two of the three lost $500 – citing the reason that it was their last night in Aus and there was nothing to lose – except for the matter of $500.
February 13th – Me and Soph spent the day at the Daintree River with Mark and Steph. Quite a relaxed day going along the river, seeing a few croc’s – very much baby crocs, although the pictures make them look somewhat larger. In the afternoon we went on a forest walk where the most excitement that came was licking an ant’s bottom – described by our wacky driver as similar to the shock of a battery but the taste of lime – different to say the least.
February 14th – Valentines Day and it was again ourselves, Mark and Steph who opted for a day on the Great Barrier Reef snorkelling and scuba diving. This diving was different from the Whitsundays as there was a far more extensive coral, although due to the recent cyclone the water had become somewhat cloudy. On our return we went out for a meal before packing ahead of our flight to Perth.
February 15th – The morning and early afternoon was spend in search of a kangaroo steak as we had realised it was our last opportunity to realistically do so. The reminder of the day was spent on a flight to Perth to visit my long lost family who I hadn’t seen since 1991! Typically was the case that my uncle (Dad’s only sibling) was at sea and not due to return until a week after we left.
February 16th – 20th – During our time in Perth we spent much of it with my various relatives as Soph enjoyed evening manicure sessions with my cousin Michelle’s daughters as well as time in the pool during the afternoons. It was noticeably hotter on the West Coast of Aus, and following a couple of days in Perth and a visit to Freemantle Prison, much of our time was spent shaded away from the intense rays!
We did have chance to see a couple of friends as one of Soph’s coursemates, Danny, had come over to work for a year, as well as Kevin Percy who moved over after Sixth Form. On our final evening we went out to the incredible Berswood Casino with Michelle and Claire (my cousins), where having come out even we went to an Irish pub to dance the night away.
Although only a brief stop in Perth, it was a strange feeling saying goodbye to those I didn’t really know beforehand. However, we did feel like we got to know everyone pretty well. My auntie Linda did a grand job whilst we were there, waited on hand and foot, even when we offered to help we were ejected. Overall a strange but satisfying feeling meeting those I knew little about before.
And so, Australia ends with pastures new ahead, and first stop – Singapore.
- Meet an aussie with a proper accent
- Try goon
- See England retain the Ashes
- Surf
- Eat kangaroo meat
- Get caught up in Australia's worst ever floods and one of it's biggest cyclones...wooo!
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