Queensland - Australia

The last time I emailed we were getting on a long bus journey from Alice Springs to Carins (2 nights, 3 days). We had chosen this option to see the 'real' Australia and spend time in an Aborginal community. A lot of people on the tour chose it because it was cheaper than a flight. Well the bus was not kitted out for extreme comfort like we had been lead to believe, no plasma screens, and we stopped for a tiolet stop at an Aborginal community (that's it)! We did see the 'real' outback and most of the roads were dirt. This was interesting for the first few hours - a long journey though! Some of the people had just arrived in Oz, so they would have found it more interesting than we did. Cairns - we had my bestest friend Wendy and her fiance Darryl come up and spend 4 nights we us, which was great, and after a couple of nights out, (one with Carmel Christie who had been living there for 2 years) left me exhausted. We hired a car and drove to Cable Beach, Port Douglas and the Daintree. Darryl was very against going because of the wild cassowaries that live in the Daintree. For those who don't know what they are, they are the size of an emu and have deadly claws. At one stage he wouldn't get out of the car, which of course we all found somewhat amusing. We snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef with attractive 'stinger suits'. About half of the northern east coast has jelly fish, some deadly, so you either have to swim in lycra style head to toe suits (sometimes even with a hood), or most of the main towns have tropical lagoons that have been built near the sea. We also went on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail. Mission Beach - stayed in Bingil Bay for some much needed relaxing, with some great hammock action. Whilst undertaking a walk we actually came across two wild cassowaries on the path, which made me turn straight around and head back. Of course Ian had to stop and get photos, which he likes to do as close as possible! Townsville - only stayed the night, as the ferry goes from here to Magnetic Island. What was really worth seeing in Townsville though was the HQ - Aquarium, which had live coral and of course fish. Magnetic Island - stayed in Horsehoe Bay. Great walks between some of the beaches. Ian took a catamaran out. I didn't go as I am still scarred from capsizing our small boat when we did lessons in London. There were heaps of possums at night which amused Ian no end. Ary - only an hour from Townville we stayed here the night so Ian could dive on the Yongala Wreck (cheaper and closer than doing it from Townsville or Mag. Is.). We stayed in a working hostel where all the travelers with no money left are there picking and planting whatever is in season. Hard work and they got paid by the hour and not the amount they did, which seemed really reasonable. I wouldn't want to do it though. Airlie Beach - gateway to the Whitsundays. Had a fantastic time for 3 nights and 3 days on a old restored Japanese Pearling boat. The husband and wife team lived on the boat and only took out one trip a week. The boat was 60 foot long and slept 8 passengers in bunks. Captain Sparrow and his Japanese wife had a great lifestyle. She cooked amazing meals. There are heaps of boats that you can chose from, some that have 12, and 24 people on it. We knew that we wanted as little people as possible. We sailed around some of the islands and snorkelled. Really recommended! Hervey Bay - gateway to Frazer Island. Didn't fancy the cheaper option of being put with a group of 9 people and 4WD'ing around the island (sitting side on in the squashy back), so we hired our own small cute 4WD. So we both experienced driving a 4WD for the first time and had a ball. Only had to let our tyres down once (cause it was such a small, light car) and camped behind the sand dunes near the beach (saw a dingo whilst cooking our dinner in the dark) and spent the second night in the National forest. The whole island is a huge sand dune, which has formed many inland lakes, rivers and forest. Quite amazing really. Noosa - some more of the same - sunbathing, walking in the National Park. Ian was most interested in some of the small business opportunities ($150,000 outlay, already had a manager in, and a yearly net of $60,000 - $90,000. Surely you can't go wrong with something like that!) Then you'd only have to work yourself part time. Nice. Australia Zoo - in between Noosa and Brisbane. I guess you have to go and see wanker Steve bloody Irwin's zoo, which we did. He was apparently around on the day we went, but not doing any of the shows. Impressive park and quite interesting background. Originally his parents reptile park, they handed it to Steve and his wife to manage in 1997. I still think his a wanker though. Brisbane - once you get out of the small business CBD, it's quite a nice city. There's a lagoon on the south bank, big Botanical Gardens, a short bus ride to Mt Coot-tha with views overlooking the city and a nice walk down to some more gardens and a planetarium. Surfers Paradise - didn't impress us at all. We weren't interested in the theme parks or the surfing here, which I guess is why you would go there. And because of the skyscrappers along the beachfront the sun on the beach was blocked from about 2pm. We did get to catch up though with Fiona Hall for a couple of drinks, who I had worked with in Morwell, which was really good.