Arriving in Australia

Well guys we arrived in Oz on sat 16th June. Flew into Cairns. Weather was rainy and overcast for the first few days but the hostel we were staying in was really nice and comfortable. First night there went out to the woolshed and got soooo drunk on aussie beer and cocktails. Met some really cool aussies who ended up getting hammered with us. Also, got our photos taken and were in the local newspaper for being out in Cairns. Woohoo. Great!! Major Hangover next day though so very lazy. Next few days we explored Cairns, got ourselves familiarised with all the goings on with what to see and do and started looking for a campervan to buy. Went to a Cairns wildlife dome with is very odd. A rainforest in a dome on top of the casino, strange but very cool. Seen snakes, crocs, reptiles, kangaroos, koalas and loads of birds. After that we went and played some slot machines and broke even so all good.

William has been doing lots of fishing off the pier in Cairns. Only one big catch and lots of smaller ones. No barramundi yet but will keep you posted. Did catch a puffa fish with puffed out until it looked like it was going to explode. Verreee funny. Launched it back in the water. While he has been on the pier I have been wandering round the shops & galleries & sunbathing by the lagoon ( a beautiful big swimming pool at the beachfront with a fake beach). They made it as the beach in Cairns is mainly mudflats and inhabited by crocs although haven't seen any yet!

After phoning a few campers for sale we eventually got a Mazda Van. Very spacious, with a big double bed, loadsa storage space and an esky (fridge). Everything we need to start a road trip. Ye!! Therefore we started our road trip, only didn't get to far! Went up to Port Douglas which is about 60km North of Cairns. Its beautiful there so decided to stay a while. Lovin the van, so much cheaper than hostels and public transport. Port Douglas is quite small but if you have transport there is quite a few places to visit. Went to the rainforest habitat which was good. Got to walk through an enclosure with loads n loads of kangaroos and we got to feed them. They are lovely animals. Although I think they are quite scary & dangerous to meet in the wild. Did a bit of sunbathing on four mile beach. Chilled out a lot. Willie fished a lot. This is the life! The weather has been about 25-31degrees glorious sunshine everyday and the locals are telling us that this is the coldest winter they have had in ages!! What!!

After staying in Port Douglas for about a week we went up to Cape Tribulation where the rainforest meets the great barrier reef. Its amazing. Very scenic and picturesque. Stayed in a campsite in the rainforest, did quite a bit of walking through on the boardwalks they have made throught the forests and mangroves. went to the rainforest discovery centre and went up the 23metre canopy tower which took us above the top of the rainforest...vereee cool. Also, we seen a wild cassowary walk out in front of us on the road. Amazing. Sightings are very rare as they are endangered and you usually only see them in the zoo. While up this way we also done a river tour up the Daintree River and seen two wild crocs. Quite exciting.

Thats about it for just now. Will try to keep this updated. Going out on the reef this week so wil let you all know how that goes. Really enjoying just relaxing and exploring in our campervan. hehe. What a life!!!