Finally on the move...

OMG...please tell me that people other than my immediate family are reading this blog on a regular basis. If not...postcards will be the norm as this blog is killing me. I just learned the hard way that the server can only save so much data per posting. I guess I really didn't need those two hours anyway. Moving forward postings will have fewer pictures so as not to go over the limit.




The first couple of pictures are of Cairns. As I've found out, any town in Australia that doesn't have sandy beaches usually has created a man-made lagoon where people gather to beat the heat. And yes, good sights can usually be found there. However, I'm not sure they're ready for my pasty white skin and well formed beer belly. Not only am I the oldest backpacker...I'm definitely one of the least fit hanging out at the lagoons. I am officially a dirty old man...too bad for them!



For those of you who know Grand Bend...Cairns is the Bend on steroids. It's a city of about 135,000 with it's sole purpose being tourism. However, most of the excitement...other than bars and places to eat are normally found outside of Cairns. It's really just base camp for excursions to the Great Barrier Reef; rainforest tours and beautiful tropical beaches found north of the city.





Thanks to brother Scott, I was fortunate enough to get out of Cairns on few excursions. Kuranda is a village in the rainforest and a definite must when in Cairns. Although the village is pretty "touristy" the sights were incredible. I took the Kuranda train (railroad built in the 1870s...amazing engineering feat) up to the village and the sky tram for the return route. The few scenic pics I have here definitely don't do the place justice. For anyone finding their way to Cairns...you MUST take the sky tram. It's breathtaking.

Other highlights of Kuranda included the amphibious army transport through the rainforest; learning to throw a spear and boomerang...no...mine never came back (I never expected to miss my target, so why would I need it to come back?) ; lessons on the digeridoo and watching some very "interesting" aboriginal dances.
Ahh...isn't she cute. Luckily she was awake as they sleep 20+ hours a day. How do I get that gig?




Another must is Cape Tribulation. I would suggest a multi-day excursion as my single day was just too jam packed to see everything properly. A bird sanctuary as well as a butterfly conservatory were pretty cool. Yes, I just said butterflies were cool. (I'm trying to show my sensitive side for the ladies...I'm no dummy!) A rare feeding of the saltwater crocs (approx 6 metres in length) was pretty impressive and scary as you learn they can leap out of the water almost 2/3 the length of their body.


A very fast ride out to the Great Barrier Reef on the Quicksilver catamaran ended my time at Cairns. I was hoping to have another dive, but a head cold stopped me from doing that. But then I heard about an advanced snorkel excusion and signed up for a 45 minute open water snorkel with a marine biologist. Most people wouldn't find this out of the ordinary, but I've never really snorkeled before...except for about 30 seconds on all my scuba dives. What could possibly go wrong in the middle of the ocean for my first snorkel adventure? Luckily the answer is nothing and it was an amazing experience as I got to see another shark, sea turtle and HUGE schools of fish.



Unfortunately, my camera loves the taste of batteries and I have no pictures from the Quicksilver or a few other sites as I headed south.