Finally on the move...cont'd...for the last time I hope!

OK people...give me some love...are my pictures getting better yet? Come on...I've been working on this "tri-posting" for over three hours now. And to make matters worse...it's gorgeous outside.



I've also bought some rechargeable batteries so I shouldn't miss some great photo opps like I have already. Yeah...whatever, but hey...you won't know what I've missed anyway.



From Cairns I travelled south to Mission Beach. I had heard great things about Mission Beach and I wasn't let down, but wow...I expected something larger. It may be a town of 2000? The beach is huge and after a crazy two weeks in Cairns...I was looking for some down time. Once again, Mr. Szasz came through with a great pick for a hostel. I stayed at the Mission Beach Shack and the atmosphere was awesome. It felt like one big family and the pool in the backyard (see below) wasn't hard to take either.

Outside of drinking, I really hadn't planned to do anything at Mission Beach, but how could I let my fans down. Even though I didn't want to cause a huge commotion, I decided to visit the island named after me...Dunk Island. A 40 minute ferry brought me to this awesome venue. However, with all the excitement...I kind of lost my head and promptly headed to a walking trail. This trail was a 1.5 hour excursion to the top Mt. Kolamldjfl (I have know idea, but it did start with a "K".)

I thought things were going very well and ahead of schedule on the trail(remember...I'm competitive) only to see a sign (by this time my SANDALS...oh yes I'm an idiot...were killing me and the sweat was running off my nose) saying another 1.1Kms to the lookout. Now you would think this was the worst of my problems, but upon reaching the very picturesque lookout I worked so hard to achieve...I realize my camera batteries are out of juice. Yes, I almost did throw my camera off the peak. But after I calmed down...I soon found out that going down a steep grade in sandals is actually more painful than going up!

After a 4 hour bus trip from Mission Beach, I arrived in Townsville to find out that my hostel was double booked and I was out of luck and without a roof over my head. But as fate would have it, there was space at a hostel on Magnetic Island. This was my main reason for stopping in Townsville anyway (besides breaking up a 9 hour bus ride). The Island was definitely worth the stopover and I could have spend several more days there. And just so you know I really stupid I am...once again I find myself on a fairly aggressive trail with sandals on. Who really needs those two layers of skin I've already lost from the bottom of my feet?

I've also learned that I cannot keep drinking every night if I hope to have my money last for the entire 10 months. So I have actually stayed in a couple of nights. It actually hurts. However, this was not the case in Magnetic Island as I befriended an Irish lad, a British lass and three German girls. Various drinking games and the different ways to "cheers" someone and in which country were the discussion topics of the two nights. And don't worry boys...I made Canada proud when it came to drinking. I'm hoping "Beer-A-Mid" and "Three-Man" become known around the world!

This last picture was my attempt at "catching a moment" with my camera. I think I need more practice. I'm off to cruise the WhitSunday islands on a tall ship for the next four days.