Daintree Rainforest

The other thing to tick off my list while in Cairns was to visit the Daintree Rainforest.  I'm not sure why I really wanted to go but I think it's a case of wanting to see a proper rainforest.  So I without the help of the internet but rather the help of the tourist information dude, I booked this tour.

Our little tour bus.

A bush turkey and me being a tourist. I didn't even know Australia had turkeys.

Where the waterfall met the sand. Look closely - there are fishies swimming.  Our tour guide told us to fill up our water bottles with the fresh water - ew, that's disgusting. 

We went on a bus cassowary hunt but didn't see any. Neither did we see any crocodiles on our boat ride.  Boo.

A local, sick and tired of finding dead cassowaries modified one of the street signs to alert the speeding drivers.

Cape Tribulation.  Named so after Captain Cook's troubles. 

Our final stop on the tour was the Daintree Discovery Centre.

One of the aerial walkways through the forest.

I made my way to the Canopy Tower.

Oh here's the tower.  Yep I went right up to the top.

Not the most flattering photo but just wanted to make sure that you knew I was in a rainforest.

If I knew how to use an SLR properly (more importantly - had one with me) then surely today would have been a nice day to take some super-nice photos.  The tour itself was a bit vexing but that was more because I felt the tour guide was making up facts along the way.  Did I say so on my feedback form?  Of course not!  I don't want them calling me to discuss my feedback - I just ticked the 'I'll use your company again' box. 

Snorkel, snorkel

My intention of leaving Cairns for Christmas and Boxing Day was decided for me when I saw that return flights cost $800-$1000. Seriously... wtf. Aah well. This was going to be my only weekend in Cairns having spent the first weekend working/exploring central Cairns and last weekend in Sydney. If I didn't do the Great Barrier Reef, then it defeats the reason why I scheduled work here in the first place!

My Christmas was a bit ho-hum. I slept in until about 11am, had lunch, did a load of laundry and then went to the beach and read some of my book. Oh and then I remembered that I would need cash for my snorkeling tour and so I hopped into the car and drove in search of an ATM (which I found, of course). I had my dinner, watched a few episodes of Supernatural (Dean is freaking HAWT!) and then forced myself to sleep in preparation for my early rise. An 8am boat boarding time is not ideal.

My disposable underwater camera. Pretty cool eh? But if I could go again, I would buy a camera with a flash. The water dulls the colours of the coral and the deeper you go, the duller it gets.

I'm not the best swimmer and if left to my own skillz, I would be one of the first to die in the great big ocean. Thankfully the tour organisers make it pretty much impossible for anyone to drown out in the pretty, pretty corals. It wouldn't be a bad way to go though, but the fish, coral and future divers might not be too impressed with your carcass. Flippers and a swimming noodle are provided! With that kind of equipment, you could even be a non-swimmer! The swimming noodle doubled as a type of fish-nip, guaranteeing you some fishy action.

According to our tour organisers, Tusa Dive, the weather conditions were just perfect which permitted us to reach the outer Saxon Reef. We snorkelers had to wait for the scuba divers to head off first before embarking on our own more superficial exploration.

I was reminded that I was under water when I exclaimed 'Cool!' and my snorkel filled up with salt water.

It was pretty amazing and just like swimming in an aquarium, except it's not an aquarium - it's the ocean! It was soooooooooo cool to have all the different tropical fishies swimming past, getting on in their daily tasks. I didn't get to see the sea turtle which some other snorkelers saw :(

I don't suffer from motion sickness but after my first snorkel I felt a little woozy. Maybe I should have eased up a bit but I'm sure that my teech clenching on the mouthpiece also contributed to my headache.

I had a Cornetto in an attempt to counter my ill feeling.  This is what happens to ice cream in Cairns.  By the time we made it to Hastings Reef, I felt a bit better and was glad that I wasn't going to barf.

Yes, beneath the sea I will still attempt an Asian pose.

I found Nemo!

My teech clenching got the better of me and I found way back to the refuge of the boat. If you ever head to far north Queensland, it would be an utmost shame to not snorkel or dive out in the reef. Even if you can only just float, that'll be enough to do basic snorkeling.  IF you can't swim, you can do an underwater reef walk!  Fun for all!

Humidity

People keep asking me how I'm handling the humidity up here and I have to say 'I don't mind it!'. It's good for the eczema prone skin and it's not the same yucky humidity you get in polluted cities like KL, Bangkok and Hong Kong. That being said, I've been told it does get worse. Nevertheless, I'm quite content with the 'cleanliness' of the humidity here. I would compare it to being in a womb. It's all safe and soothing, you're not really breathing proper air and I have the urge to siesta constantly.

Good thing I don't like tanning or else I would turn all leathery from my naps on the beach.

Wedding at the Harbour

As a break from the relaxation that is Cairns, I made my way to the Big Smoke to attend the wedding of R and J (and catch up with a few buddies hehe). 

Judging from the photo below, could there be a nicer backdrop for a wedding?

R and J certainly spoiled their guests at The Quay with the food and uninterrupted views of the iconic harbour. Given that 80% of the guests made the journey from overseas, I'd say this was a pretty nice way to thank them for their efforts. Even though I've certainly spent my fair share of time living in Sydney, I couldn't help but be a tourist once more.

The view from my seat.

J's dress was utterly adorable in it's simplicity and tea-dress length.

Mmmmm...cakes.....mmmmmm

Cheers to R and J!!

Mmmm.... chicken

Lenard's Chicken rocks.  Seriously the best idea ever.  Eating alone has it's gripes. Buying ingredients for one is such a hassle.  But with Lenard's I can just get a single schnitzel, a single cordon bleu, a single small chicken roast, a small serving of chicken wings (the list goes on) and I'm all set!  No wastage, no having to buy in multiples.  Food prepared daily.  Minimal preparation.  Organic chicken (I think - maybe not.  Someone verify please).  Yippee! 

No Longer a Security Threat!

Good news!  *excited gasp* Knitting needles are now allowed on Australian domestic flights!  Yippee for me and all the grandmas out there! May your flight pass by more quickly and may you no longer be escorted off the plane!

Exploring Cairns

I’ve got the day off today and thought I should use it to visit Rusty’s Market and stock up on tropical fruits.  No, not the Jamaican imports you’d find in Tesco, but locally grown goodies.   Heading out in the middle of the day ensured that I felt the maximum heat but hey, that’s what air-conditioning is for.

I have no idea what I’m meant to paying for produce (that’s what happens when you get used to UK supermarkets) but I’m convinced that $3.99/kg for lychees is pretty damn cheap.



$2 for a pineapple.






No wait… here are some for $1!!





WTF!!! Here are some more for 50 cents!

Suspect-shaped food likes to follow me as did this suspect-shaped mango. They ranged for $2 - $5/kg. 

I was dying for some sugar cane juice but they had ran out.  Poo!

I kinda went a little nuts and bought a large fruit supply which included an entire pineapple, a quarter of a watermelon, three mangoes, half a kilo of lychees and a bunch of sugar bananas.

All this for less than $20!  It was pretty heavy to carry :(  I was a little poo-pooed to find out that rambutans not yet in season.

After stocking up my fridge, I stopped by the beach again. :D The water was so warm, a lovely 27 degrees and didn't give you the ice chill fright of other south east coast beaches.

Heading back to Cairns central I was joined by a gelati cup.

I thought this was pretty cool - a free public pool in the city centre.

Tonight I ate the pineapple for dinner.  Not the most balanced meal but I didn’t want to keep my freshly cut pineapple overnight and I overestimated how full I would feel after eating the entire thing - I had planned to eat additional food afterwards!  Have you ever eaten so much pineapple that the acid starts to eat away at your mucous membranes?  Well  that’s what happened to me and Mr. Pineapple no longer remained enjoyable.  My lower lip started to puff up and sting.  Upon inspection, I observed some miniscule cuts.  I had to discard the final pieces after reaching breaking point.  Serves me right for pigging out on fresh fruit!

Cairns

Prior to moving to London, Cairns was on my places-to-visit-but-use-work-to-pay-for-it list.  I didn’t manage to cross it off when I was working for the Big Evil but now, I’ve managed to find my way and here I am in tropical Queensland.  Mmmm… humidity… so good for the eczema prone skin.  I’ve finally looked properly at the map and have just realised ‘Hey!  I’m really far up north!’  I’ve been provided a car for my travels and while that might seem extravagant, public transport doesn’t really exist here and nothing could be more painful than waiting in the heat for a bus to arrive. 

Me and me Holden, mate.  Actually, it’s quite a nice drive and a pretty ice-blue colour too!

I'm a bit annoyed with the accommodation I've been provided for my stay in Cairns.  Sure, it has it's own pool and is a short walk to the beach - don't be stupid, I still drive to the beach.  I have a car to get around, so what's to complain?  Well, this place has no accessible internet.  I could go to any telco and purchase my own personal wireless account but why the fark should I  have to do that?  For times like these when I'm traveling for work, all I ask for is dial-up internet.  That's right.  Dial-up internet.  But....I don't even have a phone line in this stupid apartment!  So, for the rest of December I'm dependent on internet cafes.  *grunt* I hate internet cafes.

Now…. I’m off to the beach!  Not to tan but to exfoliate my feet and then sit in the shade and read trashy mags :D

Fanks Peeps!

Judging from the below photos, my alternative career as a hand/wrist model isn’t about to take off anytime soon.  Too limpy and hairy.  In all fairness, it is a bit difficult to photograph one’s own hand in a most flattering pose. 

The purpose of photographing my wrist was to display the lovely Links bracelet I received to mark my significant day.  Thanks peeps!  You know who you are!  I also received a handbag which was still given to me despite my I-don’t-get-what-the-big-deal-is-about-those-bags rant.  Fear not dear friends – a girl can never have enough bags!  I will learn to love thee!  

I think I have singlehandedly managed to drive sales down with my dead, limpy wrist. 

In case you’re wondering, F stands for Pooey.  Duh!

The Journey....

The brain is no longer mushy, so I can now recount the most stressful journey I’ve ever had to Heathrow and blog how I nearly missed my flight home. Independent factors combined forces to thwart my journey to the world’s most hated airport.

First, it was raining. Not just pitter-patter but pissing down rain.  Yeah, look I can deal with rain.  Rain isn’t anything new.  Next, the person using our rented Streetcar returned our car 15 minutes late.  Grrrrrrr…. Smee and I loaded up my luggage and began the drive westbound.  Unfortunately, it seemed the rest of London needed to go to Heathrow too.  Rain slows the traffic - we all know that - so I wasn’t terribly surprised to see a minor jam near Harrods.  However, this was a sign of things to come – from then on, cars were bumper to bumper before the M1.   Still, I’m a pretty Cool Cat and despite it being 8pm (my flight leaving at 9.55pm), I was confident that we’d get there by 8.30pm.  That would give me a comfortable 85 minutes before departure and 45 minutes before boarding.  My flight didn’t allow online check-in so I needed to also have that sorted. 

By 8.26pm we had barely covered the majority of the freeway journey, the GPS indicated that we still had 30 minutes journey time and yes, I was getting a bit antsy.  Our GPS then indicated we exit the M1 .. wtf…   I’ve only ever travelled to Heathrow on the M1!  The previous driver of our Streetcar had so kindly left us next to nothing in the petrol tank and we HAD to interrupt our drive to fill up the tank or risk breaking down.  At 8.46pm I bolted inside the servie station to pay for petrol while Smee filled up.  The attendant couldn’t have taken more time to process payment.  He had to cancel our transaction (his mistake) which involved printing off not one, but THREE receipts before he was able to re-enter our payment!  Moron!

Smee caught every light possible red traffic light on the remainder of the journey which also included driving through the most claustrophobic tunnel I’ve ever been in.  It was like driving through a 1 kilometre-long single car garage!  We pulled up to Heathrow at 9pm (55 minutes to take off!) and I made my way to the check-in counter while Smee parked the car.  Luckily there was no queue and I dumped my suitcase on the conveyor belt while the attendant began the check-in process.  She then told me “You’re not on this flight, you need to go to Counter G, not F”.  Eeek!  I pulled my suitcase off the conveyor belt and ran to Counter G. 

Again there was no queue because I WAS THE LAST PERSON TO CHECK IN.  I dumped my bag on the conveyor and was then informed that it weighed 28kg.  I knew it was heavy, I had problems dragging it into the terminal but I always intentionally over-pack (half of it were gifts!) and manage to get away with it.  I was not in the mood to be cute so I tried reasoning with the dude, I tried looking pathetic and I even kinda tried being desperate when I said ‘I have a one way ticket!’ but to no avail.  Bastard!  Either I pay £240 or re-pack 5kg from my suitcase.  Well really… there was only one option.  I heaved my suitcase off, flung open the lid and started moving stuff into Snowball, my faithful backpack.  I had no intention of taking out 5kg and put my suitcase back on the belt at 25.5kg.  “Is that fine?” I queried.   “That will do”.  It was obvious that he just really wanted to go home.  He closed the counter after giving me my ticket and a curt “You need to go to your gate NOW.” 

Smee and I ran to the security gate and the most time we had together was separated by a velvet rope as he watched me queue to present my passport to security.  There was no time for shopping, no time to pee and my departure gate was a far as it could get. 

My shoulders started to ache with the weight of Snowball on my back.  I didn’t want to find out how much she weighed but I estimate about 12kg.  I got to my gate… only to find that boarding was delayed by 10 minutes.  GRRRRRRR… well at least I wasn’t crying like the girl next to me who had been waiting at the wrong gate. 

The LHR-SIN leg was uneventful which was just GREAT!  I squeezed in two movies and got a little shut-eye.  We stopped over in Singapore which gave me enough time to clear the pipes (no time to shop as our flight was late) and begin boarding for the second leg of the journey.  Let’s just say I’m not a fan of Qantas International.  Despite being a FF member, I’ve always considered their planes a bit old, their menu a bit meh and service as nothing outstanding.  The only incentive for travelling with Qantas is my FF membership - otherwise I’ve cannot recall a flight which has won me over.  This particular leg only reiterated my less than favourable opinion.  We were informed that for the next 8 hours the entire plane would have NO INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT.  W…. T…. FAAAAAAAAAAARRK!?! 

I downed just enough red wine to make me sleepy and grew a zit on the plane.

Ta-Dah!!!

.... and with a puff of smoke, I have magically appeared in the Antipodes!

My brain is a bit of mush right now cos I'm fighting the big fight against Mr. Jet Lag (must... hold.... out...... for... another.... 6.... hours!) so a proper post will follow in the next few days or so.

Biggest complaint so far about being in the Southern Hemisphere in December?  It's too sunny!!  Oh woe is me :P