Mantra Amphora Resort Palm Cove

... and adventure is what makes snorkelling, especially around the reef so cool, seeing if you can spot something special as you swim past all this sealife. The snorkelling was the best part of the trip, and I had about an hour and a half near the reef, so i could properly immerse myself in the experience. I was pretty chuffed that I ahd done something so special, ticked another box and had another unforgettable experience. Its not a bad life!!!

... for something to see in the area... It turned out that there was some Art Deco buildings and a nice esplanade alongside the river there.. .We also opted to then drive to a local waterfall north of the town and a few K's off the main road .... <br><br><br><br><br><br>This statue on the riverside and dedicated to the sugar cane workers was striking against the grey cloud <br ...

... a heart beat if I get the chance. Tonight a bunch of us went to the Night Markets. Cool little shops. I bought 8 shot glasses, I have my own collection now. <br><br>I met up with Lee at the Markets, he's the English guy I met at the woolshed. We walked down the esplanade and pier (I wish I could have done that in the sunlight, it looked really pretty) and then went for a drink. I was pretty tired so had to cut it short and head back to the hotel.

Jeremy and kids went to the "BIG MOVIES" today to see Ice Age 3. Kids thought it was good and so did Jeremy. I stayed home while Denzel slept and watched a girlie flick. Got a bit of washing done and then had to rush to get it down when it started raining a bit. Apart for that rushing an overall relaxing day. Time to move on tomorrow - on the way to Mission Beach. Hopefully going south will not decrease the temperature too much.<br>

... trip to the great barrier reef. another early start! so feeling a tad rough we got to the boat. wasnt a great day, bit cloudy. headed out on a nice catamaran though. we had the option of travel sickness tablets, so i took some. despite that, by the time we got there i felt pretty dodgy! a couple of canadian lasses from our hostel were really nice and quite chatty to me, but i was pretty much just sat there trying not to throw up! when we got out to our reef location is was pretty cold ...

... from someone elses tank while feigning a loss of oxygen, spear dived, filled my mask with water and expelled it - all sorts. And well - I'm quite enjoying it. The theory ended today and I've passed all the exams. There's three more days and they start early in the morning - at the Great Barrier Reef - one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Tomorrow I'll dive with reef sharks, sea snakes, tropical fish and among some of the ...

... being chatted up by a bloke who had a face like an old leather handbag - needless to say Simon wasn't feeling threatened but he graciously rescued me anyway! We moved off to another place after that to watch a soccer match and had to resort to drinking VB (Toohey's is our usual poison) We got our Greyhound ticket from Cairns to Melbourne and booked some trips further down the coast too so now that were sufficiently bled of money it was time to leave! Next stop Mission beach.

... to pull it in. I had reeled it to the top of the water and saw that it was a keeping size but not sure what type of fish and the bloody thing got off, I felt really bad!! Anyway, we had lots of bites all day, we caught some; Stripeys, Grinners, some fish like a Stripey but with spots, Ryan caught a eel like fish - nothing worth keeping except a few that we used for bait. We lost several ...

We sailed slowly over the following 4-5 days, visiting the reef in a couple of places, picking up a good feed on the way, visiting Orpheus Island (away from the resort which is strictly off limits to grotty yachties), motoring inside the Hinchinbrook ...

... took ages. Not that it mattered because once there, we had a 4hr wait for our flight. I have finished all my books so I was left bored yet again but that's over now and we are on our way to Cairns. Just finished watching a hilarious episode of Friends and looking forward to getting to the hotel tonight after a long day. Hopefully it will be sunny and warm up there. I have hardly got a tan and I need something to go home with so I can show it off.