G'day Mate

We have now arrived in Cairns, the first leg of our six month Oz tour. After being jobless hippies for half a year resulting in bank balances containing a grand total of $0.00, it was time to get our hands on some much needed cashish. Within a couple of days we were fully fledged natives with Australian bank accounts, phones and jobs.

Erin at the white party

Secretly hoping it might take a while to find work so in the interim we could top up our tans and sample some aussie nightlife, it turned out the temping agency foiled these plans by finding us waitressing work almost immediately. Having arrived during the middle of the Cairns festival we were all working within days. We've had to trade the shorts and t-shirts for man shirts and bow-ties as we step into the shoes of five star waitresses.

Tay at the white party

Tay and Erin's first job was a little unexpected working at the races head to toe in white body paint serving such celebrities as Australia's Big Brother '06 winner. Their smug jobs continued as they landed a stint on Double Island serving at the privately owned resort.

Tay and Erin on Double Island

Meanwhile Murph and Colly were doing their own private tours of the luxury hotels and resorts around Cairns. Proving that this is clearly where we belong we have managed two drink spillages on guests and numerous glass breakages. Five star service all the way!

All work and no play makes the smug adventurers a little less smug. The infamous Woolshed is the backpackers' favourite club in Cairns, however, it doesn't even come close to our beloved Jaxx so we are currently experimenting with new places. The focal point of Cairns is its man-made lagoon, its free-use barbeques being a particularly enjoyable feature. We've embraced Aussie culture and thrown a fair few shrimps on the barbie.

Shrimp encircled by aubergine

As with everything we do each barbeque has become more elaborate than the last. No longer will a mere sausage suffice. Please see photo of shrimp surrounded by abundance of aubergine.

A big worry about coming to Australia was fear of spider infestations. Having been prepared to look under the toilet seat on every trip to the dunny, we have not yet seen a single spider (touch wood).

Warning crocs about!

However we have come across kangaroos, giant bats and crocodiles. We can't write this entry without mentioning one very sad event. On the day of our arrival, just an hour away from where we were, the "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin died. In the words of the wise Tom Murphy, "First the Queen of New Zealand and now the King of Australia."

Night out in Gilligans

As we are currently working we may become slightly slack bloggers for the next few weeks until we hit the road again. Apologies blog fans, hopefully won't be too long!

Cairns, Australia