Yesterday morning we got up early and got ready to head out on the reef! My 2nd time, Kelly's first! We took a different boat/tour this time and I much enjoyed it because there were WAY less people and the staff were AMAZING. Kelly scuba dived (dove?) THREE times! She got a deal - buy 2 dives, get one free. She saw some amazing things... as did I from up above where I snorkeled. It was MUCH windier out than the last time I snorkeled, but the reef was no less beautiful! I simply LOVED it! The company we were with provided us with wetsuits - which was nice and hard at the same time. I had the WORST time trying to get into mine. I always had to find a new friend to help zip me in because Kelly was busy with her scuba gear. The equipment I was able to use was MUCH nicer as well! We put this stuff on our goggles and mine NEVER fogged up... and NO water got in! My eyelashes were completely dry when I got out of the water. I saw SO many amazing things. Kelly rented an underwater camer and took TONS of amazing pictures and videos that I can't wait to show you all! She shared them with me :). Among the kazillion fish and different types of coral we saw, we also saw clams, sea cucumbers, AND a turtle! It was simply awesome! We also were able to visit 2 different areas to see completely different things.

After we got back Kelly and I walked upon this dance/music demonstration in the center of Cairns, real close to where our bus was going to pick us up. We had 20 minutes so we decided to watch. Soon enough, the dancers all rushed off stage and grabbed people from the crowd. This sweaty, scanitly-clothed dancer comes and chooses me! Ah! So, I get pulled on stage, along with other helpless souls, to try and dance like these people. Apparently this was a demonstration done by the People of the Pacific, and my partner was from the Cook Islands. The dance I was a part of was part of the "Around the World" dance, and I was representing the USA! The only instructions I got were to shake my booty to the beat! HA! I realized how very very poor I am at shaking my booty, but it was HILARIOUS none-the-less!

Later, after we discovered that the showers at our hostel are as cold as the Arctic, Kelly and I hit the town and found an amazing pizza shop and shared a delicious pepperoni pizza. We then did a little shopping, enjoyed the Night Markets, and found our way home... tired from all of our time spent on the reef!

TODAY, we got to sleep in and were fortunate enough to take the SkyRail up through the rainforest to the tiny village of Kuranda. The views from the SkyRail were MIRACULOUS! It was unbelievable to be zipping through the rainforest, over top of the canopy, and then all of a sudden be swallowed by a large cloud floating at the top! We were able to see the most beautiful Barron Falls among other amazing sights. Once to Kuranda, we rode the bus to the Kuranda Koala Sanctuary where we saw several native animals (again), and Kelly got her first chance at holding a koala. Her koala was named Chibby, which means small in Japanese. After the Sanctuary we enjoyed looking at the rows and rows of shops and the things they had to offer. We didn't end up buying anything, but our favorite thing that we saw was a postcard made out of kangaroo pelt that could ACTUALLY be mailed in the post! We enjoyed a relaxing, and once again beautiful train ride back to Cairns. Some of the drop-offs, and views of the different falls were spectacular. Kelly and I were both exhasted by this time though and fell asleep for a bit of the ride. Once we arrived in Cairns, we again came across an aboriginal demonstration of dance and music. Thankfully neither of us got sucked in this time, but we were able to simply sit back and marvel at their talents!

We are mostly packed up because we fly out of Cairns at 6:20 tomorrow morning. We had a pretty relaxing evening, but are planning on going and having one quick drink at this infamous backpackers bar before hitting the hay! Apparently there are regularly people dancing on tables, so on and so forth... we want to see (NOT DO) for ourself :)

Tomorrow we'll be SYDNEY-bound. We are EXTREMELY fortunate because Kelly has a hook-up for us to stay and they are even picking us up from the airport! I'm EXCITED! Hopefully they'll have warm showers. :)Ta-ta for now!...

written by  cowane1 on September 20, 2010 from Cairns, Australia
from the travel blog: Australian Adventures!
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WoW!!!! Again, so jealous! We should have spent more time there, but who knew! Don't fall off the bridge in Sydney! Love ya, and miss ya!

written by  Marcie Cowan on September 20, 2010

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