Can you dig it?

OK, so the Uluru photos and all are now on the last post, for those that are bothered!

Now in Cairns.

John and I had our now customary 6 hour flight delay. This one was a bit better than Launceston. They offered to bus us back to town, give us dinner there and then bussed us back to the airport. John stayed behind to sleep on the airport floor, but I headed back with Nick, Bridey and Bernie, where we bumped into a bunch of other folk we knew.

After posting my blog and grinding the internet in the travel shop to such a halt that I was asked to stop uploading photos, I decided to sort out some of my onward travel. With the heat, my substantial hangover and sleep deprivation this was a pretty big challenge. But I have a bus to get me from Cairns to Sydney, a boat organized for the Whitsundays and a self-drive 4WD for Fraser Island (LET’S OFF ROAD). I shall be stopping for Magnetic Island, Brissie (complete the set of test venues, Steve Irwin’s Zoo, see Nicki C), Gold Coast (see Niki Norway, plus saw today the world’s biggest beach party is on in March), get to Sydney (blue mountains at last) and fly to land of the Kiwi (sod knows what I’m doing there, but it can wait).

Good afternoon’s work. And dinner wasn’t bad either.

Arrival in Cairns was a touch farcical-as it was after Midnight, we had to move hostels and even our new one was shut, meaning that we had to pick up our key from the excellently named Rattle and Hum restaurant (where we’ve just had free dinner). But, let’s face it, it’s all good.

And the fire continued today. We found a car hire for $35 a day, which we’ll use to go to Cape Tribulation and the Atherton tablelands-we shall be staying in the rainforest I’m told (superb birthday present from Mr A). We’re going to do two dives on the outer reef tomorrow. We have toiletries again. We sorted out a talk on the reef for this evening. We went at such a pace that by 11.30, we suddenly realized that our day of not much had a lot left in it. So we spent the afternoon snorkeling at Green Island.

It seems only suitable that just as Espen has got in touch, our focus has shifted to fish. I expect there’s better to come, but this was a pretty good day. Some of the coral was pretty badly damaged and I saw a couple of heavy footed individuals standing on the stuff, but the view was good. Tonight I bought a fish identification thing, but today I mostly just enjoyed having the schools swim around me, enjoying the most colourful fish and spotting the different corals. I’m not sure what the highlight was: either the yellow fish about the size of half my little finger, which swam with me for 5 minutes. I think it was sheltering in my hair! At one point I thought it was in my mask! Or was swimming with a turtle better? It was pretty bloody good. I was adjusting my mask when two Japanese guys hollered at me ‘Hey! Turtle.’ I was pretty quick on the uptake and didn’t even consider that they might be calling me a turtle. Turtles fly through the water. At good pace. Magic. Just memories on this one-no photos as I don’t have one of those underwater housings that Milly does.

Must have a shave so my mask fits.