I'm not even going to pretend that I know the dates of all my destinations anymore. Suffice it to say that I arrived in Cairns sometime in late February, and was there for just under two weeks. I first saw Cairns through a veil of fog that hung over the surrounding rainforested mountains. It was beautiful. I stayed at a cute little hostel just outside the city center, about a 10 minute walk from all "the action." Cairns is truly a tourist's paradise. You can book tours at any shop, from the digeridoo shop to the local real estate office. Your hostel gives you coupons for free dinners at one of several bars in town, and there are a multitude of free drink gimmicks for nearly every bar. Of course, the main attraction in Cairns is the famous great Barrier Reef, where you can snorkel, dive, or just sit on the boat looking at it. The barrier reef is actually comprised of dozens of small reefs, not all of which are connected. some reefs are actually many kilometres apart. I visited norman, saxon, and hastings reefs, and snorkeled among them all. when approaching the reef from the water, you are first aware of it by the brilliant turquoise patches of water that appear amongst the navy blue sea surface. the boat will anchor itself a kilometre or two away from the reef, as the coral grows quite close to the surface, and you will then swim the distance from the boat to the reef.

The reef itself, which looks so unassuming from the surface, contains many different kinds of brightly colored coral, and is home to dozens of exotic, colorful fish. now I really sound like the tour book, don't I! I was only approached by a few of the fish; most tended to stay well away from the foreign object with brightly colored snorkel and flippers. I wish that I could identify all the fish that I saw, but I know that if I ever come across their pictures, I can say "hey, I saw that!"

Perhaps the best tour that I took in Cairns was a one-day tour to the Atherton Tablelands, a rainforested area about 1 hour south of Cairns. I don't like to promote tour groups that already make a killing off backpackers, but in this case, I will make an exception. the tour I took was called Uncle Brian's, and if you ever go to Cairns, YOU MUST take this tour. It was bloody brilliant, not just for the rainforests and waterfalls that we visited, but for the sheer comraderie that the tour created among its participants. I repeat, YOU MUST go on this tour. Among other things, we learned that the proper way to pronounce "Cairns" is "Ca-a-a-ns" (say it while holding your nose and speaking in a high pitched voice.) I also learned about native australian "yellow people", some irish drinking songs, and that you have to be very, very quiet while waiting to see a platypus. Oh, and they give you lots of sandwiches too. best $75 I spent in Australia for sure.

that's all for tonight I think, as this internet cafe is closing! I'll be home in a week :)