"And All The Roads That Lead You There Are Winding"

Daintree Rainforest
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Well, it is all about to begin- 10 weeks straight traveling- no work, no responsibilities, no plans- just a vague idea of where I want to go and what I want to do. Not exactly sure how I am going to accomplish this, but not in the least bit worried. I figure, like always, that things will all just fall into place. As Jack would know I am not the biggest of planners.

So, Friday night. My official sendoff! With a red eye flight ahead of me, I figure that a celebration of sorts is needed to make the looming flight ahead of me, somewhat more bearable. A box of white wine, (actually not a bad choice since we were able to find a kind that doesn’t make your eyes water) balcony drinks, and my closest friends. Balcony drinks turned out to be sidewalk drinks, as we move our impromptu party to the street outside to wait for my airport shuttle bus.

Don't I look Impressed
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I gotta say that, it was hard to say good bye....It’s not easy to hug someone knowing that the chances are good that you may never see this person again. But as for sendoffs, these people know how it’s done. Imagine lots of cheering, screaming and waving, while jumping up and down as the bus drove away. Enough to have the pervy bus driver say, "It’s very obvious to me, why there are so many guys sending you off!"

Reaching Cairns, my starting point, I was silently cursing my decision to have so much wine the night before. With a slight headache, and lack of sleep I was not feeling 100% at this time. Was really looking forward to showering, sleeping and maybe even brushing the taste of boxed wine out of my mouth. (Pretty sure the people next to me on the plane were not big fans of my diabetic hyperglycemia breath come morning) Reaching the hostel-BAD NEWS!!! My room is not going to be ready until after checkout at 11am. It is now 6am. But, "I was free to use the banana loungers out front until then." Nothappy! By dragging the loungers out of the rain, I was able to catch a few hours of much needed sleep covered with my trusty, and slightly soggy sleeping bag.

Before and After!
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Cairns has been a bit of a bust!!! The area is beautiful, but it has rained the majority of the time and am looking forward to moving further down the coast. Made my way to Peterpan’s one of the more popular back packer tourist agents and booked all the tours I wanted to do until meeting up with my family in April. First on the agenda:

Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas and The Daintree

Mossman Gorge
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- our day started out with our group heading north up the coast to the ‘Daintree River’ to do the Wildlife River Cruise to search for crocodiles

- not exciting in the least bit. By packing 30 of us onto a small boat we got this lecture on how important it is not to hangover the edge or put our hands in the water... We are in croc infested waters.... What kind of idiot would put their hands in the water????

-in the hour that we were on the cruise we saw one crocodile... A baby.... It was 400mm long....40cm.... OMG!!! I thought for sure we were going to die. It was close!!! So bored... I would have voluntarily jumped into the water at this point for some excitement....

More....
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-next....get on the bus and try to concentrate on something besides the winding roads and how sick I am starting to feel! I Pod on.... check.... Air conditioning....check....Pursed mouth breathing....Done and done!!! Keep listening to Ipod... Oasis is singing-"And all the roads that lead you there are winding" It is like he is singing about my life... This is not helping me at all. I almost lose my lunch....

–the bus stops- some relief at last. Take a swim in Mossman Gorge. A freshwater river in the middle of the rain forest. A nice place to stop and relax, not to mention the eye candy to be had in the water. Who knew German’s could be so cute?

The Are All Starting To Look The Same
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-after swimming went on a jungle walk. Very similar to any other jungle and forest I have ever been in. Put it on my list of things not to do again in the near future. I figure, you see one jungle, you’ve seen them all!!!

-head back onto the bus, a brief stop in Port Douglas. A cute town, wishing I had more time to explore. Keep an eye out for Cassowaries. An endangered species of bird, some what like a brightly colored emu, but with a mixture of a turkeys head. Supposedly very deadly! Keep your eyes pealed. If you see one. Stand up tall, put your hands over your head, and try to appear really tall. Or run like crazy and hope they don’t kick you to death. Very sad day... No Cassowaries to be seen! Just a road sign warning you to not hit them with your car.

Scuba Diving on The Great Barrier Reef

-things get even worse, they screw up my booking and I have to miss scuba diving off the coast of Cairns on one of the most spoiled areas of the reef

-the next booking available is Thursday, have to pass since at this time I will be in Mission Beach. Hopefully plan on catching some of the reef as I make my way further down the coast.

-pass the day by touring Cairns, swimming in a lagoon on the Esplanade, a pool created on the edge of the ocean. Work on my tan, drink a McDonald’s latte- not bad really if you add lots of sugar, and resist the temptation to throw my coffee at a drunk Australian that tried to lick my hand.

That night, catch up with the six Irish travelers in my room (they still remain some of my favorite travelers)- watch their skydiving videos. Have a hard time sleeping that night as I realize that come tomorrow at 1:00pm it will be me jumping out of a plane at 14, 000 feet.

WISH ME LUCK......