Walking in the footprints of Peter Andre!

We did go snorkeling in the great barrier reef. We were on two sites and we even had a guided snorkeling trip (while bumping into other snorkeling people). There were masses of aquarium fishes in all sizes and colours. We even spotted three sharks! Unfortunately we have no pictures from this trip, but we can assure everyone that we looked absolutely stunning in our wetsuits. The funniest part was when Astrid was swimming next to a Japanese girl and she suddenly cried out in excitement "Look! Nemo is downstairs!".

The following day we signed up for Uncle Brian's trip to the rain forest. However it was cousin Brad who turned out to be the guide of the day and we were all placed inside Gus the bus. This man was seriously talking non-stop for 10 hours and we still don't know if any of it was true. Cousin Brad guided us through various sites in the rain forest and Randi even managed to catch a glimpse of a platypus! This is the weirdest creature we know - it's a mixture of a duck, a beaver and a turtle. We also went for a swim in a dead volcano filled with warm rain water. And we also did some swimming in the Milla Milla falls - which is a waterfall you can swim right through. This where they made all the herbal essences commercials and where Peter Andre (remember him?) did his famous "Mysterious girl" hit video.

We felt privileged to be swimming in the same water as him. Other memorable moments from the trip:

- when we were tricked into screaming at an old lady standing by the road, who suddenly picked up toy snakes from a big box (no, this didn't make any sense to us either)



Millaa Millaa Falls



- bus karaoke and dancing

- Randi almost shared a kiss with a Swedish guy

In the end, it was a really weird trip - but more important, it was fun!

We ended up staying in Cairns for a whole week. We loved our hostel and spent a lot of time hanging around there - dividing our time between the hammocks and the poolside. It is so far the best hostel we've come across. A very friendly atmosphere and a very entertaining staff. Not to mention the free evening meal at wild local restaurant Woolshed and free coffee. Astrid participated in cultural exchange and performed "kjerringa med staven" - loosely translated "witch with stick".



Eventually we had leave our favourite Australian home and we went south to Magnetic Island. Since it was low season and poor weather it was a quiet island. Astrid celebrated her birthday and got to feed rock wallabies by the beach. We actually learned from one of the locals that if they came across an orphan wallaby, one of the women in the village would adopt the wallaby for a couple of weeks and keep it - naturally in her bra.



Crazy bus-trip with Uncle Brian's



Astrid desperately wanted to see a real koala in the wild. We searched the woods, because we had been told that the island would be overcrowded by koalas. Well, eventually Astrid spotted one eating leaves in the top of a tree. He was eating with one hand and grabbing onto the tree with other hand. He didn't mind us at all, but it was a sacred moment.



Vulcano lake



We went to the other side of the island on foot and the locals were astonished by this. It was only 1,5 hour, but for them this was quite an accomplishment. Maybe Australians don't walk so much? In the evening we had a real birthday dinner and the last treat of the day was a gigantic spider in our bungalow. Disappointingly enough, not the same size of our earlier encounters with spiders on the island.



From Magnetic Island we set off to Airlie Beach - which is the gateway to Whitsundays. This is a group of islands famous for their white, sandy beaches. As well as, 'the best job in the world' which belongs to a guy working on one of the islands (Hamilton). Unfortunately the weather was bad and the two days we spent there shifted between showers of rain and glimpses of sun. So with no excursions during our stay, we spent the days strolling along the esplanade, reading a lot and searching for chocolate cake. This is a place usually overcrowded by tourists, but like the rest of the east coast, it's been rather quiet because of low season, bad weather and the cyclone. It was only the two of us and a Mexican girl in the dorm..



Feeding rock wallabies at Magnetic Island



Astrid got a free guiding trip on the beach and spent hours learning about Australian history, nature, animals, culture, climate and immigration. Cause this guide turned out to be a history geek as well. If you ever go to Airlie Beach - make Pat your guide!





In real backpacker-budget-style we decided to take an overnight bus to save money on accommodation. 13 hours! We are now in Hervey Bay which is situated next to Fraser Island. We're staying only a few minutes away from the beach stretching on for miles and miles. The hip thing around here is beach walking. This is walking on the beach for hours - kinda like Forrest Gump except that it's walking. We've checked out a pier some hours away which is amazingly 800 metres long, a water park (for kids) and we've shared a dorm with Norwegian and Swedish people for the first time. We'll probably go to Fraser Island soon..

 



A wild koala bear





The beach at Hervey Bay



 



The 800 meters long pier