To start, I have this awesome app that let's you know every day, some times twice if you're lucky amazing flight deals. Sounds great doesn't it? It is until you keep buying all these bargains and work out that working now 20 hours a week does not pay the same as full time.
I blame this whole new hobby of mine on Super as she introduced me to it and told me how amazing it was. She's the very best worse friend.
Actually as I type this I realise we didn't book these flight with that app but with Qantas who also email me very regularly about their amazing deals.
Anyway, waffling aside. We have had a week in Cairns, and not without dramas along the way.
First blip of the journey... got on the plane and tried to listen to my music with my new fancy wireless headphones, I was pretty unimpressed that no matter how much I turned the volume up on the phone it barely got louder in my ears.... I realised a short while later that the 2 weren't connected. Ooops.
When we landed and got the hire car we just chilled and looked at the sea with the "Beware crocodile" sign proudly telling us that crocs may be in this area. Gulp.
We avoided even going on the sand as "they'll spot us, chase us and eat us and that will mess my day up" deciding they probably wouldn't want to climb the tiny wall up to the pavement I thought we'd be safe walking along there. (I was right)
In the evening we strolled around the town, I looked up and saw the birds flying around looking all spectacular ...... until we realised the lovely little birds were in fact giant bats. By giant I mean actual Batman sized bats, and not just a handful there were hundreds and hundreds and they squeal and shriek and generally are very anti social.
The town is over come by a witching hour, at dusk the whole place changes into some horror weilding nightmare. As we walked back to the car we heard a lot of shouting and arguing and a man declare "I'm so angry I'm going to kill my mum" (crocs felt safer at this point)
Eeek, that's a pretty angry man so we backtracked and hung around with the bats until we decided he'd left where we'd parked the car.
Driving back to the apartment we stopped at the T junction and 4 lanes opposite on the pavement I could see a man standing arguing with someone but actually there was no one there, he had his arm extended and waving it whilst arguing, a few seconds later he walked further down the pavement and was opposite us (still 4 lanes away) as we saw a break in the traffic and started to drive and turn right this maniac decided to start running towards us full pelt, Sean had to floor the car to avoid him running in to us, then to add to it he chased us a little bit up the road.
Totally spooked by this we ran from the car to the room and sat in utter disbelief. Ob then asked was it because "he heard you talking about him"
Yes Ob he could hear me say "what's that idiot doing over there" 4 lanes away, he then changed it to "do you think he could lip read" "yes son, I do believe he had super hero powers to enable him to lip read in the dark"
Fun parts now.... Fitzroy Island.... amazing, we snorkelled with turtles.
Rewind 4 hours and picture me hysterical and hyperventilating "mum, you're not even in the water yet" this part was true, but I was standing near it so I felt justified in freaking out. I hate the water as you know due to wardrobe malfunctions and my general fear of the water.
But you can't go all the way to The Great Barrier Reef and not snorkel can you. So donning my mask and flippers, I stood and panicked some more while Ob stood there looking puzzled and trying to coax me into the water. "It's fine mum, just put your face in the water and kick your legs" for the first 30 minutes I clenched on the snorkelled like my life depended on (well actually I guess it did) I made Darth Vada sound quiet, I'm sure my raspy breathing scared the fish away.
But come the end of it I was as happy as a pig in the proverbial poop. To say I loved it is an understatement. To show you how much I declared to the boys "I'm going to snorkel all around Australia" to which they both coughed, in I believe sheer admiration and also jealously because they didn't think of it first.
So the turtles.... Oh my goodness, I was etactic seeing them, I cannot tell you how absolutely amazed and chuffed I was to see them and to actually be within touching distance. If I could have jumped up and down on the spot I would have but on account of me being in the water and not able to touch the bottom I resisted.
The day after we went to the actual Barrier Reef, so there we were in the huge ocean with nothing but water to see ..... gulp, we were in group 4 for our dive and I'm sure the instructors missed groups 1 -3 as we were called really before I was ready.
Rewind an hour and picture this, dive briefing talk about to start which is pretty important... have to know the signs for help I'm freaking out, holey crap a shark and also how to breathe.
So during this time Sean was out the back of the boat feeling sea sick and I was doing my good wifey duties and standing there looking at him (and the sea.... so much sea, really there was)
Get back in eventually and ask Ob what do we need to know "loads" he tells us.
Well thanks son, any chance you can share with us, "there's too much to tell you"
Being as this was my second dive (yes get me, practically a pro) I felt confident I absolutely was going to freak out while I sat there with scuba tank and badly fitting mask. All of a sudden we were told to roll in the sea. What... roll as in get in??? I sort of flopped very ungracefully and flapped around looking for some thing to grab hold off. Luckily the back of the boat was to hand as I look across and see Sean and Ob looking calm and confident hanging on. We had to show the instructor we could get water out of our mask if needed, which I managed to bluff through, then had to blow through our noses... epic fail I was unable to do it. Twice I tried, plus my ears were killing me and wouldn't pop, we'd moved down even lower on the back of the boat by now.
Several attempts later to pop my ears and to blow out through my nose and the instructor telling me "you really can't do it" during one of our trips to the top.
I decided to stop wasting Sean and Ob's time and called it quits. BUT.... I still claim I dived in the Reef, I had a wetsuit on, scuba tank plus I was very well submerged in the water.
I was then left to go back and snorkel so I was more than happy, although at one stage I did feel I was part of Titanic.... there was hundreds (ok about 30) of us in the water, miles away from the boat and to see all these head just bobbing about made me feel like Rose. But I had no plank of wood to hang on to, just me and my flippers and badly fitting mask.
