G'day from Down Under: Welcome to Cairns!

And it was off to Cairns we go. Fun fact: It is pronounced Cans, not how it is spelt. It was a short 3 hour flight. The way that they board the plans is so cool. You don't have to go through the little tunnel. You get to walk outside and go up the stairs. Marli and I were fascinated by it. When we got to Cairns, we had some lunch at the hotel and went exploring. It was way hotter than Sydney and humid which was not the most fun thing to deal with, but we got used to it by the end. Our hotel was right on the Esplanade, the walkway to all of the shops and restaurants. We also were right on the mud lands. There were heaps of signs warning people not to go in. I mean it was gross mud so I don't know why anyone would want to go in, but they warn you because of the crocodiles.

Mom and Grandma were on their own for dinner. Marli and I met up with one of Marli's friends who was an exchange student at NAU. He took us to Barnacle Bills. It was delicious. I had the taste of Australia. It was a plate of crocodile, kangaroo, and barramundi, it's fish. It was awesome meeting him and Marli really enjoyed catching up. He told us of some fun places to go while relaxing earlier in the day. So Marli and I went to this bar called the Pier Bar. I had totally forgot it was the rugby finals too. It was insane, but so much fun! Watching rugby is way more insane and crazy than any NFL game I've ever watched. The rugby finals were more intense than the Superbowl!! I love it! I am officially obsessed.

The next day Adam, Marli's friend recommended that we sign up to do the Kuranda tour. It was a beautiful train ride up to the little village. We passed water falls and neat rock formations. We made our first stop at a butterfly aviary. It was so cool. There were butterflies every where and I'm not going to lie, I was a bit freaked out that they were flying all over the place and almost hitting me in the face. A bug is a bug even if it is pretty. ha Marli and I had to dodge a few. We had a guided tour that taught us all about how caterpillars turn into butterflies and different characteristics of butterflies. The next stop was lunch at another park called Rain Forest Station Nature Park. We then went on an Army duck! It is a vehicle that can rove on land and cruise around on the water. They were made back in the day for war to transport different materials to and from the ships out in the water. We took this in the rain forest and had our tour guide Moz teach us about some nice plans like orchids and some bad ones like a stinging tree that stings you and the pain and effects can last up to 6 months! Moz had been stung 5 times! It was then time for the Aboriginal dancing. They did a variety of dances for us. Some including: The Welcome, Mosquito Dance, Warning Dance, The Silent Snake, Sugar Bag, The Cassowary Dance, and the Shake-a-Leg dance. They asked for volunteers to do the last dance, but I got too nervous to go on stage. The Aboriginal people showed us some things after their performance like different leaves in the rain forest that they use for everyday things. We learned how to throw a boomerang which is harder than it looks! He taught us how to play the didgeridoo and how to throw spears. I felt like I was a part of the land. :D It was awesome! The best part was last! The wildlife part of the park! EEEEKKKK! I love animals! They had kangaroos hopping around that we could go pet. They had all of the main Australian animals. They even had "Jack the Ripper". He is a HUGE salt water crocodile that many different places tried to get to breed but he ended up killing all of his mates hence the name. The dingoes are so cute, but they are vicious. I love the kangaroos. They let me go right up to them and pet them. I want to adopt one and bring it home with me! We even saw a mother and her joey in the mom's pouch and out of the pouch. Last but certainly not least, We saw the koalas and GOT TO HOLD ONE!!!!!!!! They were like little babies that just hung onto you! Oh my!! Soo cute!! We took the Sky rail back down the mountain. We were on top of the rain forest instead of in it. The top of it is like a ceiling because of all of the trees. The rain forest is an awesome thing! It was back to Cairns for a fun night out with my American friends that spent their holidays there too. It was so fun. It was off to Fitzroy Island in the morning.