!!!Spring Break!!!

This is it… my first real holiday in Australia. 5 days pure relaxing and getting my mind out from work and daily routines. Our holiday kicked off on 29/10 on Thursday 2pm as I closed the door of my office. The weather was nice and I couldn’t stop smiling as I rushed towards the North Sydney station dragging my red luggage behind me, which I already had trouble to close as I was packing. I met up with Julia in Central station where we took the train to the domestic airport to meet up with Chris and Marko. Our destination was going to be Port Douglas which is 3 hour flight from Sydney and 45mins drive to north from Cairns. As we arrived to Cairns we had a brand new limousine waiting for us in front of the airport and 45mins went quite smoothly while drinking champagne. The resort we were staying was called Port Sea, and we were lucky to stay there for free because Chris’ brother is the GM for the place (good to have contacts). The first night we decided to go out, because Damien (Chris’ bro) was unfortunately leaving to Sydney the next day for a wedding and would stay there the whole time we were exploring his neighbourhood. Port Douglas is a relatively small place and really popular holiday spot among couples and families. Not really an ideal place for singles… but Thursday night was pretty good and we got back to the resort early morning I guess :)

The next day we woke up early (working routine) and I and Julia dragged our selves to the pool. Friday went by just relaxing and resting after the big night out. Later that afternoon we went to check out the beach with the guys and ended up walking the whole beach all the way, which was 7 kilometres long and took us 3 hours. My feed are still giving me a hard time and not even mentioning my inner tights (I shouldn’t have climbed to that coconut tree just wearing bikinis)! The next day we decided to be more active and hire a car. 8.30 in the morning we got our vehicle and started our road trip. Our first stop was in Mossman when we took our first steps in rainforest. We made a quick walk, but got a bit disappointed when we didn’t bump into any exotic animals. Our next stop was higher up to north to Daintree village. We booked ourselves to crocodile cruise to glance some real river beasts. Finally after 30mins we saw one croc behind the bushes. More over we saw heaps of bats and special birds and by the end of the cruise we have seen a total of 3 crocs. Our guide told us that there has been only one accident where a woman was eaten by a crocodile in 1989. She was apparently drunk and dancing pretty wild on the deck and fell on the water… end of story.

From croc watching we decided to drive all the way to Cairns, which is the biggest city in that area, popular amongst pack packers and livelier than Port Douglas. Me and Julia spend the rest of the day efficiently shopping while the guys were watching the game in the pub. Unfortunately Sydney Swans didn’t reach the gold medal :( I was surprised to find a tourist shop that sells Marimekko’s Unikko –bags (terribly over priced). On our way back home we had a bit drama in the air while the guys wanted to stay in Cairns that night, but me and J wanted to get changed and ready for a party in local bar, but after a little emotional burst we decided to head home. Although that night didn’t really go as we planned and after few drinks we headed back home and went to bed. zzzzzzzz

The next morning (Sunday) we participated on horseback riding tour. A mini bus was picking us up at 7.50am. So I guess it was good not to get wild the night before. The horse riding was a blast, even though I probably had the laziest horse in the region, Nugget. Anyway it was a great experience to ride on the beach while breathing the fresh sea air. Julia had the cutest horse 4ever and she was a total pro, even it was her first time on the back of a horse, a natural talent I guess. Later that day we went to do some shopping with Chris, because me and Julia promised to cook that night. It was Marko’s b-day that day and we decided to celebrate it just amongst the 4 of us. We also made some yummy punch with lots of fruits, which Chris “borrowed” from the resorts breakfast storages :) After the dinner we were so full and went for a moonlight walk on the beach. Did good for all of us and after we continued with desert… what else than mud cake and some more punch ;)

Monday was without a doubt the highlight of the holiday, cruise to The Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately Marko was feeling sick that morning so he couldn’t join us… wonder whether the reason was the punch or?? At 9 our boat, Calypso departed from the harbour and even after sea sickness pills after 35mins I was feeling dizzy and my face turning green. Luckily I survived after a while and could start to focus on my coming challenge, diving. As it was my first time, I was happy to discover that there was only one person diving with me and Chris besides our instructor. The rest of the people on the boat were happy to observe the colourful sea life with snorkels. My first experience of diving was sensational. As I threw myself in to the blue and took my first breath with oxygen respirator I felt like the time had stopped around me. All the corals and the colourful fishes were mind blowing. It was strange to swim around with all the bizarre sea creatures which didn’t seem to mind my present. There was also a shark, but unfortunately I missed it. Guess I was too focussed on other sea life around me, but our photographer took a shot of it. The day was amazing with all the snorkelling and diving, but after returning back to our resort I was exhausted. 45min power nap helped a bit so we could all go to have a nice last dinner in the city together. Luckily Marko was feeling better now so our team was complete again! The whole week we had been checking out one Chinese restaurant, which happen to be really popular also amongst some real stars, such as Bill Clinton and the lead actor from 24h. And, yes the food was heavenly and we were happy. What a great last supper!

Tuesday went by doing our last shopping with Julia us went to ge and later all oft some tan on the beach. It was horrible to realise that our holiday was almost over. 5 days in paradise and the returning to reality was getting closer minute by minute. As we arrived to the airport at 5pm it was time to say good bye to Marko who decided to stay for few more weeks in Cairns. Well it was about a time him to explore some other cities besides Sydney, since he had stayed there already 4 months. Still going to miss him tho. The flight back home went quickly reading “the Devil wears Prada” which I recommend to all the girls warmly. Yep, that’s all folks!