Cairns

Thursday 1 November

The Undersea World Aquarium at the Pier Diverse sea creatures in the aquarium The Esplanade

10: 00 AM. The shuttle bus goes to town. I forgot to take my polarize camera lens with me and rushed back to get it. Made it back in time and off we go to the city.

Dropped off at the Transit Mall and walked to the Travellers Contact Point to check my e-mails. Bought a snack and a bottle of water at supermarket. Walked to the Pier to see what this air-conditioned shopping complex has to offer. I visited Undersea World Aquarium. Which was pretty nice to watch, because tomorrow I'm going to see it in real life. Spend about 15 minutes at the aquarium, because it wasn't that large.

The fish feeding is going to start over 15 minutes and I was able to get in again without any cost. Went to the second shopping level bought a milk shake and walk around a little bit. When it was time I headed back to the aquarium to see the fish feeding.

I went to other shops and walked along the Esplanade, sat down at a bench and wrote my diary and enjoying the surroundings. Fortunately there was some breeze, because it was pretty hot today, even though I sat in the shade. Sat for a while and decided to walk into the shopping area again. Met the German speaking girls Birgit, Maria and Sabine at Woolworths. Talked to them about buying an underwater camera for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

It was much cheaper to buy it here in a local store than on the trip. Bought some groceries and headed back to the shuttle bus. We had to wait for the girls because they stood in line at the counter. Once everyone was on board we went back to our resort.

Took a shower and we all met each other at the bar in our resort. I didn't eat for almost 12 hours, so I ordered a juicy hamburger with chips and Coca Cola. The hamburger tasted very well and let others eat my chips. After a very long day, nothing is better than eating something fills your stomach.

Tonight was also a special night, because we had another traveller joining us, Derek! He came back from his Rocks tour and wanted to join us again, because we were his best group ever. He flew half across Australia to get back to us. Flying from Alice Springs to Sydney and then to Cairns. Oh boy, what a trip! A couple of the boys rented a limousine to pick him up at the airport. Making his comeback an unforgettable moment.

Tonight was an easy night and we stayed at the resort. Paul used my camcorder and taped most of us for a small talk. For once I wasn't behind the camera, but in front of it. The group played a drinking game called "Thumber" or something. Because I didn't drink, I had the opportunity to capture this event. It was pretty late in the evening and we had to be quiet, there were other people at this resort too who wanted to get some sleep. While I was shooting the event, I knocked over a bottle of wine, which was lying on the ground. Oops! Around midnight I went off to bed and let the others continue their game.