Last night we drove out to a beach in Port Douglas (unfortunately T & T couldn't come, which sucked! I came north at this time specifically to see them.  Ah well, I'll see them when I get home!), where we made a fire and slept under the stars.  So there I was, middle of the night, walking down a path in the woods with two men I've just met online, in a strange country.  Hello horror movie much?  Heh.  Anyway.  The stars were stars I've never seen before, like the southern cross.  Very cool.  Woke up to the fire still burning and the sun just starting to rise over the horizon.

Realized this morning that THIS was what I'd come here for.  To see and do things I've never done before, and may never again.  It doesn't matter if I wake up hungover like in Melbourne and don't really know the people around me, cause I'm HERE.  YAY :D :D :D :D

Then I spent the day snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef!!!!! SO AMAZING.  We went to three spots, the last one was called Turtle Bay but sadly we did not see any turtles :(

Tomorrow I'm taking the train up into Kuranda, which will be my last activity until Uluru.  I'm almost fucking BROKE, this place is expensive to begin with and I've been doing any and every thing I can imagine, and then I almost had a heart attack when looking at my bank account yesterday.  Got some money coming to me from hom next week and that should get me through til the end.  Not too bad though - half the trip doing whatever I want, half the trip scrounging like a traveler should be.  Next week will involve lots of cheap relaxation on the beaches in Brisbane :D

After Brisbane, I'm flying to Alice Springs, for a three-day trip out to Uluru and surroundings, then taking the Ghan train down to Adelaide, which means I'll get to stop in at Coober Pedy - yay underground mines!  Then two days in Sydney, and back to Melbourne, then home.