Wednesday was our last night in Carins and we did not have anything planned out all day except for the dinner cruise that was included in the package that we bought with our accommodation. We didn’t have to board our boat until 6:40pm so we had a whole day to fun stuff. Again, it was a little problem of trying to decide what to do, (if this is my biggest problem then I am in very good shape) : ). So we talked about it and decided to just go on a walk and look around the town more and if something screamed our name then we would do that. That meant, if just looking around at all of the little stores and relaxing was screaming our name then that’s what we would do… That’s exactly what WASN’T screaming Ian’s name though, haha. After we ate brekky (cereal and toast with jelly) we packed a backpack with my computer, ipad, our swimsuits, and travel brochures and went on our walk. We walked around the water for a while and then went to McDonalds because that is where they have free WiFi. So we shared an iced coffee and checked our e-mails, facebooks, and whatever else we could check. After that we just walked more and more. It was actually very early at this point. Since we had such a long day at the Great Barrier Reef the day before by 8pm we were both so exhausted and just forcing ourselves to stay awake. By 9pm (the same day we went to the reef) we were fast asleep. We even laughed about it right before we went to bed and said we are like an old grandma/ grandpa couple going to bed so early and we would probably wake up so early also, haha! That did happen but at least we could fit more stuff into our schedule since we woke up so early the days we were there.
So we woke up around 7am and were both wide awake. I think by the time we walked and checked our e-mails and stuff it was maybe 8:30am. So after checking all of our e-mails and everything online we just started walking and enjoying the weather, the town and each other’s company. Finally we decided we had to figure out our day. We talked about parasailing, but that was expensive and it would only take up a half hour, and horseback riding which was a good option because it was two hours but then we decided nah on that. And we made, yet another great decision. Why not rent a car for the day until our dinner cruise then we could return it right before that?
So we just thought okay, we are right at a car dealer shop and if they give us a good deal then we will make our own tour. We had a few places in mind that we wanted to do but we did not want to sign up for a tour because we wanted to be on our schedule, not theirs. So we stopped at the car shop and they said 55 bucks no extra charges and that includes insurance. 55 / 2 = $27.50. Sold. So we got a car… Actually, let me re phrase that; we RENTED A DENT! HAHA, It was totally worth it though. Did 10 minutes of paperwork and drove to the hotel and grabbed our beach blanket (the top sheet off of the hotel bed) and our Chaco’s, and a few other things that we would need for our day and hit the road by probably 9:30 or 10 am.
We drove South from Cairns and hit up a few places we learned about from researching, brochures, networking and information centers. We drove about 58K’s South until we hit a tiny, tiny town named Babinda. We stopped at the information center and asked what she thought about our tour. The tour that we made for ourselves was; Babinda boulders, Bramston Beach, and last but not least Josephine Falls. She thought that our plan was great and she told us what order to do them in and then we headed 6K’s west until we hit Babinda boulders.
This was just a little hike that we went on with some beautiful scenery and formations from water in the rocks. We stayed here for about 30 minutes to take in the scenery and then hit spot 2. Bramston Beach.
This was about 14k’s west. Here we set out our extra large beach blanket and laid out in the sun for a long time, don’t worry, we re-applied sunscreen. It was really relaxing at this beach because nobody was really here and there was a netted area encase we wanted to swim. We just wanted to take a nap on the sandy beach and catch some rays though. We saw a few people come and go because it was right near a camping site but not really. We did meet a dog though, a staffy. He didn’t have an owner I don’t think but some old crazy lady said he was a town dog. She was a bit loopy though so I am not really sure what she was saying. I wanted to keep her but then she became friends with the people next to us that were taking our their sail boat. She was really friendly though and she loved Ian. I would have taken her home if I had a permanent address in Australia, haha!
Once we left here we drove west to our last destination. A rainforest/ waterfall- Josephine Falls.
. It was awesome! This place was a huge waterfall with a NATURAL WATERSLIDE! Of course the water was freezing but that’s easy to get used to after approximately 40 seconds. So we are on these rocks and then we have to swim across the swimming hole to get to the other big rocks where you walk up and then you get to the top of the “water slide”.
”. The water slide consists of a big, huge, giant rock with moss over it making it a perfect waterslide. I was a little scared to try it at first because it looks like there is a bump at the bottom that could potentially do some tail bone damage. But it was an illusion. It was a perfect natural waterslide. We stayed here for about an hour and went on the waterslide a few different times. My camera died here so I didn’t get as many pictures but at least I got a couple. After we did the natural waterslide thing then we just hiked around here to check out the rest of the area and the rest of the waterfall. It was another beautiful view.
After this we hit the road and headed back to Cairns which was about 45 minutes. Once we got back to Cairns we put gas in the car and dropped it off where we got it from. They were closed so we just parked it where he told us to and we locked the keys in the car just like he said and then we walked back to our hotel. We changed and got ready to go to our dinner cruise that was included with our package. This was a lot of fun. The food was horrible and Ian got sick from the clams BUT the dessert was good! The best part of dinner was the potato soup and the bread rolls. Everything else (edible) was crap. We got live music from a guy who had a beautiful voice and who was a very good entertainer and very talented on the guitar. We got unlimited drinks during the cruise but since we had to wake up at 6am for our shuttle to the airport they were actually limited. We brought some of my dad’s ashes and spread them in the Pacific. This water is warm all year round and I am sure the current will bring him right to the Great Barrier Reef.
Although all the food was disgusting (besides the potato soup, bread and dessert) this was the perfect ending to the perfect mini vacation. It feels so good to finally get to spend time with Ian and this time spent together was something that we both really needed. Being separated for 3 months was a big test for both of us but we realized that this time away from each other has made our relationship so much stronger than it already was so it was really worth it. Our relationship has gained so much from this test, and at the same time we have learned a lot. We know we can get through a lot and distance is not going to bring us apart and communication is a really valuable thing, especially when we are in two different countries.
For now, we have made it back to the Sunny Coast and I will write more tomorrow! See-ya for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment