Maz NZ and Oz

So Sunday was our day in Kuranda, then Monday was our day on the reef. I gave scuba diving a go for the first time, and although I enjoyed it, I wasn't very comfortable. Our instructor was a good one, because he could see that I was a bit nervous and he held on to me the whole time, while Andrew was free to wander about a bit more. I'm very glad I did it though, it was absolutely amazing under the water... a whole different world. We even got little clown fish (or "Nemos", if you are a fan of the film) to nibble our fingers. They're curious little critters! I even got to see a sea turtle, but sadly I wasn't in the water at the time... but he was pretty close to the boat, so I was happy with that. At the end of the day, we had the opportunity to buy pictures taken of us while we were underwater. It took a long time for us to find ourselves in the wall of photographs... everyone looks the same in a snorkle mask, so we decided not to purchase.

After two such active days, we took Tuesday off and lay by the pool for most of it. It doesn't do to get exhausted with activities you know. It is supposed to be a holiday after all!

Wednesday was our day for taking a trip into the rain forest. We ended up taking the 'On the Wallaby" trip up to the Atherton Tablelands with a bus load of other day-trippers. It was a really fun day, and our tour-guide, Scott, was excellent. He played the role of chat show host and made everyone on the bus explain a little about themselves, where they were from, what they most wanted to see in Australia etc... Our first stop was at this fig tree, known as the Cathedral fig tree.. can you guess why?