GREAT BARRIER REEF!
I smashed another goal in life off the list yesterday THREE times, I dove the Great Barrier Reef.
I was pretty disapointed after the first dive. I got paired with a newby and I spent the whole dive worrying about her- didn't see much.
The second dive was Rick Golden. I got paired up with this smokin Dutch chick. We saw everything! Turtles, rays, a million different kind of fish and even a reef shark!
I was too excited to notice that I was running out of air, so I had to breathe off of Evelyn's backup air to get to the surface. oops.
Third dive was pretty relaxed, saw a puffer fish the size of a german sheppard.
Last night I thought I was invincible after the dive, so we went to the casino.
I lost $100, damn. Lost another $100, ouch. Placed a $500 bet on a hand of blackjack and.............. LOST. Never gambling again.
Scored a HUGE job here in Cairns.
I basically pick people up from the airport in a van, chat them up, bring them to our hostel and help them with any tour bookings or check ins they need.
The catch is, to be able to talk about the tours available, I have to DO the tours. I work 4 days a week, and then spend 3 days doing as many day trip and over night dive trips as I can.
I wish we had more time here, this is my dream job.
We've had two people now call and come see the Jackaroo, still no offers.
I took it to a dealership here in town and the guy offered me a sack of elephant grade peanuts for it.
Justin is doing his first open water dive today.

CAIRNS!
Kinda bummed out, I had two dives scheduled on the Yongala wreck and both were cancelled.
One to weather, the other because the dive boat broke....
Picked up the Jackaroo and the repair bill was way more than I expected.
I have definitely entered the tropics, the weather here is totally different.
Sickly humid and the sun is relentless.
There are signs on all river crossings here about dangerous crocodiles. I'd love to see one.
Today Justin left for his 4 day PADI dive certification course. His first open water dive will be on the Great Barrier Reef. Spoiled.
We had a bite on the Jackaroo yesterday. Some old man called and came to take a look at it.
He said he was looking for something a little more 'original'.
We went to a bar last night that was advertising topless bartenders. Should have known, they were guys.
Every night in Cairns at about 7pm there are maybe a million large bats flying over the city. I have to take a picture of it, it's unbelievable.
We parked under a tree and our truck is covered in guano.
That's it, we've completed the Australian leg of our journey. Sydney to Cairns complete.
As soon as we sell this damn truck we are on a plane to New Zealand!

Score!
I called the mechanic today and the truck will be ready this afternoon.
Yesterday I had a teary goodbye with Jeff and Luke. I think Jeff's final words were 'later, dipshit'.
Yesterday I hopped on a ferry and cruised to Hamilton Island.
Cars and motorcycles aren't allowed on the island, you can only get around by golf-cart.
Michelle had been on the island for 3 weeks, and hadn't done any exploring so I rented us a cart.
We went to this incredible lookout for sunset cocktails. There was a jazz band playing, twas a great moment.
I should have looked at a map before I agreed to drive to Cairns by myself. It's going to take about 11 hours. weak.
I'm going to stop at the Yongala and do a dive on the way up, maybe a night in Townsville.
I made up for sale flyers for the Jackaroo, those are going up soon.
After the bar the other night I threw my Blackberry as high as I could in the air and fell over laughing as it smashed on the ground... It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now my phone is dodgier than a Neon.
Why do I spend so much time on the internet? Because internet cafes are air conditioned and I get homesick.
Keep it.