Following an overnite 6 hour bus ride from Townsville, I arrived in Cairns at 6:30am and found my way to Gilligans Hostel.. A very nice hostel, but the staff could use some work on courtesy. I did laundry before I was able to check into my room (4 person room for $28 AU ~ $22 US).

Spent the first nite hanging out with Stephen from my first hostel in Bondi. We found some good sushi and I ate most of it (go figure). Then headed to Gilligans to drink some Smirnoff Vodka/Lime sodas where we "earned" the stylish hats.

Awoke and ready at 6:45am for the bus ride to Port Douglas for Diving on Quicksmart where I met Al (who is crew on Paul Allen's boat) and found Nemo, saw some rays and other exotic fish and touched a sea cucumber (underwater pictures to be uploaded after some digital enhancing)....I dove at Gary's Gulf and Castle Rock and snorkeled at Three Sisters with the reef sharks. These are all sites at the outer reef near the shelf! Dove 21 meters!!!