The days have become ablur. Not a blur, mind you, for they are a series of distinctly separate blurs, including the blur of being kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys nightclub, the blur of repeatedly falling off a surfboard, and the one long blur of my daytrip (trip being the operative part of that word) t...
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I arrive in Byron in the middle of the night. My hostel, Aquarius, is a maelstrom of humanity – some of which is...sticky?! Apparently tonight is “Girls Wrestling In Jelly For Cash Prizes...Night”. I'm pretty broke...and I have long hair... Perhaps if I had a shave... The fatigue of the...
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Contrary to its nature, hunger fuels me. It has been around 30 hours since I last ate and it feels good. It makes me more...alert. Perhaps it is my carnivorous nature, but after feeding I feel slow. Actually, that is probably because I feast until I am bloated... Thus, the Guild. Eyes keen and...
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My alarm goes off to the sound of rain hammering on the window. Good. This justifies my decision to leave the Cairns region and seek adventure elsewhere. The rain has ruined too many plans already. As my mind clears and my eyes open, I realise something. This is not the sound of rain...this i...
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Nestled between Cairns and Mareeba in Queensland, there is a coffee plantation with a story so inspiring that it almost goes full circle and becomes demotivating. Almost. We have come here for coffee, but we end up with coffee, ice coffee, ice cream coffee, chocolate cheesecake, Tiramasu, chocol...
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On the way to the coffee planation, we stop by Barron Falls to see it in full flow. After being rained on for my entire visit to the rainforest, I am fairly certain the falls will be raging like Thor in the hall of Thyrim! They probably won't be dressed in a bridal gown, however. That would be a ...
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Today is the weekend and, here in Queensland, that means the pace of life slows down even more than usual. It is almost stationary...and blissful. I sleep in and we head out for a late breakfast at the Edge cafe. It is amougnst the most expensive breakfasts I have even eaten, but also amoungst th...
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Today, I have been told that the Cairns Trinity Beach Bulldogs have put me on their team for tonight's match against Cairns City Lions. I suspect they are simply one man short of a full team. (If that sounds like a euphemism for being crazy, I stick by it entirely). Still, the Guild knows no fear...
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Luckily for me, tonight's Aussie Rules training is mainly just drills. The guys have a match tomorrow, so they don't want to get too bashed up in the pre-match training session. Also luckily for me, everybody here is friendly and inviting; they include me immediately and don't even mock my u...
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This evening, I am off to Cairns to train with the Cairns Trinity Beach Bulldogs Aussie Rules Football team. There are three contributing factors to this surprising turn of events: Firstly, I always agree to trying new sports and games. I don't want to stop doing so, just because the fund-rai...
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Today will be busy. To start with, we are heading back to the tree house to clean, tidy and put up some walls to keep the worst of the rain out. I'm actually quite excited; not only do I love the tree house, this is my first chance to hang out properly with Matt – the man who built the tree hous...
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If it keeps on raining, the levy's gonna break...and by 'the levy', I mean my list of forest-based adventures. Some Led Zeppelin would be perfect right now, as we relax around the house of Phoenix Murray, wonderful son of Juss Murray. He has provided us with a roof over our heads and a second eve...
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I haven't been here long, but I have come to love exercising and working out in Australia. I find it infinitely more energising than going to the gym in the UK, where even in the summer I have started waddling in stiff and aching from the cold, hunched over and dripping wet, wondering why I even bo...
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The week after my return from Port Douglas is absolutely delightful. It flies past in a blur of coffee shops, travel guides and exercise both light and...heavy? I very much like the City of Townsville; it is friendly, full of energy and of a size that means you bump into people you know just often...
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On our way from Port Douglas back to Townsville, we stop at Kuranda - a town in the rainforest, where they have a most excellent and colourful market. [gallery type="rectangular" ids="2656,2655,2654,2653,2652,2651,2650,2649,2648,2647,2646,2645"] Today is Easter Saturday; on the downside, this make...
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When on Guild business, there is only one acceptable way of doing things: 1. Turn up in a blaze of glory 2. Discover the fiercest or most impressively-named feature of the local area 3. Conquer it In the already fantastically-named Cape Tribulation, the most intimidating landmass happens to be Mou...
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Having spent yesterday driving 6 hours to Port Douglas, it makes sense to spend today in the nearby region of Daintree; the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest in Australia. Here we meet Juss of Daintree Naturals, who I met initially through the fantastic Itchy Feet Media, with whom I ...
Continue reading ...After a day of hiking around Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest, we have returned to Port Douglas. Here, it is imperative that I perform a feat of strength. For tonight it is the Full Moon. Alas, finding feats of strength in a tourist town like this is not easy. Of hats, there are plent...
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Somehow, friends, I did it. 13km of open sea kayaking, 22km of mountain biking and 12km of trail running in the midday Australian summer heat. It was horrendously hard...but not for the reasons I expected. I expected the kayaking to be the killer. I'd never tried it before and I was certain I'...
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I have not finished...but I am finished. I am also lost. In the Australian bush. God damn it. I have nothing left. The kayaking stole my strength, the mountain biking crushed my spirit and now here I am, face down in the sand. I am not getting up. I don't even want to. This is the most e...
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