Some life goals can just wait....

Melbourne came and went, just like that. It's a great city, I can't argue with that. But there's plenty more to see in Australia and despite my natural ginger aversion to any form of sunlight, more tropical temperatures were beckoning.  From Melbourne we hopped on a plane to Cairns and three hours later arrived at a substantially warmer and sunnier Cairns International Airport. Now, an important side note here. Recently I've been getting serious about the idea of skydiving, which is a serious step for me because anyone that knows me at all knows that I have an undying, often can't function, struggling to breath kind of fear of heights. So throwing myself out of a plane thousands of feet in the air is kind of like taking your worst fear, living it, and then multiplying it by 1000. At the same time, skydiving seems to me to be the ultimate way to conquer my fear, and I'm a big believer in taking your fears head on. So despite my apprehensions, I've been considering it. I like to think of it as something to tick off the bucket list After the flight to Cairns, I'm no longer considering it. During landing we encountered the worst turbulence I've ever experienced, the plane shook, lights went out, the wing broke off, luggage fell from above, and we crashed into a mysterious desert island with polar bears... ok, just kidding. Obviously that didn't happen. But actually the plane did shake violently and according to the pilot's estimates we fell about 50 feet in free fall. What I learned from this experience: 50 feet of free fall was enough to terrify the living shit out of me. There is no way I'd be able to handle an actual skydiving experience involving thousands of feet of free fall. Now, I know the cynics out there might say something like: "If it's your first skydiving experience, then you have to go with an instructor... it's exciting; it's awesome; don't be a wimp; do it drunk." etc etc. I don't care. Instructor or not, tandem or not, still scary. That bucket list item will just have to wait.

After the harrowing experience of the landing, I needed something to calm me down. From Cairns, we rented a car and drove to Port Douglas, a smaller town in Queensland, about an hour from Cairns. Much of the drive was costal, and the intoxicating views of the coastline and mountains provided the natural tonic I needed to get back into vacation mode. After we arrived, I quickly discovered that Port Douglas is home to my new favorite beach location. Aptly named Four Mile Beach, (can you guess why?) the water is warm, the scenery is unbelievable, and the atmosphere is calm and relaxing. I especially liked it because the sand is hard and packed, not the soft, deep sand that I'm used to finding at most beaches. As an avid beach sports enthusiast, this is the kind of sand that encourages lots of good games. And running along the beach in the morning is unbeatable. My sister was put off by the signs at the beach entrance that read: "beware of Crocodiles" and the pictures depicting large stinging jellyfish present in the water." While I may be terrified of heights, crocs and jellyfish pale in comparison. I think its because to me, the chance of being attacked by a Croc or Jellyfish is so remote I don't even consider it a real issue. But the chance of coming down in a plane? Every time I fly I think it's a definite possibility. I bet official statistics on these kind of things would beg to differ, but I can sleep safely at night with this kind of perhaps warped perspective. Any who, all in all, destination two on this adventure around Australia: Great Success!

Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas