Australia

We arrived in Australia on 13/11/12 after our flight from Singapore to Darwin and ten another flight from Darwin to Gove and then to Cairns. We state over in Cairns for 3 nights at the YHA in the city centre. The location was perfect and made wondering around the city really easy. Cairns ivory centre isn't huge, so it didn't overwhelm us which was great, and there was a heap of things to do in and around the city centre, from the ACA gallery to parks and the huge Lagoon, which made up for the distinct lack of beach.
On leaving the airport our driver told us that the following morning there was to be a full eclipse. We met loads of people who had travelled to Cairns just for this, so it was a lucky coincidence for us to just happen upon it! The ill owing morning along with the rest of our dorm we woke at 4am and made our way down to the esplanade. 100s of people had gathered here so we found a spot to sit and waited for the main event. Unfortunately it was really cloudy where we were, so our visibility wasn't the best, although it was still pretty cool to see it get 'dark' at 7am and hearing the birds call change was eerie.
From Cairns we made our way north to Port Douglas. A small costal town, about an hour away from Cairns. The town was beautiful to walk around, passing from the Harbour to a small white church on the beach (st Mary's on the sea) then down to the famous 4 mile beach all in under an hour. There are also a few lookouts around the town, situated on hills which give an amazing view.
One thing that has really struck me here in Australia is how different the way of living is compared to back home in the UK. Come 5pm locals flock to the beach and esplanade to make best use of the sea, free fitness classes and council operated BBQs. Everyone is so laid back, it's really nice to see- I guess it's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do!