Back in Finland there was no way I would have gone to work without any make-up, never. And if I was going out I definitely had my make-up on too. There were a few days off when I didn’t bother with any make-up. And now I’m the total opposite. My face has hardly seen any make-up in past eight months I’ve been here, none for past two and a half months. When it’s hot, humid and you plan to jump into the water there’s not much reason to put any make-up on, at least not for me. I’ve seen girls have a full eye make-up when going snorkelling, I couldn’t bother. I haven’t even bothered with any make up when going out. And what comes to my hair, my friends would be happy to see me not spending much time with my hair. For my friends’ irritation I was always really precise about my hair. My hair had to be exactly right. If there was even one hair out of place I just started all over again until I was satisfied that my hair looked good.  There was absolutely no way I could let any hairdresser make my hair, not even for my sister’s wedding. I’m not so sure about letting anyone else make my hair, but I definitely don’t care that much anymore. Nowadays there are often hairs out of place which might have something to do with the fact that my hair hasn’t seen any hairspray in past two and half months! :D

The best place to walk to
in Townsville.

My travels through Townsville and Mission Beach went by in a small haze. After saying goodbyes in Ayr I didn’t really feel that much travelling. I felt sad. And I didn’t have that many things to do in those places to put my mind into something I was doing so that I wouldn’t recall goodbyes over and over again in my head.
But as always when possible I had to find the highest place and walk up to enjoy the view. It definitely was worth all the sweat in the midday heat! I could have sat at the top forever. There's no place like high up where the wind blows in your ears and everything looks tiny somewhere below you.

But when I got to Cairns I started to enjoy travelling again. There wasn’t much in Kuranda itself but the Skyrail and the scenic railway made it all worth visiting. It was amazing to sit in the gondola all on your own and look at the scenes below you with breathtaking views. I could have sat in the gondola for the whole day. You sat high up there and you were actually able to hear the sounds of the forest. A couple of white cockatoos were flying above the trees - awesome sight. And on the way back to Cairns on the train I couldn't stop looking at the view of those bright green hills.

 

Trip to Green Island was great! I didn’t really see much of the tiny island itself since I practically spent all possible time in the water snorkelling. And it was great! There were so many fish and nice looking corals. The best moment was definitely to see a sea turtle! An amazing sight.
The island itself was far too crowded with tourists for my taste but luckily I didn't have to spend much time on the land. And even though there were lot of people, not that many seemed to be in the water. Or at least they were not that far out on the reefs as I was with a fellow traveller. It felt like we were the only ones really snorkelling!

My trip to Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas was great too. We saw a couple of crocodiles while on a cruise on Daintree River and then in the rainforest we saw a cassowary – loads of luck we had. I was surprised how many people tried their luck by swimming in the waters in Cape Trib. For me my life is more precious than cooling myself in the cool water.And since I’m in love with snorkelling I had to book myself one more snorkelling trip before leaving Cairns. I went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and it was amazing! The visibility was so good and the variety of fish was amazing. And the confidence I have when I’m snorkelling is amazing. A couple of months back I was so unsure when snorkelling and now it’s impossible to keep me out of water! :D I wish I lived at the edge of reef and could snorkel every day. No words can explain the feeling of getting a glimpse of the underwater world.

                             



When I started to think about staying here longer than I’m meant to my first thoughts were: what about my friends and family? What are they going to say if I want to stay? Do they want me back that badly that I would go back just for them? I hadn’t decided anything even though I was quite sure what I wanted to do and I wanted to hear my friends’ and family’s thoughts as well. The hardest part was to write and tell what goes in my head. I felt so terrible. I felt like I was betraying them because I even contemplated on staying longer. But my worries were blown out of the window when all my friends and family were so supporting. “It’s your life and if you have a chance to stay don’t think twice!” “Absolutely stay if you can!” “You have to do the decision with your heart.” “Whether it’s after a year, three years of five years I’ll be waiting to see you when you get back.” I must say that I have truly special people in my life. I couldn’t wish any better friends. ♥

"Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again."
- Author unknown -