Last night I slept well! Finally! The earplugs I bought yesterday really helped. Got up at a crazy 8:30am and had a wonderfully relaxing morning, not rushing anywhere, eating a glorious tropical fruit breakfast. Charlie and Dee got up after 10, even happier about the opportunity to sleep in. I used some of the time to pack for my departure to Borneo tonight, leaving all the warm clothes in Charlie’s check in luggage.
Before noon, we set off to the Crystal Cascades we skipped on the Kuranda trip a couple days ago. On the way we tried to connect our phones to the car sound system, in vain. It’s hardwired to not let you connect anything while driving, ‘for your safety’. Not taking into account that there are four passengers in the car who can do it. Hate stupid safety design. (the Lancer at Uluru also didn’t like our phones, but for an unknown reason)
We got there and first went for a walk along the river. The pools, formed by the water as it cascades down, all looked amazing, but we decided to first walk a bit more and only then jump in. And lucky we did, as the last pool, just before the end of the path, was the best of them all. Ending in a pretty big waterfall, with another smaller fall in the side, deep and clear, was a joy to play in. I jumped in first, the others reluctant as they didn’t change into swimming costumes before, but after they saw me enjoying the water they soon joined as well. It was great trying to get close to the waterfall, it’s really hard with all that water pushing you away. You swim as hard as you can, swallow water splashing in your face, and you’re not getting any closer. I managed to get pretty close though, and so did Elysia. Didn’t look through the falling water though, as behind it lie rainbow lizards which take you away if you do. Or so says an aboriginal story we read on the way.
There were a few other people in the pool and soon we decided to try one of the other ones further down, hoping they will be less populated. We found a great one, but only Dee and I got in at this point, Eva and Charlie found a nice rock to sit on and read, and Elysia went for a walk. I explored a fair bit, jumping on the rocks, swimming all the way up to a smaller waterfall that was next to this pool, and generally frolicking around. It was really great, I loved every minute of it!
At some point we just got too hungry and decided to go eat something on the beach and have a swim in the ocean for a change. By the time we got there, around 4pm, we were all starving. The food was decent, nice fish and chips and seafood. We then ended up on the beach, first lying and digesting, then jumping in. Could do with some more digesting, I think, my stomach is still a bit unhappy with me about this. But the sea fun was good, the waves perfect. The sand here is quite coarse, and it was getting everywhere!
On the way back home we did some shopping and I had to get ready to catch my flight to Bali. Quite stressed about it, to be honest. I was looking forward to the lone holiday at the start of the trip, but those last days were just so nice I almost regret not sticking around for longer with the others. And I’m now not sure if the fact that I’m feeling quite heavy on the stomach today is because of stress, or is just because of the late food and swimming, and my body interprets it as stress so now I’m stressed. The whole thing is super irritating, I don’t want to be stressed about adventuring alone! Makes me feel like I was Tesla, all about adventure and independence when in the safety of family, but actually probably unable to take care of himself on his own.
Anyway, I got to the airport and met a woman in the check-in queue who, somewhat drunkenly, told me all about her ex husband’s mean new partner. Later she tried to hug the security control lady who gently told her to move on now. She wandered off in the departures hall. In the meantime my back started hurting badly again – it’s been hurting on and off throughout the trip, all the sitting on planes and in cars doesn’t help.
The flight turned out to be two hours longer than I thought, as I didn’t take the time change into account. The plane was particularly uncomfortable, with very little leg space, and I spent it feeling noxious and half sleeping. Just got out in Bali to an even hotter and more humid air than in Cairns. The airport, large and fancy, immediately feels Indonesian with lots of taxi drivers waiting for you in the arrivals hall, people sitting on floors, etc. It’s half past midnight local time and I’m now waiting for a 7am to Kuala Lumpur.
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