Day 11: 2nd day in a Cairns

Our second day in Cairns was also the first day we were able to sleep in, and we all enjoyed it to the fullest. When we did finally wake up at 9:30 am, all of us were ecstatic to go see authentic Australian animals; especially the crocodiles.
We traveled along the beautiful Australian coastline to the Wildlife Reserve of Tropical North Queensland - Hartley's Crocodile Adventures.
We began our zoo experience with a boat ride around the crocodile reserve. 20 crocodiles live in this enclosure and we were able to see every single one of this giants. One of these beasts had half of his jaw bit off by a crocodile and only has one eye and one tooth from fights when he used to be in the wild. These creatures are the most interesting animals I have ever been scared of. There is something very frightening about a giant monster that lurks in thick murky water waiting intently to attack its prey. We were able to witness a few of the crocodiles in action when our boat tour guide fed them off the side of our boat. We watched with awe as the crocodiles jumped up right outside our boat, with their jaws spread wide ready to chomp on their goal. These jaws have so much force and power, and every time it would miss its prey the jaw would clamp shut and make a large CLAP sound. I must say it was quite terrifying. I would not want to be outside of that boat.
We all took a picture with a koala! And I must say, we are all a handsome bunch on this trip. Nonetheless, the koala picture came out perfect for everyone, and we were spoiled and even got the picture printed out and framed. Thank you Craig.
Continuing with the zoo experience, we toured the safari-type enclosure where friendly kangaroos and wallabies were hopping around. I even took a selfie and got to pet one of the kangaroos.
We completed our wildlife day with a snake show, shopping for souvenirs, and another crocodile show. Oh what fascinating animals they are.
Now on to my personal favorite part of our day. On our way home, we stopped at a swimming hole in the forest. At first, we were all a bit shy and scared of the cold water, but after we shook the nerves off we all started jumping off the ledge and into the water. Right by a small waterfall and natural water slide, we were all jumping and swimming and laughing our hearts out. We truly are an amazing group of people that can enjoy ourselves with each other every single day, and it makes this trip to Australia one of the best experiences of all of our lives.

Gabriela Knutson

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