We woke up to the sound of rain pelting down on the roof of the van, so we didn’t bother waking up early like we had planed and going for a 2 hour hike but instead slept some more. At least the rain forest was living up to it’s name. We had booked a crocodile cruise up a river in the afternoon and luckily it had cleared up then. During the cruise we saw four crocodiles and about a thousand mangroves. The crocodiles were all asleep and could have been statues for all I know. The mangroves had little crabs living around their roots so it was cool to see the creatures scurrying around the tangled roots of the mangroves.

(A Croc and mangroves)

Then we had to drive back down to Cairns. Hendrik was to drive to the ferry which he did only smashing the side mirror into a tree causing it to crack, which we thought was job well done, and I was to take over from the ferry again. We switched seats while we were waiting for the ferry to come to our side after I had purchased bananas from local Aboriginals. We were the first in line for the ferry and when the man waved me to come forward I stalled, again and again getting more nervous every time. After a good long embarrassment I finally made it onto the ferry but we both decided that it was best if Hendrik drove the bus off the ferry since it was a steep incline off. It appeared like a game of musical chairs because once we were off the ferry I was supposed to drive again, which I did all the way back to Cairns, to pick up our teddy bear from the hotel.

One thing I still noticed was that I was incredibly land-sick or had a case of mal de debarquement or “sickness of disembarkation.” Ever since I had gotten off the Kangaroo Explorer I had to keep swaying to feel normal. Riding in the van was ok because I was in motion but sitting in the pub in Cairns that night I had the feeling I was going to fall off my chair. I was dizzy, and if I didn’t keep bobbing I probably would have. I looked into it some more on the internet at the campsite and the symptoms matched perfectly and what scared me the most was that said it could last years. At least it only lasted about two weeks, but it was incredibly uncomfortable and I’ll think twice about going on a boat overnight ever again.