mikes midlife round the world in 96 days

Arrived in cairns to rain which was a welcome sight for myself and other brits on the same flight.wishes came true!.Stayed at bohemian resort which is an upmarket hostel in palm tree surroundings,pools and large bar/eating area.
Had my first lie in (10.30am)in two mths and lazed about down on the esplanade at the laguna which was real nice.
Following day i went up to port douglas and onto the outer great barrier reef with one of the better companies.We stopped off at 3 sites for 1 1/2 hr sessions of snorkelling which i really enjoyed as the reef was at its most natural and water was nice and warm although a bit choppy with the waves.Defenately an expierience not to be missed out upon.
Taking the overnight greyhound to Airlie beach tonight,arriving at 11 moro and preparing myself for a 3 day/3 night Whitsundays sailing adventure.

I kinda took a dislike to sydney,maybe it was the pace catching me up. I did the usual sightseeing stuff and a few ferries round the bays..although its a nice place i neede to leave asap.. so book a flight up to alice springs then onto cairns.

i arrived at alices springs to the hottest temperature i have expiernced...first thing was to jump into pool at annies place hostel and cool down.
Next 3 days consisted of trip to ayers rock and the Uluru national park.it was pretty physical in the heat while we done the kings canyon walk which took about 3 hrs.although swimming in the garden of edenwaterhole was enjoyed.Same for the hike through the valley of the wind at the Olgas.final day i was exhauseted and nevr did the base walk round Uluru as 3 late nights and three 5 am rises has took its toll.
Sleeping on swags under the stars was an expierence although 3 days of conctant flies around you and in your meals was enough for me so i'm off onto cairns now for a few relaxing days and maybe try for a tan.
GOAL!!!!!

Jumped onto stray bus from national park to wellington and quickly sorted out a flight to nelson and also my flight from queenstown to christchurch to connect on to my sydney flight.I wished i had kinda not stayed the extra 2 nights in tapou as this has seriously affected my stay in the south island,however!.
Nelson i never saw apart from a subway and my hostel room as my intercity coach to franz josef was at 8 in the morning,arriving around 4 ish.
Franz Josef is a small community which relies mainly on the glazier for tourism.I did the 8 hr trip with FJguides and this was an interesting and physical day.Beware of catching your feet together with the spiked boots as this toppled me down 10 feet face forwards(luckily i was on the mid gravel ridge which gave me grip to stop with myhands,although cut and skint knees/legs occurred)..
Next day was another bus journey to Queenstown,passing by some beautiful lakes and hills.
I had already booked my canyon swing at 5.30 pm so i made it in time.This was another extreme feat to add to my trip.The photos and dvd"s prove my fun or was it fear.must have been both cause i done a second swing 30 mins after.Tommorrow i have booked an early wake up called the Nevis bungee(134metres, highest in nz).
Well i can now relax after my nevis jump.I was pretty anxious on the way there,then crossing the canyon in the gondola was an expierience too.I was 4th to jump and just tried to put it outta my mind till my turn.Sat in a dentists chair to get strapped up,smiled at camera and wiggled my ass over to the edge.i focused ahead then took a big dive before the count of 3.Wow!!!!.Some drop and rush to the head freefalling for about 7 secs.Unfortunately the pull cord to release my ankles did not work and i had to endure the pull back to the top upside down.Just my luck!..
Chilled out on a trip on the gondola to catch the views of Queenstown and did the luge track which was fun,later on that day.
So thats me done in nz and off to oz moro...

Our second day here and most of us were ill after last night.karl was no place be seen,others were doing their own thing and some of our group had moved on.Met karen downa at lake front and she had done her second jump which got me in the mood for another too. karen,jason and harry met up that night for drink but it was a lot quieter.
Next day us 3 guys decided to jump again,k came along and we all enjoyed it better,more relaxed and not so many clouds.That night we had a leaving drink as we were all going seperate ways the next day,myself south,k home and the lads south america.
So onto to my next stop the national park at Tongariro and spotted 3 familiar faces there,one of which was karl.i decided not to do the crossing and organise more of my trip,unfortunately could not extend nz and longer so i need to make most of next 5/6 days.