March 8, 1998
Subject:  From North Queensland

G'day all,

It's a balmy 31 degrees out, the sun is shining, and the weather is perfect.  
Things are going really well here.  I'm having one of the best times of my life.

The recap:

Last Wed, I went on a 3-day/2-night trip to the rainforests and Kuranda.  
It was spectacular.  It was drizzling a bit, but the canopy of the rainforest 
kept us out of the rain.  I was traveling with a couple of Irish sisters that 
day who were really cool.  The next day was a free day.  I rented a mountain 
bike and did a 24 km tour of the area.  It seemed like it was all uphill.  
Halfway through, I decided to stop at Lake Eachem (a lake which is the crater 
of an extinct volcano).  I didn't have any trunks, so I looked to the left, 
looked to the right, and went al fresco.  Course, as soon as I hop in, a 
couple of girls come over and wouldn't leave.  After a while of treading water, 
I said "what the hell" and got out.  I said hello to the girls and went over 
to my clothes to get dressed.  Guess you shouldn't skinny dip in a big tourist 
area in the middle of the day.

The next day I hopped on the bus to Kuranda.  That's where I met Ann. She's 
working as a chef at the only 5 star restaurants in Cairns.  For those of you 
who know how much I love to eat (sarcasm), finding a chef is perfect for me.  
Anyways, the two of us hit it off right away and made plans to go out for 
dinner that night.  We had a great time and ended up talking most of the 
night, which I shouldn't have done considering I had to get up at 6am for my 
dive trip the next day.

The diving trip was excellent.  And yes, for those of you who I told my 
nightmare to, it did come true.  I was on a night dive and I moved my 
flashlight slowly over one area and saw a 6' white tip shark.  After about 
5 seconds in the light it quickly disappeared and I couldn't find it again.  
"No worries" as the Aussies like to say.  Spending the night on the boat was 
really cool.  The southern sky at night was beautiful.  You could see the arm 
of the galaxy.

I returned to shore the next afternoon after about 5 dives and one snorkel.  
I met up with Ann after she got off from work and we walked down to Esplanade 
(along the beach).  We spent the day together today before I saw her off to 
work.  I'm now staying with her at her place and I've cancelled my trip up to 
Cape Tribulation.  The two of us are going to rent a car and head up there 
ourselves.  I tell you, she's absolutely an amazing girl.  I think I'll pack 
her and take her home with me.

Anyways, that's the scoop with me for now.  I'll keep you all up to date real 
soon.

No Worries,

Rob