constant raining

On Friday morning I walked to the Cape Tribulation lookout, which is one of the most famous and glorious views on offer in Australia. You will have seen it in countless brochures and TV ads - perfect light blue sea and white sandy beaches. Paradise picture postcard stuff.

When I got there it was pissing down with rain, the sea looked like the English Channel off Portsmouth and a middle aged Brummie couple were having a furious row about who's fault it was they had left the waterproofs in the hotel.

The sense of disappointment on the faces of all tourists there was palpable. After all, this wasn't a Sunday afternoon drive along the Norfolk coast spoilt by a spot of drizzle. This was one of the most remote locations in the world, and who only knows if I will ever get the chance to see it again in its splendour.

Generally speaking, however, I really enjoyed my time in the Daintree rainforest. It is a relatively new tourist attraction given that it was largely inaccessible until the Queensland government built a road through it in 1982. Until then it was home to indigenous tribes and dope smoking hippies. The latter group were forcibly evicted by the authorities after the road was completed, which I personally think was a shame. Goa and other parts of Asia are perfect examples of how alternative cultures enrich the enjoyment of visiting remote communities. Quite frankly, Cape Tribulation could do with a few less motels and a bit more marijuana.

The lovely 'Little Brett' picked us up at 1.30pm to take us back to Cairns. Our trip back included seeing the bit of the ocean where Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray, which struck me as a slightly bizarre part of a tourist tour, and a swim in the Mossman Gorge - a fresh water river and waterfall. We also stopped off in the rather exclusive resort of Port Douglas, which can claim Bill Clinton as a regular guest. I wonder what Bill would have made of what I saw in my brief time there, which included a mother and daughter drinking alcopops in the street and spitting at passing strangers. He'd probably have fucked them.

I got back to Cairns at around 6pm. It had been a good trip and a vast improvement on my first few miserable days here. I checked into a new hostel - this one much cleaner and with vastly superior facilities, although much louder.

My next destination is Darwin - Australia's most northern city and capital of the Northern Territory. With the weather not looking like it was going to change in Cairns very soon, I booked myself a flight bound for Darwin on Sunday.

In the evening I was bereft of things to do, so I decided to re-visit Nu Trix - the club I containing four people that I was unceremoniously chucked out of last weekend for being "all over the place". I figured - correctly - that they would either not remember me or would be so desperate for custom I would get in anyway. By the time I left the club at 2.30am, I counted 24 paying customers inside. I make that an increase of 83 per cent on my last visit. The management must be delighted...