Vitamin Rhi! The Finale.. Day 7&8

The overwhelming feeling I felt when I woke up on this particular morning was bittersweet. Although I had quad biking with my sister and her fiance Joey to look forward to this morning, it was out last day in the Daintree and Port Douglas and the next day we'd be kissing the Sunshine State goodbye and heading back to frosty Victoria. Sigh. What a bummer. Insert sad face here. The upside though? And a massive one at that? Giving my Little Lion, who I had missed terribly the biggest hug ever and kissing his gorgeous little face all over!

We had to leave from the Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa fairly quickly as we were booked into Quad Biking at 9am, so after a hasty (but extremely yum) breakfast of blueberry pancakes, I bid the lodge farewell and we hightailed it out of there.

Quad Biking was situated at Daintree Station, and I have a confession to make. When I picked Quad Biking, I thought it would be a cool little ride through the rainforest on flat paths which would be all lovely and scenic. Well, I got two parts right. It was cool, and it was scenic, but when they say Rumble in the Jungle they bloody well mean it. 

Fabulously enough there was a turn of events which meant that Deon, my sister Lanna, her fiance Joe and I had a group all to ourselves and were led by the awesome Chris. Now, I was a little nervous as the last time I drove a 4 wheeler I accidentally drove it into my cousins dam, so I needed to get my mojo and confidence back fast. After a brief practice on a small path, I thought I had it nailed. We took off in a line and then.... came to the first hill.

Holy f*&k. 

This was extreme. Keep in mind the the paths and grass were slick and full of mud due to the rain, so it was slippery at every turn. It took all my strength to keep the damn thing straight, and I could see my sister was freaking out too. It was terrifying... exhilarating... and pushed me right out of my comfort zone which was just what I wanted. The boys were totally in their element, racing through the mud, doing burnouts, monos and wheelies and I was just making sure I didn't roll the damn thing and get pinned under it!

My fave part would definitely have been the tiny winding tracks in the middle of the rainforest, and driving the creeks. Absolutely breathtaking, and something I'll remember forever. I am so grateful that I got to spend it with my family, and having my sister there was the icing on the cake. 

It was a full two hours of mud splattering motoring goodness, but my arms were killing at the end! I tell you what though, if we're ever up north again I'd go back in a heartbeat. In fact, Deon keeps talking about wanting a quad bike for himself now! 

After finishing up at Daintree Station, we quickly got changed and headed back to Port Douglas lunch- the best burgers ever from Bulls Burger Bar. I'd read on Tripadvisor (my Bible) that this was the place to go for burgers, but the fact that they're only open from Thursday to Sunday meant I had to wait til the last day to try them! Totally worth it though, I couldn't even finish mine and the chips were devilishly good. 

Hugs were exchanged, then we left Lan and Joey to head to Cairns. I tried to soak in as much as I could on the drive and savour every movement as I didn't know when I'd get the chance to go back again. 

I have NFI what on earth I'm doing with my mouth in this photo, but I remember I was insanely happy so it stays! 

Our last night was at the Holiday Inn on the Esplanade. A king size room with a balcony overlooking the ocean.. we kept the doors open to listen to the waves rolling in and simply people watch. Deon went to fit a gym session in while I was quite happy to soak in a bubble bath and completely relax. Room service was ordered and we pigged out on Nasi Goereng, mushroom pizza, wedges with sweet chili and sour cream and chocolate mud cake. After such a full on week, it was the perfect way for us to end our stay in Queensland.

 The next day was loooong catching two flights home, but the moment we began touching down in Mildura my excitement was palpable and I was almost pushing people out of the way to get to my little boy. As soon as I saw Carter I dropped everything to give him the biggest squishy cuddles I could. It was the best feeling in the world to feel his little arms wrapped around me and to kiss him goodnight again!

Once I just want to thank Tourism Queensland and Nuffnang Australia for making this trip possible by running the competition in the first place. Celeste, you have been amazing and put together the most wonderful itinerary for us. I said I wanted a trip full of action and adventure, and you certainly delivered that! To all the vendors in Cairns, Port Douglas and the Daintree, your friendliness and stellar customer service made our experience an absolute pleasure. 

If you're ever thinking about going to the Sunshine State, just GO. Ocean, rainforest, reef... a tropical playground. What more could you ask for?  

Love you Queensland!