Both Singapore and Bali had been good ports for me to start my Asian adventure. Despite both being Muslim countries in which homosexual acts are illegal, both cities felt to have lots of western influence which made them seem less oppressive and more comfortable for a  homosexual westerner like myself. It was then with our visit to Penang, Malaysia, a more traditional – and dare I say orthodox – Asian Muslim country that I was intrigued to see how different my experience of Asia would feel.

I only had a few hours in the morning to explore Penang. After having gone through port security I could sense straight away that Penang had a very different vibe to Singapore but an atmosphere that was similar to Bali. We docked in George Town, the historical old town of Penang and Daryl and I decided to hail a taxi and take a ride to the funicular at Penang Hill.

Upon arriving at the funicular station I could tell that there had clearly been some investment into this tourist attraction. This new, modern station stood out like a sore thumb amongst its traditional neighbouring buildings and had a created a completely different atmosphere compared to its surroundings. I bought a return ticket for the funicular at 30 Malaysian Ringgit each (about $7USD) and we boarded the modern cable car. The ride up the side of the hill was very fast and very steep but the train did it with ease and we were at the top in less than 5 minutes. Upon reaching the top of the hill we walked across to the sky walkway where we were able to take in the magnificent views of Penang.

As we only had a short amount of time we quickly moved on. It was clear to see that there had been even more investment to this tourist attraction at the top of the hill. With various souvenir stores, cafés and places for paid photo opportunities, it really felt like Penang knew what it had to offer and was willing to sell it to you, for a reasonable price! At the top we also found a mosque, an under-renovation Hindu temple, an aviary – which you had to pay extra for – and a tree top walkway, which again you had to pay extra for. There was also a monkey cup forest – which is actually a forest full of monkey cup plants not actual monkeys – and golf buggies which would drive you to around, which…you guessed it, you paid extra for! We did, however, manage to see monkeys – for free – as they were just hanging about in the trees by the roadside, which was priceless. 

After our short trip at the top of the hill we took the funicular back to the bottom and had to head back to the ship. We paid our driver 100 ringgit for driving us there, waiting and then dropping us back to the ship (about $25 – I reckon we could have bartered him down but I couldn’t be bothered).

All in all my trip to Penang was short, but sweet. I feel like Penang had many other things to offer but as we only had a short amount of time we headed for what I felt would be the best thing. The initial cost of going up the hill is relatively cheap and definitely worth it for the view and the experience. If you’d like your experience heightened by doing all the extra things they have to offer up there then I’m sure you’d have a jolly good time, but it would most definitely come at a price so be prepared to pay!

After my overnight stay in Bali which offered a brief taste of normal life (a.k.a freedom from the ship) I was delighted to find myself with another overnight so soon after the last, this time in Singapore. Another joyous moment came when I found out that this overnight would take place from Friday to Saturday, meaning that for the first time on this contract an overnight in a big metropolitan city fell on a weekend! Even more reason to celebrate! With this in mind I had my evening itinerary all planned out as I knew it was another opportunity for me to find the local gay bars an immerse myself in gay culture with a night on the town. In all my excitement, I had forgotten to plan for my day in Singapore so when we docked in the morning I decided to get up and go out into the city by myself for a wander round and see what I could find.

I started my day off in search of a barbers (again) and I thought this would be a relatively easy feat in a modern city such as Singapore. However it seemed that most barbers didn’t open until 11 o’clock in the morning and as we docked at 9, I didn’t want to waste time waiting until 11 so decided to try and find one that was open earlier. I went down to the metro system, bought the tourist travel pass – which allows you to use the metro and buses all day for S$10 (about £6) – and set off in search for my barbers. I soon discovered that google maps doesn’t work very well in Singapore. The GPS system constantly has the little dot of “where you are” in the wrong place and it takes you down dead ends and to places that don’t exist. This happened with the first barbers as I ended up in the middle of a Singaporean Housing estate with no sign of any barbers. By this point it was around 10.15, so I decided to head to a “Time Out” recommended barbers in Little India.

I arrived in Little India and was sceptical that I would find this lucrative trendy barbershop. I left the station and followed my google maps which sent me traipsing down the main road filled with Indian restaurants and food shops. This didn’t look like the place that would have a “quirky barbershop that’s decorated with a musical twist”. Much to my amazement, my google maps did not fail me (this time) and there, on the second floor above a row of Indian shops, I saw a sign for Golden Rule Barbershop. I went through the door, up the stairs and there it was. I arrived just as the shop was opening and – despite not having an appointment booked – was able to get a haircut straight away. Time Out was right, it was a quirky place, with even quirkier barbers who had hipster facial hair and rock star t-shirts. The decor was full of skateboarding stickers and cool pictures and even had four electric guitars on the wall, all a bit “too cool for school”! One surprising thing I did notice, however, was that non of the barbers talk to their clients whilst cutting their hair. Maybe they were concentrating too hard on getting the cut right…but actually I didn’t mind as it was nice not having to force conversation and to just sit and enjoy having my hair cut, especially after the goose chase of the morning. The guy cutting my hair took his time and at S$38 dollars for my haircut, I thought it was reasonably priced.

After my haircut I decided to venture off to see some of the sights. I had heard of the famous “Merlion” statue which is “half fish” and “half lion”. This statue is supposed to represent Singapore’s start as a fishing village and the lion head is a reference to Singapura, which means “Lion City” in Malaya. I again took the metro and followed my maps. It brought me out at the Marina Bay shopping centre. One thing about Singapore is that there are so many shopping malls and at pretty much every metro station there is a mall. Another thing about Sinapore’s shopping malls is that they are SO CONFUSING TO NAVIGATE. The Marina Bay shopping centre, combined with a google maps that has no clue where you are either, meant that I spent about half an hour trying to find my way out of the shopping centre. En route however, I did find a Marks and Spencers and couldn’t resist buying three packets of Percie Pigs! When I finally managed to find my way out of the shopping centre I started the walk towards the Merlion Statue. Again my google maps was freaking out and kept on displacing my location so I decided to try and follow the signposts instead. 

When I eventually made it to the statue I found it to be rather busy and rather underwhelming. It was not as big as I had anticipated but the view of the Marina Bay area, including the Marina Bay Hotel, and the view of the financial district was much more impressive and therefore had made it worth my stressful self-navigation experience. After taking a few snapshots and a stop in Starbucks – to charge my phone after the over use of google maps – I decided to head to the Gardens by the Bay where I could see the famous big light up trees.

After the short walk around the bay I made it to the Gardens. The entry to see the trees was free but I paid S$8 to be able to go up and use the walk way. Again this offered a great view of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and of the financial district and the trees were a very cool sight. There was also two domes with gardens and waterfalls in, but I decided against paying the fee to go in there. All of my walking had made me thirsty and I decided it was time for a drink, I decided my destination for this…the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is probably the most famous building in Singapore. Its made up of three tall towers with a “floating boat” on top complete with bar and infinity pool. I had heard that you could go up and have a drink at the bar even if you weren’t staying there but that, unfortunately, the infinity pool is for guests only. I took the lift in tower 2 up to the 55th floor and then changed lifts to get up to the 57th floor. Here I found the bar and was seated at a table. I knew exactly what drink I wanted; a famous “Singapore Sling”. Much to my disappointment I discovered that they didn’t offer one! But the waitress gave me her recommendation of a cocktail which was “very similar” – her words, not mine. She brought me my drink which actually turned out to be very nice but for S$26 that is what you’d expect! Still, I guess you pay the premium price for the view – which most certainly didn’t disappoint – and for the experience which, in my opinion, is worth every penny! 

After my drink I had to head back to the ship as I had some evening duties to carry out before heading back out for my night on the town. Before heading out to the bars I decided to return to the Gardens by the Bay to see the trees lit up at night. I unfortunately missed the Gardens’ light show, and the walkway closes after 8pm but it was worth seeing the trees lit up. We also walked through the shopping mall to the lake under the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and we watched the 9.45pm water show and then the fireworks at 10pm. They have pop up bars with benches so you can enjoy an overpriced beer or cocktail whilst you watch the free fireworks.

After the fireworks I headed to Chinatown to drop my overnight bag at my pod hotel that I had booked for the night. Hotels are quite expensive in Singapore so I decided to book a pod at Atlantis Pod Hotel as it was only a 5 minute walk from the gay bars and was about $30 USD. I checked into my “hotel” – a term which I use loosely as it was more of a hostel than hotel and was basically a room above a row of shops with lots pods in – and after a short demonstration of how to open/lock my pod, use the lights, safe box and other amenities, headed out for my night on the town.

As, technically, homosexual acts are illegal in Singapore I was rather concerned – obviously about getting arrested – but also with what kind of gay culture I would find in Singapore. I had been advised by a friend who used to live here that you are fine as long as you don’t kiss in public and that you are fine in the gay bars themselves… but I still couldn’t help but feel a little wary. I arrived at Tantric bar and was surprised to find a busy, bustling bar that seemed to be very open and free. Not the illegal underground scene I had expected to find. Tantric was split into four separate bars with four spaces inside and 2 spaces outside. The two bars at the front were open air and was full of an international crowd of all ages. After ordering some drinks and sitting at one of the outside tables, we quickly got chatting to some locals. One guy I chatted to was British (a banker) and his boyfriend (a doctor) was from Singapore. They told me that despite the laws being in place, they aren’t really enforced and people don’t really care about sexuality. I couldn’t help but feel dubious about this but then all I had to do was look around me to see that an open air gay bar with a rainbow flag outside probably wasn’t the most lucrative disguise for something that really was severely punishable, so proceed to relax.

After Tantric we headed across the road (literally across the road) to Taboo club. This was a relatively small club which had loud blaring music and lots of dancing boys – exactly what I had been craving! Drinks were reasonably priced here – about S$15 for a double and mixer and had a friendly atmosphere and it played good cheesy pop music. One thing I will say though, is that some of the locals can get a little “grabby” towards western/caucasian guys but they are generally friendly enough if you do decline and so aren’t really a problem! Still I managed to make some more friends and we danced the night away!

The next day after waking up pretty hungover from a few too many vodka sodas, I headed back to ship as it was time to get ready for our sail away.

Through the duration of my night out in Singapore I was constantly asked what my thoughts of Singapore were. I found this question quite hard to answer because, despite doing a lot of walking around and experiencing a lot in terms of touristic experiences, I found it hard to pick up the vibe of the city. Singapore feels like one big juxtaposition. It can’t quite work out if it wants to be modern or traditional. With lots of strict rules; no chewing gum, no feeding the pigeons, no urinating in elevators, no singing profanities in public, no homosexual acts…the list goes on – all of which impose heavy fines and even imprisonment- it can’t help but feel like a slightly suppressive society. With these rules being in place – I assume to keep the city clean and “respectable” – I can’t help but feel these prevent Singapore from being a truly modern and progressive society. Despite its wealth, futuristic architecture, modern infrastructure and classic beauty, there is something about Singapore that feels like it remains – and possibly belongs – in the past.

After almost two months of Sailing around Australia, we finally made it out and into Asia! Now, I have nothing against Australia – I actually am looking into returning at some point to experience it on dry land – but after countless sea days between ports (Australia is a fucking big country) and dessert heat mixed with tropical humidity (and rain, surprisingly quite a lot of rain!) my body and mind were pleased to be moving on to pastures new. And by pastures new I mean Asia, with our first stop being the thriving Indonesian island of Bali!

The first thing I noticed when stepping off the ship was that we were definitely not in Kansas (Australia) anymore. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Aus (Oz – see what I did there?) I really could feel the immediate difference between the two continents – despite their relatively close geographical locations (Bali is only a two and a half hour flight from Darwin). When stepping foot in Bali it felt like I had been submerged into typical Asian culture, like Tom Daley – in his speedos – diving off the ten metre board. Luckily in order to experience all of this culture, Daryl had booked us a private tour with a company called “Amazing Bali Tours” that had offered to pick us up and drive us all around the popular tourist sights – with lunch included – for $35 each for the whole day…what a bargain!

The first stop after a 45 minute drive in our mini bus was the temples at Tannah Lot. Famous for the “floating temples” that are built on rocks in the ocean – you can only access them during low tide – I could immediately see what was going to be apparent throughout our entire Bali visit; everywhere was going to be fucking busy! There was people everywhere and from all over; British, Australian, Korean, Japanese… the list goes on! It was evident that Bali is now a tourist trap since people have become aware of its stunning beauty and its – more importantly – cheap price tag! I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed at the commercialised nature of the spot. With street vendors trying to sell to you at every corner and the sheer busyness of our surroundings, I couldn’t help feel that this was a little contradictory of the calm and peaceful intention of the temples. Instead, tourists with their selfie sticks – trying to get their perfect selfie, most likely “for the gram” – made the temple experience feel rather stressful and disingenuous, so after 30 minutes we decided to move on.

We next went to see the monkeys in one of Bali’s monkey forests. Upon arriving I was shocked to find that we were the only tourists there! Maybe I was wrong about Bali after all !? We were greeted by four female guides who told us to keep close to them and stay in small groups. I had previously been advised not to carry any loose articles as the monkeys will steal them so I left most of my belongings – except for my phone for pictures – and headed into the “forest”. Now I say forest in inverted commas because there was actually no forest at all. It was actually another temple and the monkey’s here live in and around the temple. Since I had heard that this was one of the best things to do in Bali I will admit that I was surprised to find that I spent most of my time here absolutely terrified. As we walked in to the temple courtyard our guides advised us that some of the monkeys can be quite aggressive. Low and behold, as soon as she had said this a small group of monkeys nearby started fighting with each other. With razor sharp teeth and seemingly no fear of humans, this was quite an unnerving sight. Our guides, armed with short wooden sticks, were our only protection from a monkey bite and this didn’t seem too comforting to know. To make matters worse the monkeys would jump onto your back in search of in search of food and this was your “opportunity” to pose for a photo. I couldn’t help but feel that by feeding them – you could buy peanuts from the guide – this was helping to fuel their aggression which is counter productive for this tourist attraction. There were also people with pet bats that were asking to pose for (paid of course) photos. Again the bats seemed aggressive towards each other and by posing for a photo where you hold their wings open, I couldn’t help but feel like this was slightly inhumane. Overall I spent my whole time walking around the forest feeling on edge. Im glad I saw the monkeys, but the experience was not like I had expected and afterwards I came away feeling like I was funding a trade that was purely about profit and not about the welfare of the animals.

After re-cooping in the van we went on to our next stop; the Teba Sari coffee plantation. Here they brew the famous “Luwak Coffee”. This coffee is an expensive brand of coffee where small animals known as a Luwak ingest the coffee beans and the poop them out. The coffee beans are then collected and roasted. They also brew all sorts of other coffees and we were able to have a coffee and tea tasting session, all included in our $35 upfront cost. They showed us all the different plants that they grow to infuse with their tea/coffee and we got to see the Luwaks. I was again disappointed to find that they were kept in tiny metal cages. The guide did, however, say they only keep the Luwaks in the cages for 2 months and then they release them back into the wild, but how true that is I do not know!

After the coffee plantation we went to our fourth stop…lunchtime! We had a genuine Balanese lunch in an outdoor restaurant called “Warung Dewa Malen” which overlooked some rice paddies. As lunch was also included in our $35, it was nice just to be able to relax and not have to think about what to order as we chose from a set menu of a few dishes. Dinner felt authentic and was really tasty and most importantly -included!

After lunch we went to our fifth and final stop for the day; The Ceking Rice Terraces. These are rice terraces carved into a plunging valley, surrounded by houses and shops. It was a spectacular sight to be able to walk around and explore. There was even a rope swing that you could pay to go on and swing out over the paddies. I didn’t get a chance to ride it as we had to get back to the ship, but we had time to have a short wander round and grab some cool pictures!

Once back at the ship I had a quick freshen up, packed a bag and then headed back into Bali for my evening on the town. I had booked a hotel in Seminyak for a mere $35 and so grabbed a taxi from the port. We bartered the taxi driver down from $25 to $10 for our 30 minute journey (bartering is essential in Bali) and headed to my hotel. We arrived at the Harris Hotel in Seminyak and I checked into my room. It was a basic mid-range hotel, but clean and fresh and ideal for  somewhere just to sleep for the night. It was also a perfect location for the gay bars – which were on the next street over- and was where we were headed for the night!

We first went to Bali Joe’s. We arrived at about 9.15pm and awaited the 10pm drag show – they have drag performances every night. I made the mistake of making eye contact with one of the performing queens and she pulled me up on the stage. I was harassed, sexually assaulted and humiliated…but it was great fun and all in the art of entertainment…so of course I didn’t care! After having made friends with some Australians who were on vacation, we decided to venture on to the next bar which was conveniently located two doors down . The next bar, Mixwell, is slightly larger than Bali Joe’s with more of a club vibe. Again there was an impressive drag show – complete with backing dancers – and I was surprised with how busy both bars were , considering it was a Sunday night! The drinks, however, were not as cheap as I had anticipated…but hey, I guess thats the price for good entertainment!

After finishing at the bars I headed back – with my newly made Aussie friends and a couple of others we had met that night – to one of their villas to carry on the party. Bali has an abundance of cheap Air BnB luxury villas and this villa did not disappoint. It was private complex complete with their very own pool. I forget how much they told me they paid for it (I was drunk ok!?) but I remember thinking it was cheap!

The next day after waking up in my hotel room with possibly the most terrible hangover I have ever had, I decided to venture to Potato Head Beach Club, to get some brunch and soak up all of the alcohol I had consumed the night before. I had decided to walk the 40 minute walk – I realised this was a huge mistake shortly after starting – but luckily bumped into a friend from the ship who was heading there in a taxi.

Potato Head is a trendy beach club that is hidden away down a few side streets in Seminyak. It attracts a young western crowd and proves to be very popular as it was busy even on a Monday afternoon. Michel and I grabbed one of the pool loungers and proceeded to order brunch. We had to have a minimum spend of one million Indonesia Rupiahs in order to sit on the loungers, but when you work it out that it only comes to around $70, it was a relatively easy feat to manage when you are hungry and hungover. After a hearty brunch, a few cocktails, a fruit platter, a dessert a reviving smoothy and a couple of dips in the pool, it was time for us to head back to the ship. We had arranged for the taxi driver who had dropped us off to come back for us at 3pm and drop us back to the ship – all for $20! 

After having spent only a very short amount of time here, I can clearly see why Bali has proven to be such a popular holiday destination. Despite my initial concerns of certain cultural aspects of Indonesian life – such as the fact that homosexual acts are still illegal and all of the animal cruelty at the various tourist attractions – I came to realise that ultimately Indonesia is still a developing country and hopefully over time, these problems will resolve themselves as the country develops and modernises. With a mixture of sun, culture, history, nightlife and good food as well as a up-and-coming contemporary Asian vibe that clearly appeals to westerners and – undeniably – a cheap price tag (once you are there at least) Bali is everything you would want from a holiday and I can’t wait to return!

Having visited Darwin on a previous segment of our cruise, I can’t say that I was particularly thrilled about returning here. Darwin town centre is a rather peculiar little place with seemingly not much to do except eat at a few average restaurants and go to a rather sad little crocodile park. This time however – upon the suggestion of Daryl and Barny – we hired a car and visited the Litchfield National Park. Here we saw enormous Termite mounds, cascading waterfalls and lush green rainforest! Who knew that Darwin had all of this beauty!

We started the day by hiring a car from the local Thrifty car rental. For a 5 seat, 5 door hatchback it cost us $93AUD including the extra insurance (I wasn’t taking any chances having not driven for the past 6 months). We set off on the journey to Litchfield National Park. The Drive was easy, just straight out of the city on the main highway and there we were an hour and a half later at the first stop, the great termite mounds.

Litchfield National Park is famous for its huge termite mounds. These enormous structures are a a natural masterpiece. There are literally hundreds of termite mounds of all different sizes. Inside each one resides its own colony, with a queen termite and her workers. Eerily, all of them together in the field resemble tomb stones – ironic as inside the mound is an abundance of life.  Whilst admiring the mounds we only managed to be outside of the air conditioned car for a matter of minutes before it became too unbearable – a; because of the heat and b; because of the annoyingly flies that seem to only go for your face – and we decided to head back to the comfort of our white mitsubishi. We decided, because of the heat, to head to the waterfalls next in the hope of being able to take a dip.

We drove the 15 minute drive to Florence falls. We grabbed our bags and walked upstream first towards Beulers Rock. We did the 1.5km walk and we came to our first swimming spot, marked so by a post indicating that you can swim. We stripped off into our togs (see I’m so Australian now) and clambered over the rocks to the cascades. The water was quite fast flowing so we had to be careful not to fall but once in a safe spot, we could sit down and enjoy the water cascading over our bodies. Of course we took the opportunity for a photo op and I couldn’t help but relive my merman dreams. After 30 minutes or so of frolicking in the natural jacuzzi we ate our lunch and again headed upstream.

A little further upstream we found another, smaller, cascade and went in for another dip. The water here was deeper and flowed much slower so it was nice to be able to swim in the water and go along with the gentle current. There was also a fallen tree across the river which – of course – we took another opportunity for a photoshoot. Barny and I also took the opportunity for a skinny dip and a slightly R-rated photo shoot… Boys will be boys eh!?

After we had finished.  here we took a wander down to the plunge pool at Florence Falls. This was a huge pool at the bottom of two huge waterfalls. It was amazing to be able to swim in the pool but the current was very strong. I tried to swim up to the base off the falls but the current was very hard to swim against, made all the while more difficult by the fact I had a GoPro in my hand. Also I  had to be careful of the rocks underneath as in places the pool was very shallow and the rocks were sharp and slippery. Definitely no diving in in these pools. Still the water was refreshing, if not surprisingly warm! After swimming we took the stairs up to the viewing platform which takes you above the jungle canopy and gives you fantastic panoramic views of the park below and of the plunging waterfalls.

We decided we were not all waterfalled out and wanted to drive to another before heading home. The next waterfall along was shut, due to recent heavy rainfall – January is off season for the park due to it being the rainy season – so we headed to Wangi Falls, about a 20 minute drive away. At Wangi falls we were disappointed to discover that we were unable to swim but when we found out that the reason for this was because there had been a crocodile spotted in the water, we were glad the pool was fenced off. However there was a great viewing platform in which you could walk out on and get a great snap of the falls. Wangi falls was by far the biggest of the falls that we had seen and the spray that came off it was equally as impressive. Fortunately we did not see any crocodiles…but we did see some sleeping bats hanging from the trees!

We decided to head back as I had to get back to the ship and after having taking a wrong turn – our phones had no internet in the park so we had to do it the old fashioned way – and ending up at a road closure for one of the only 2 roads out of the park, we had to turn all the way back and go out the way we had come. This added another hour to our journey…but we got to stay a little longer in the park and we saw some wild pigs running across the road (I luckily saw them from far away so had time to stop…or else we’d be having bacon sandwiches for dinner!)

I am so glad we came back to Darwin and I was able to experience the Litchfield National Park. Being able to hike through rainforest trails and then swim in a waterfall lagoon is something one only see’s in the movies. Visiting Litchfield completely changed my opinion of this area of Australia. Despite the heat and humidity, I would implore anybody who is visiting Darwin to take the trip out to Litchfield National Park. You will not be disappointed!

Welcome to the city of Townsville! (Sorry I couldn’t resist the Powerpuff girls reference – if you know, you know). Townsville, being a rather small town on the east coast of Australia – about a 4 hour drive south of Cairns – has proven to be quite surprising. For what it lacks in renown – I assume most people have heard of nearby Cairns but not of Townsville – it makes up for in charm. It has lots of attractions in which to indulge – such as the famous Magnetic Island and the town centre- but the pleasure in which I chose to immerse myself in was a visit to the family owned Billabong Animal Sanctuary. Here I was able to see all of the Australian wildlife that I had not yet encountered on my Australian adventure. I also got to get up close and cuddle a few of them too – see who needs a boyfriend when you can cuddle a Chlamydia riddled Koala!

We started our day by taking a 20 minute uber ride from Townsville’s cruise terminal to the Billabong Sanctuary, costing about $30AUD. Our Uber driver informed us that we’d struggle to get and uber, or any type of taxi, back from the sanctuary so offered to exchange phone numbers so he could come and pick us up at a time that suited us! A well deserved 5 star rating he was given!

After paying the entrance fee to the Sanctuary and the additional fee to hold a Koala and a Wombat – as well as have a professional photograph taken with them – we started our day at the park. It was within 5 minutes of walking in that I saw the first Australian animal I had on my “to-see” list…a Kangaroo! There it was, just freely roaming (or should I say hopping) around the park! I couldn’t contain myself and I rushed over to it to offer it some food – the park allows you to buy bags of animal feed, I wasn’t running over to give it a sandwich. The kangaroos are clearly used to the human interaction as within 10 seconds there it was eating out of the palm my hand – literally! It was such a surreal experience to be seeing an animal that I had been wanting to see – since stepping foot in Australia – so up close and personal. He put his little paw on my hand as he ate and I suddenly felt this terrible feeling guilt for having eaten one of his cousins at Boarders Beach House in Fremantle a few weeks earlier… and for having scratched my back with the stuffed kangaroo paw in that souvenir store… and for having played with that kangaroo testicle wine bottle opener! Still, he didn’t know that (and never would) so the feeling of guilt passed quickly and I continued to feed him and stroke him, hoping these actions would make up for my previous wrong-doings against his kind.

After cooing over the Kangaroo – I was almost crying I was so happy – it was time to head over to our first animal talk, the “Wombat experience”. The keeper brought out this huge lump of a furry beast, otherwise known as a Wombat. The Wombat is the worlds largest burrowing animal and is one of the cutest animals I have ever seen! The keeper gave us a short informative talk which, having no previous knowledge on anything to do with wombats, I found interesting. We were then able to stroke the female wombat and have a picture taken with the male wombat! There was a queue of about 15 of us to have a photo with the him and I couldn’t help but feel a little bad that this poor wombat was being shoved from person to person and made to pose before the flash of a camera.  However, due to the fact I was desperate for a cuddle (and get a photo for the blog obvs) those feelings soon subsided as he didn’t seem to mind being passed around too much. Also knowing that the park keeps the animals safe from wild predators gives them air conditioning in their caves, I felt like they were probably pretty well looked after!

After the wombats it was time for the piéce-de-resistance! The Koalas! After having seen them in the wild in Portland, I was super excited to be able to see them up close and actually be able to hold one! Again after another informative talk we posed for a photograph. Queensland is the only state in Australia which allows you to hold Koalas. The park keeper informed us that they have very strict working hours (the Koalas, not the keepers) as they are only allowed to be handled for 20-30 minutes each day. This made me feel better as it assured me that the park was not just manhandling the animals for fun and for profit, but that they actually do care about the wellbeing of the animals. Also the extra money you pay for the photos goes towards the conservation of the animals at the sanctuary. So effectively, by me having my 30 second cuddle with the Koala, I’m helping to protect it…amirite!?

After my animal cuddles I set off for a wander around the rest of the park. What I loved about the park was the free roam that there seemed to be. Little Turtles could roam free from pond to pond, countless geese and ducks with their goslings and ducklings would – quite literally – chase you round the park for your food – seriously be careful about that – and there were kangaroos just lying down and having a chill in the shade under the trees. There were also enclosures that you could wander into and feed the animals too. The interactiveness of the park is definitely a unique experience!

The last thing on the list, after having looked at the other Australian animals on show (Dingos, Emus and macropods) was the crocodile feeding. The park has several different crocodile species in – thankfully – non-interactive enclosures and we were able to watch the park rangers feeding them.  The keepers seemed very relaxed around the crocs – almost too relaxed, it was kind of making me nervous – and were able to get the crocs to do big jumps out of the water in order to earn their meal. Another must see whilst at the park.

After the croc feeding we decided to ring Kieran – our uber driver from the morning – to come and pick us up. We wanted to head into town and Kieran offered to take us up the nearby Castle Hill for no extra charge. He took us the short drive up and we were able to see the panoramic views over the town, out to sea and of the nearby Magnetic Island. We then headed to – on his recommendation – the Ville Resort Casino for lunch.

We ate at the Quarterdeck restaurant inside the casino complex. It was an outdoor restaurant – which was reasonably priced – and which had a great view out to sea and again of the nearby Magnetic Island. There was also an outdoor pool and bar there, but you either had to be staying at the on-site hotel or buy a day pass. If we had another day in Townsville then I probably would have  returned to the Ville resort and bought the day pass to the pool and spent my day lounging by the pool, drinking and soaking up the sun, but alas we didn’t and it was time to head back to the ship.

I really enjoyed my day in Townsville. The Billabong sanctuary was everything I had hoped for and more! It really is worth a visit if you want to see nearly all of the wildlife Australia has to offer in one day. Its quite pricey to get a photo with the Koala and Wombat (there’s also the option to have it with snakes and baby crocs) but, in my opinion, it is totally worth the price tag! Townsville itself has a cool vibe and seems to attract a lot of backpackers and therefore has a young contemporary vibe to its town centre. For being a small town, it has a lot to offer and I wish I could have spent a couple of days here to be able to experience it to the full.