Up at 6:30 for breakfast after a good night’s sleep. I decided to have cereal rather than a cooked breakfast. I then had an experiment. I had not done any packing and had emptied my suitcase to do all my washing so I decided to time how long I took to do it all in one go! It took me half an hour and I was hot and sweaty when I had finished – not a good look to start the day.
On to the bus for a short ride to the chocolate factory/ farm and I started the final 99th square. At the farm there was a talk about the history of chocolate, how to make it and how they farm it. They showed us where the plants were growing and what the cocoa looked like on the plants. 

 They then showed us how they make their chocolate and explained that they were the only chocolate farmers/producers in Australia. They then talked us through their chocolate with a taste of each one.

Although their chocolate has won awards it was all dark chocolate and not to my taste at all. It was also very expensive. I didn’t buy any!
A light lunch of burger and lemonade was provided by the local Lions group and then it was back on the bus for a two hour drive to Cairns – our final destination.

I almost finished the last square of knitting – only a few rows left to do! I need to get it done now as I have one of the gentlemen on the coach telling me to hurry up!

We arrived in Cairns just after 3 and the room was gorgeous. I had a lovely cup of tea in my room and then went out to explore. I found a night market to explore that had lots of Australian souvenirs which were all a bit tacky. I did find and buy a fan – it was still hot up in Cairns so it would come in useful. On my way back to my room I checked out the tours to the Great Barrier Reef. I am not sure if I have the energy to snorkel all day so in two minds whether to book another trip to the Reef.

I got ready for supper. The hotel had a happy hour from 5-7 (!) so we lined the wines up. The food was delicious – garlic chicken and a chocolate brownie dessert. The restaurant was trying to be modern and served the food on half the plate – strange but it didn’t stop it tasting good.

I needed up staying downstairs until 10pm talking to Lynne and Marilyn which was nice and we had a laugh and a heart to heart.
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