Cairns

In other news, Cairns is a pretty awesome place and was lucky enough to be up there for 5 days and got myself acquainted with the locals.

There is no swimming in the beaches as there is crocodiles lurking in most bodies of water. I found this out before the race because there is signs everywhere warning of crocodile activity. Apparently USM events conducted a sweep of the swim course prior to the race gun sounded. Glad i could put my mind at ease!

So the response from the council was to build a lagoon for all the tourist that come to Cairns. I dont think they enjoyed the triathletes getting in there with their paddles to do pre race swim training. (Yes i did see people in there practicing with wetsuits and paddles prior to the race).

Post race i ventured out the great barrier reef and snorkeled with the marine life there. I was tempted to ride the turtles back into Cairns Jack Sparrow style but i thought better of it.

Huge shoutout goes to my house mates Josh and Kylie McGuiness and Renee Workman for putting up with me and helping me get to the startline hassle free. Also a massive wrap to Sterling Ashbee who helped me get up to Cairns and his generosity to loan me some of his eqipment.