Just Call Me "Money Shot"

Apparently, I have a knack for getting a faceful of spunk. The other day in Noosa, some of the girls wouldn't go in the water as it's the few days of the year when the coral are spawning, and there are these funky, colorful clouds of coral sperm and eggs floating around. Unfortunately, I didn't hear that conversation until after I'd swam full-on into them.

Today, during a whitewater rafting trip down the Tully River, we hit a calm patch and the guide offered for us to jump out for a swim. I was the first to go, and started swimming right into a foamy patch of water. Of course, it wasn't until I hit it that he told me that was crocodile spunk. I'm batting a thousand!

The trip itself was pretty good. I'd say it was incredible, but compared to the year's previous trek in Costa Rica, it paled in comparison. Not because of the river or the guides - both of which were excellent - but with the ridiculous size of the group. We had over 80 people on 15 rafts, which meant traffic jams at the start of each rapid, stopping for people who went overboard, and just an overall slow cruise. Whitewater's meant to be fast and thrilling, but when its interspersed with long pauses, it's just not as exciting. Still, the higher-class rapids were a lot of fun.

I'm happy to report that I never went overboard, but I did manage to injure myself again. During this brilliant 150m stretch of rapids, we went up and over a sharp rock that poked up (but didn't penetrate) through the bottom of the boat. It's lucky contact point? My right knee, which is lightly abrased but heavily sore at this moment. Oh well, just another battle scar, I guess.

And now the conundrum of the evening: I could go and hit up the 1/2 price drinks at nearby Rhino Bar and drink the pain away, or be sensible and have another quiet night so I can make it to the Ferry Port at 7:45a for tomorrow's trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

Maybe I'll just go gorge myself on bush tucker and pass out. It's either that or the China Cafe, supposedly one of the best Chinese restaurants in all of Australia. I had their (cheap!) wonton soup last night and I have to concur - they're pretty f'in good, simply based on the soup alone. I think I could live off of it for a while.