Innisfail, Australia : The Country Western Town of where life got flipped upside down

Innisfail was what we called home for two months. This quiet little country town was part of the Cassowary Region and is one hour south of the main region of Cairns. Upon arriving into Innisfail we felt slightly wary about the town - it was small, it looked run down and for me reminded me of a slightly more run down version of Cheltenham. There was definitely a dark cloud above the sky and it made me worry that something was not right and what it seemed here. The place was affected by several Cyclones which tore through the town and the worst one was called Cyclone Larry in 2006.

Speaking to many of the locals it was obvious that the town was affected for the worse and there were still plenty of people who were suffering from it all. We had managed to get a job at the Queens Hotel which was a cross between Fawlty Towers and Shameless! It was the locals that made it one of the most interesting places ever. There were plenty of strange people who drank in the pub. One guy called Simon Greig was an 8 Ball Pool Champion and both Emma and myself learnt a lot from him.

Dave Irwin was a local who kindly took us fishing, to Mission Beach and even took me lawn bowling which was amazing fun. Several of the other friendly locals who stood out was Gregg - although when he had a drink turned into a complete sleaze, and also Turtle - again once he had a drink was a nightmare.

I also made some friends for live while staying there; Kitty Edgar, Charlotte Parkin and Beth Brayshaw were the three who stood out for me and will definitely be meeting them back in England. The worst people unfortunately were the managers Tracy & Brent. Initially thought they were okay until they cut our hours and fired a few of our friends in a terrible way! They are bad managers with an even worse temper on them. Well it was interesting lets just say the least.

Well Innisfail proved very interesting indeed and provided the biggest roller coaster journey of my life for so many reasons. However, as I've always learned, it takes a huge mistake to make you realise what you've lost and boarding the Greyhound Bus on that wet and cold evening was a thankful reminder of how my life needed to change and how I needed to rise from rock bottom.