Cairns - Farewell Australia

I know I've posted most of these pics on Facebook. But here they are again. Some of my friends don't use FB.

April 1
Headed back to Cairns for the last 5 days of my Australian trip. Left Port Douglas at around 8:00 am. Stopped in Ellis Beach to enjoy the sunshine and surf.

Cairns (pronounced Cans) waterfront has a saltwater swimming lagoon, along with picnic areas, free barbecues and playgrounds. The Esplanade is full of things to do from shops, live music, festivals, etc. Outside of the downtown area, you can visit the botanical gardens, galleries, do rainforest walks to creeks and lakes, skydiving, fishing, etc.

I hit rush hour as I drove into Cairns. Set up at the same Holiday Park I stayed in on the way up. Got instructions on taking the bus and I headed off. I got off at the wrong stop so I had some walking to do... not much but it felt like lots in the searing heat.

I got down to "The Esplanade" only to find that the lagoon was closed for maintenance. It is very pretty just the same. I strolled the waterfront and window shopped along The Esplanade. Some how I found myself at the mall, so I did some souvenir shopping for the kids. Picked up some groceries and headed back to the Holiday Park. I spent the rest of the day poolside.

April 2
It's a slow start.... I'm sitting here trying to figure out what I want to do..... go back downtown to The Esplanade or go to the Botanical Gardens to do some hiking? Also trying to figure out what to eat for breakfast. With only 3 more days in Cairns, I'm trying to eat up everything in my fridge. So it's either toast (2 slices), banana, apple, mango, salad, and chocolate...

Headed out to the Botanical Gardens after eating a banana and apple for breakfast. I walked around the gardens a bit and took some pictures. I didn't stay too long because I was getting eaten alive by the mozzies. They are awful!

Here is a picture of a cannon ball tree, it originates from Central and South Africa. I thought it was pretty cute.

Then I headed to Holloways Beach (just outside of Cairns). Spent most of the morning and afternoon there. Had lunch at the cute little restaurant on the beach. Didn't go in the water because they had the stinger net out (just don't trust them).

My view at lunch

Back at the site by 3:00 pm, just in time to spend some time by the pool.

April 3
Drove up to meet the bus that would take me to the Kuranda Heritage Train. It was a great ride up there. We went through about 20 tunnels (which I closed my eyes for). The view was great. The train ride took 1:25 mins.

Kuranda is a small tourist town with Butterfly World, Bird World, and Kuranda Gardens as it's main attractions. Stores, galleries, restaurants and cafes line both sides of the street. I just spent time window shopping, had lunch and headed back. I'm finding that I'm getting a bit bored of all the touristy attractions now.

On the way back, I took the Skyrail (a gondola). I hopped into the gondola thinking that others were going to follow. NOT!!! I was alone and it was moving!!! The gondola started to pick up speed as it left the station....thank God it finally slowed down once it cleared the ramp. Every time it went over the tower it would shake and rumble. The view was great... the height.... not so much.

The gondola made 2 stops - one at Barron Falls, where I saw people swimming at the top of the falls (apparently there's fresh water crocs in there) and the other at Red Peak Station.

The ride down, with stops, took a total of 1 hour 25 minutes, about 1 hour 24 minutes too long! I do have to admit that as I got closer to the station I was feeling much better. I think the view was what helped me get through it.

Came back and sat poolside for awhile before I started packing up the van. Tomorrow I take the van in and move to a hotel for my last night in Australia.

April 4
Got up and packed an cleared up the van. Dropped the van off and took a taxi to the hotel. The room wasn't ready so I checked my luggage in and headed to The Esplanade an Lagoon. Walked around for about 2 hours then headed back to the hotel to see if my room was ready.

View from my room

Got settled into my room, got into my bathing suit and headed back to The Esplanade to swim and relax in the Lagoon. You don't swim in the ocean because there's crocs in them there wters.

Visited the Night Market only to find nothing really worth buying. Had dinner and headed back to hotel.

April 5
Arrived at the airpot for my 11:50 flight. I fly into Auckland for one night. I will spend one night with Patrick (my nephew) and his wife. I fly out for Nadi, Fiji early next morning.

Australia is beautiful. I cannot believe how you can be sitting on a white sand beach one day ant the next be tromping through the rainforest. I have barely scratched the surface of Australia as I only I do have visited the East Coast (not even all of the East Coast). There are still many places to visit.... Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Alice Springs, just to name a few. I will definitely will be back for a second and maybe third visit.

During this last month, I have met some fascinating people from all over the world. There are a few that I will keep in contact and maybe even travel with some of them in the near future. The nomadic life I have lived the last two months has allowed me to open up my mind to many things.... different ways of travelling, places to visit, being flexible. This time has allowed me to be comfortable with myself and know that I can do almost anything I put my mind to. It's given me the ability to think and deal with things as they come up without panicking (well maybe a little).

I don't know how the wifi situation will be in Fiji and Cook Islands. I will try to get a blog entry when I can.

Here are a few thngs fun fact:
I'm very tired of driving. I have driven 9,366 km over the last 2 months and spent only 7 nights in a normal bed.
Just for the record, I didn't eat kangaroo, emu, or alligator.
I did try vegimite.... all I can say is Yuck!!! Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives.
I have worked on my fears.... I climbed Harbour Bridge and completed by Open Water Dive certificate. There is one more thing I would like to do but I will post it only when it happens.

Australia
Start: 241,476 km
Finish: 245,275 km
Total tavelled: 3,799 km

I have travelled a grand total of 9, 366 km from February 12 to April 4.