holiday part 1
Monday, Oct. 17, 2005
Okay.
Diary time.
Can't figure out whether to start at the end, or start at the start?
Here goes, starting from Sunday before last.
The flight took off just before 6pm central time and landed at Cairns airport at about half 9. Initially as you step off the plane the heat and humidity hits you head on, and you realise that the steam rushing in through the vents on the planes air vents as they open the doors wasn't a toxic gas, it was just the atmospheres balancing out.
Luggage was collected from the carousels and we flagged a cab and headed to our apartment on the other side of the city. We didn't go up market but picked a budget clean and spacious 2 bedroom apartment in a quiet complex near all of the facilities. We were both pretty much buggered that night and headed off to bed for an early start the next morning.
Monday brought a new day with the sunshine and heat that we had expected. We ventured out into town to do some wandering around and get our bearings and also to pick up the hire car that was booked a week earlier. Cairns is pretty easy to get around as like most coastal towns, all you need to do is figure out which side the water is on and base your navigation around that.
Monday afternoon we dropped in on my dad's aunt who lives up here and spent a few hours chatting and catching up. This is where i realised that it has been some 21 years since I saw this side of the family, so it just goes to say that I had a bit of catching up to do.
After the family obligations we headed back to the apartment, got tidied up and headed into town to try an find a meal. Cairns is a bustling city of night life and the restaurant scene is so extensive that it is hard to decide where to eat. We settled on a beer and pizza joint that made a decent wood fired oven pizza. The place even had the token german backpacker waitressing staff to entice the patrons in. Nice to look at but.....
Tuesday we decided to have a driving day so we headed north up the coast to see what we could go and have a look at. This whole trip wasn't really planned, more like a town to town wandering. If we happened to come across anything interesting along the way we might stop and have a look around.
To see the pics that accompany this entry see my flickr photo page (opens in a new window) to get an idea of what I am dribbling on about. There was a few too many pics to post here and for those on un-broadband friendly connections I thought I would be nice to y'all.
Back to the story....
Up the coast we stopped at a few beaches and admired the views, took a few photos and contemplated life for a short while. You get feelings of being in a remote island or maybe placing yourself onto the set of Lost or maybe even Survivor. It all looks so polished and perfect.... except for the dog crap on the path down to the beach. I even copped an eyeful of a guy changing into a pair of swim shorts. And no, it wasn't cold so there was no shrinkage involved.
After the sauntering along the beaches we headed further north and came across the crocodile farm and decided to go have wander. The $23 admission fee wasn't enough to detract and the entertainment value was pretty worthwhile. We got to cruise around the lagoons on a flat bottomed boat and watch all the big crocs swim around us. I might even attempt to post a small vid of one of them jumping clear of the water. There was some more croc feeding, a tour of the juvenile pens and a display of the other enclosures around the park before we headed off up the coast again.
Next stop was Port Douglas which is commonly referred to as millionaires row. The place is filled with resorts, golf course and expensive looking apartment complexes which makes it a daunting place to venture into. We headed down onto the foreshore and have a burger amongst the riches and looked on as people paid $25 to rent an umbrella and chair for the day on the beach. Has anyone ever thought of bringing their own?
After lunch we hopped back in the car and drove up towards Mossman and headed towards the Mossman Gorge national park. The gorge itself snakes through the rainforest floor with rock pools along the way where all the locals go to swim. This used to be the main swimming hole for Cairns as the stingers spread up the beaches throughout the year and keep people out of the water. Nowadays there is a large man made lagoon built on the foreshore of Cairns that is open to the public free of charge 24/7 365 days a year...
Anyway, I am getting awfully tired and have a feeling that this is going to be part 1 of a couple of entries.
Bear with me folks, will spit it all out eventually. Have a look at the pics from the button below in the mean while.
And leave lots of comments peoples, they work now! Sorry Jamie (hugs & licks)
~MJ~
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mackaj at 11:08 p.m.