Beach Resorts 15/7/18

Chilli Cafe

On Sunday we reprised our trip north with a focus on the resort towns along the coast.

We stopped first at Trinity Beach and then Palm Cove.  Maureen had been to the later previously with her sister Cathy and we lunched at the Chilli Cafe restaurant which is owned by one of Matthew and Cathy's friends.  Both these  resorts are very affluent and full of holiday makers and tourists.    We enjoyed a long walk up the esplanade and the jetty.

Crystal Cascades

On the way back we returned to Crystal Cascades walking to the last falls before the impassable wall of rock and bush at the head of the gorge.

Palm Cove Jetty

On the way back from the falls we stopped at St Andrews Catholic College Chapel for evening mass.  The school is very new and the campus extensive with the chapel as a centrepiece and the Great Dividing Range as a backdrop.

Tobruk Pool 16/7

On our last day in Cairns we were able to rise late and watch the replay of the Soccer world Cup final - a treat as I would normally be at work.

Later on the way to the Tobruk swimming pool for a  lap swimming session in the 50 M outdoor pool we had the usual good samaritan moment of our holidays.  A couple called us over to the side of the road asking for directions to the Big 4 Park. They had no map and the wife had just recently acquired an iphone but had no idea how to use it.  Maureen ambitiously showed her how to use google maps with the location of the caravan park and we sent them on their way hoping we had not made things more confusing!

The pool was terrific and later that day the Australian Dolphins were training there in preparation for the 2018 Pan Pacs in Japan.

As evening arrived we took one final walk along the esplanade with lots of other tourists and had a seafood dinner at a local restaurant.

Overall our visit to Cairns was a great way to spend a week during the southern winter.  The  beautiful weather and great facilities and attractions were restorative. 

Driving FNQ 14-15/7

After a quiet day recovering from our reef trip and spending quiet time at exposition at St Monica's we picked up a rental car on Saturday and drove up the scenic coast to Mossman Gorge.  This attraction is managed by the local Aboriginal community and is a good example of empowerment through local enterprise.

The Mossman Gorge walk rivals any other in the Daintree area and is accessed by a shuttle bus from the information centre.  We walked the 90 min circuit through dense rain forest greeted occasionally by the bush turkeys that frequent the bush.  It felt very much like walking the rain forest tracks in NZ but the flora was more tropical and there was much less birdsong.

Beach at Port Douglas

On the way back from Mossman we took a detour into Port Douglas which is full of swank resorts and upmarket shopping areas. It is not called Little Toorak for nothing but we enjoyed our lunch there and the view from the lookout overlooking the beach.

Closer to Cairns we turned off at the Redlynch ring road and traveled past Matthew and Cathy's former home at Bayview Heights and then to to Crystal Cascades - a steep gorge near Cairns notable for a number of water falls and swimming holes.  I took a swim in one of the pools - beautiful and it brought back happy childhood memories of swimming at fresh water pools on the Maerewhenua River near Tokarahi especially our favourite spot just above the Dansey's Pass motor camp.

Barrier Reef Trip 12/7/8

We took the Divers Den charter for our day on the outer reef arriving at the marina at 8am.  The boat held about 120 but fortunately there were only 48 passengers so it was not too crowded.  We took our seasick tablets and they were needed as we endured a bumpy 90 minute trip to our first dive site in a ~2 metre  swell.

The diversity of fish on the reef is astounding with each of them perfectly and uniquely adapted to their environment.  However the reef  corals are clearly damaged and appear stressed.  The impact of climate change and human intrusion onto the sites we visited is telling.

The Great Barrier reef is the biggest landscape structure on earth and whether it can survive increasing sea temperatures is questionable. It seems Cairns ,a city of 160,000 and much of the economy of FNQ is based on tourism to the reef so its demise would have an enormous impact.

A tip for any snorkeler - make sure you put sunscreen on the backs of your legs.  I forgot to do this and paid dearly for the consequences after 3.5 hours in the water.

Balmy FNQ 10/7

Arriving on a morning flight from Adelaide we immediately relaxed in the balmy tropical air that warmed our bodies and souls.  The forecast for our stay was 27 degrees every day - perfect weather!

Our Airbnb apartment in Grafton Street was basic but had everything we needed.  On our first afternoon we admired the stain glass windows depicting the creation story (Australian Style) at St Monica's Catholic Cathedral and took a long walk through the main shopping centre and marina area.

Kuranda 11/7/18

We were picked up early and taken to the Skyrail terminus past the expanding northern suburbs around Redlynch .  Our driver responded to my question about the FNQ elevated houses by asserting that 'crocodiles do not climb stairs!'

 The Skyrail trip was a wonderful way the view the extent and fecundity of the rainforest with a unique birds-eye view.  On arriving at Kuranda we walked around the Baron River walk to the markets thinking we had arrived in Nimbin!  Maureen wondered if the stall owners came down from the trees each morning with a profusion of new age wares on display in the   happy'erb shops and 'reading booths'.

We enjoyed the circuit bush walk of Kuranda winding down to the Baron River back to the train station.  In the late afternoon we returned to Cairns via the Kuranda railway which was built between 1880-1890  through dense mountainous bush.  The line remains in use and is a  testament to the thousands who built it.  The line is a breathtaking engineering achievement rivaling any other in Australia including the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

We were delighted to meet my niece Rose Parker for dinner at Hemingways Bar in the wharf area.  Rose is working as a scuba diving instructor on one of the major reef adventure tours that are based at Cairns.