Sunday, 31 July 2016
Long weekend in Cairns
22-25/July/2016
Cairns used to be the place where you landed on your way to Palm Cove and Port Douglas. No more. The city has had a face lift, particularly along the promenade which now includes a gorgeous semi-open bar cum restaurant and a swimming pool complex. I finally understood why Cairns' coast is a mudflat rather than a sandy beach - it's on a river bank! Oh, maps are so useful when you consult them. Anyway, who notices the mudflat when you have the majestic mountains as a backdrop? I'd say natural beauty in this region is on a par with Hawaii, which is to say something.
After a week of rain during the dry season (brrrr....), the weather was fabulous all the time Tony and I were there. It was the peak of the winter, still temperature of 22C-28C while relatively dry was already on the limits of the bearable for me. But Lenore and Matt were in their element! How much they enjoy it there. It was nice to see.
I discovered that Fitzroy Island is 20 times the size of Green Island but receives 1/20th of the visitors - again, the usefulness of maps knows no bounds... Fitzroy Island is a coral island. What this means is that the entire island is made of corals. Including the beaches. It felt very other-worldly in a nice way.
Fitzroy Island also provided great "rock climbing" opportunities for the four of us. We so much enjoyed trekking up 45 degree inclines that when we got to the top Tony was begging to go down and come back up again :-)
The beaches along the coast north of Cairns were simply paradisaical. And there's no-one anywhere. Well, apart from the blue bottles and the sharks, but I'm sure we can come to an understanding with them.
But even inland is very beautiful. We drove around Edge Hill with its stunning houses perched on the steep hills.
The Crystal Cascades was another high point. In general, surprisingly, the fauna density was less than I expected. Even insects were sparse. I can see us coming back here soon.
The mystery that will remain unresolved is how Tony managed to get his back side and the car seat covered in chewing gum. Unfortunately the case has now gone cold.
Anna
22-25/July/2016
Cairns used to be the place where you landed on your way to Palm Cove and Port Douglas. No more. The city has had a face lift, particularly along the promenade which now includes a gorgeous semi-open bar cum restaurant and a swimming pool complex. I finally understood why Cairns' coast is a mudflat rather than a sandy beach - it's on a river bank! Oh, maps are so useful when you consult them. Anyway, who notices the mudflat when you have the majestic mountains as a backdrop? I'd say natural beauty in this region is on a par with Hawaii, which is to say something.
After a week of rain during the dry season (brrrr....), the weather was fabulous all the time Tony and I were there. It was the peak of the winter, still temperature of 22C-28C while relatively dry was already on the limits of the bearable for me. But Lenore and Matt were in their element! How much they enjoy it there. It was nice to see.
I discovered that Fitzroy Island is 20 times the size of Green Island but receives 1/20th of the visitors - again, the usefulness of maps knows no bounds... Fitzroy Island is a coral island. What this means is that the entire island is made of corals. Including the beaches. It felt very other-worldly in a nice way.
Fitzroy Island also provided great "rock climbing" opportunities for the four of us. We so much enjoyed trekking up 45 degree inclines that when we got to the top Tony was begging to go down and come back up again :-)
The beaches along the coast north of Cairns were simply paradisaical. And there's no-one anywhere. Well, apart from the blue bottles and the sharks, but I'm sure we can come to an understanding with them.
But even inland is very beautiful. We drove around Edge Hill with its stunning houses perched on the steep hills.
The Crystal Cascades was another high point. In general, surprisingly, the fauna density was less than I expected. Even insects were sparse. I can see us coming back here soon.
The mystery that will remain unresolved is how Tony managed to get his back side and the car seat covered in chewing gum. Unfortunately the case has now gone cold.
Anna
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