Cairns in summer

Boy it’s hot up here, we can hardly muster any energy together to do anything, it seems such an effort to go out in the heat of the day. Anyway we left Port Douglas this morning and headed back towards Cairns down the Captain Cook Highway but turning off before we got there to Kuranda village in the middle of the rainforest. It’s also where you catch the train or chair lift to see Barron falls. We were both famished and in need of a second breakfast as I only had a salad yesterday and a small bowl of coco pops for my first one. What a stroke of luck, the first shop that I saw after getting out the car into the hot blanket air was the local German Tucker shop. We had to wait while they cooked for a while as we were first there so we wandered around all the little shops for a while getting even more hungry. They were worth the wait, one of the best hot dogs that I have ever had and Claire likes a hot German sausage now and then. It even came with onions and sauerkraut; mmmm delicious!

They had lots of art shops, clothes shops, markets and coffee bars but the heat gets to you real soon. Claire didn’t like the crocodiles in the hat shop. We decided to drive up to the falls rather than the train because we knew that it would be cooler in the car and we wouldn’t have to wait around in the heat. It was only a short drive to the car park but quite a long walk through the rain forest along board walks in the tree tops but man was it hot. This area belonged to the Djabugay Aboriginal people but we didn’t see any of them around. It was well worth the hot sweaty walk as the views were spectacular and it’s just another one of those times when a photograph is inadequate, you have to see it for yourself. Claire even said that it was the best waterfall that she had ever seen and I’ve taken her to a few. I must say that the rain forest is the thickest that I have ever seen, it would be difficult to make a path through it. Why is it not called a jungle, there were those vines that Tarzan used to swing on everywhere? What is the difference between a rain forest and a jungle? We thought that we heard Tarzan call but it may have been the wildlife within the thick of it. We also crossed the railway line but the train was nowhere to be seen, good job we came in the car.

Excitement over, back into the car to finish off our drive to Cairns and find a room for the night. We found the heart of the town and parked up for a couple of hours while we walked around finding things as we went. Down by the sea on the esplanade is a huge lagoon where everyone goes because there are no stingers; could you imagine wearing one of those stinger suits in this heat? Claire had to dip her foot in to see if it was warm; I didn’t need to as I could see the first signs of a simmer. The beach is more mud than sand so I guess the Lagoon is an even better idea. If they had imported a load of sand to dump on the beach it may get washed away with the currents and tides, that’s probably why there is so little there anyway. By now the German sausage was wearing off so we looked for somewhere to have a drink and a bite to eat. We found the Cairns RSL which are usually good value so headed there where we met Arlie who is off to Alice Springs tomorrow to see an old mate that he last saw in 1972. Also Max who had come up from Brisbane on the train and bus to see his sick Mother in the old peoples home. We couldn’t resist the roast Lamb, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower and corn cob. I can’t believe that we ate a roast dinner in this temperature but once you have been in the air conditioning for a while it gets a little chilly.

We both like Cairns already so we had a walk back to the car so we could cruise around and look for somewhere to stay the night. Claire spotted a boutique hotel just before we got to the car and went in to see how much it would cost. It’s called the Il Palazzo boutique hotel and is really nice and not bad for $120 a night. They have a pool and internal courtyard inside the building, the rooms are spacious and lovely and they have fully equipped kitchens and laundry in the bathroom so Claire will be happy. I just had to nip the car back into the underground car park and pay before carting all the bags up in the lift. The lady owner seemed very nice and is from England but has been here for 13 years. She came out to visit her daughter when she came out to learn to fly and they have both been here ever since.

We dropped our stuff of, switched on the aircon and headed out to discover more of Cairns. We headed the other way towards Cairns Yacht Club where all the top end hotels and bars are. We stopped for a drink and expected the cost to be high but were surprised when I got change from $10 for 2 schooners. The more that we have seen of Cairns the more we have liked it and along the Esplanade there are lots of bars and restaurants so we may even venture out tonight when the sun has gone down to catch up with a bit of night life as we are right in the heart of Cairns. The Irish lads that we met on the boat around the Whitsunday’s said that Cairns was a crazy place at night, just like one big party, sounds like our kind of town.

Talking of parties; HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNN LING! Have a great party on the beach at Byron Bay! I can’t believe that you are 47; you must have been on that TV program 10 years younger, several times. You still look really great! Rumour has it that you have some surprise entertainment on the beach; Rock on Parkway Drive! Hope you don’t have too many unwanted guests. Have a great one guys, we may even see you briefly if we drive up from Sydney to Brisbane!