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Published: February 1st 2006
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Before we discuss Cairns, I have to tell you about the Lorikeets and our last 2 days in Surfers. The day before we left we did a load of laundry and hung it on the drying rack, which was placed in the living room under the ceiling fan, so it would dry. We left the window and the Balcony door open a bit. Then we went off to town for the day.
Just as we got to town it started to pour and it poured all day. By the time it stopped it was after 6:00 and so we took the advantage of the dry and started to walk home. When we entered the flat we were greeted with laundry that was covered with bird poop!!!!! Apparently, the lorikeets that had been visiting us every morning on the balcony decided to come in out of the rain and use the nice "perch" that we had set up for them. I won't mention what I was saying about the lories as I re-washed our clothes.
The next morning while we were packing, there they were again. There were 3 of them and the one kept trying to come in the
balcony door while I was sitting at the table eating breakfast. He had no fear when I got within 2 feet of him to take his picture. He was more upset that I wouldn't let him come in to the living room. We knew they were cheeky, but we never imagined that they would try to move in with us.
So, then we went to Cairns and it was bloody hot, humid, and rainy. There wasn't a day without rain. We felt right at home, it's just like August in FL. This little beach town has grown into a small city. The city fathers have tackled the mudflats - no beach issue - by constructing an artifical lagoon. It is a huge swimming pool complete with a sandy beach right by the pier and the mudflats. They have also constructed a 2.5 mile boardwalk along the mudflats so you can "walk the beach". Some of the improvements are nice, but destroying 3 blocks of old Queensland buildings to construct a 2 story shopping mall was a bit disappointing. The mall connects right into the railway station and all those old hotels and little quaint shops are gone.
Kuranda
rainforest is still as beautiful as ever. There is a new cable car line that takes you over the rainforest and into the village of Kuranda. It was a beautiful way to see the rainforest. There are 2 stops along the way where you can get out and do the boardwalks into the forest. Once in Kuranda there are other hikes into the forest. It was raining the day we went which really added to the beauty of the forest. On the return trip we took the 100 year old train back into Cairns.
That was our last dry day. For the past 6 days it has rained. We are feeling like fish and I think we have gone "tropo"!! The constant rain has helped cool the temperatures but it does become annoying after a while. It was most disappointing on our snorkel trip to the Outer Reef. The morning started out fine and we thought that we would have a good day. But, an hour into the trip the rain started. For the 5 hours that we were at the dive platform it rained for 4 of those hours. Snorkeling in the rain is a cold ordeal. The
red lycra suits they had for us to protect us againt any jellyfish helped in keeping us a bit warmer. Also, the lack of sunlight diminishes the color of the reef and the fish. None of that stopped me from going in the water 4 separate times and enjoying the time that we had there. The trip to the edge of the reef with the marine biologist was really spectacular. I saw Bump-nose Parrot fish that were bigger in length and weight than me. There were also huge Blue Wrasse that would swim right up to us and would let you pet them. I loved seeing all the various forms of coral and the abundance of different fish was spectacular. Oh, if we only had sunshine. Sorry, there are no reef shots - I don't have an underwater camera. I would have loved to get some good ocean shots, but everything was just gray.
With all the rain we tried to find other ways to stay dry. So, the malls, the movies, watching the Australian Open, and going to a pro basketball game helped fill the time in Cairns. The basketball game between the Cairns Taipans and the Adelaide
Cairns get a beach!!
This is the new Lagoon and Pier that has been built by the mud flats. 36ers was quite good. The arena was nice and the crowd was very enthusiastic.
We arrived in Adelaide on Sun. night (1/29) and it is cooler, sunnier, and drier!!! After the past 9 days the change of weather is delightful. Adelaide has really grown over that past 2 decades. It is still a very nice, clean, and user friendly city. We were happy to see that the trolley to the beach at Glenelg was still in service. The beach area has also had a great deal of new construction and renovation.
Our upcoming plans are to rent a car and do the trip to Kangaroo Island and Coober Pedy on our own. When we return to Adelaide we will fly to Perth and prepare for our trip to South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. We fly out of Perth on 2/17 and will return to Perth on 3/1. The Africa trip will take us to Capetown, Robbens Island, Krueger National Park, Chobe National Park, and Victoria Falls. We are getting very excited about that new adventure in our journey.
Hugs & Kisses 'till next time.....................
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Jody
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Wonderful
Love the poopy birds! Amazing colors! Miss you guys and Pam your photos remain wonderful as always...I really like some of those falls shots...and oh yes..the um Red Hot Chili Pepper too! Have fun in Africa! HUGGGGS n Kisses