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We decided to have a lazy day today to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary!! We hadn't booked any tours or excursions today so that we didn't have to make an early start to catch a boat or a train.
After a lazy morning we went to the supermarket and purchased a few items to take out to Crystal Cascades for a picnic lunch. Crystal Cascades is a series of waterfalls and swimming hole in Freshwater Creek located a few kilometres out of Cairns. It's not really a tourist destination, more of a local secret and not all that easy to find. There was only one signpost along the way, but we eventually found ourselves at Crystal Cascades.
We parked the car and were greeted by signs telling us to BEWARE STINGING TREE. Being wary of touching anything, we walked into the swimming holes to scout things out and see if there were some picnic tables where we could eat our lunch. We got almost to the first swimming hole when I saw ... A SNAKE!
I jumped backwards almost pulling Bernie's arm out of its socket!! What? he asked. I pointed at the green tree snake disappearing over
the bank and down towards the swimming hole. I maintain that the snake was a five foot long green tree snake. Bernie says it was closer to three feet long. I reckon that is because he didn't see the first two feet of the snake ... he only saw the last three feet of it as is slithered off the path and down the riverbank!!!!
We retreated to the safety of the car park and collected our picnic lunch which we took back to one of the tables that we had sussed out. I nearly wore my neck out scoping the surrounding grass in case there were any more snakes about!!
After lunch, swimming in the swimming hole was right off the agenda due to the snake sighting!! However, Bernie persuaded me to walk back past where the snake was sighted and on up to the waterfall. Fortunately the path is an access road for the local water authority so it is nice and wide and good visibility in case there is anything slithering around. We managed to walk up to the falls and photograph the Crystal Cascades without sighting any more reptiles. Thank goodness.
We returned
to the apartment to go swimming as I was pretty confident that we would not encounter any snakes there!! We enjoyed a few more hours reading by the pool before venturing out for an anniversary dinner.
Tonight we strolled down to the Far Horizons Restaurant for dinner. Far Horizons is a very classy restaurant located on the absolute beachfront at Palm Cove. Although we hadn't made a reservation we were lucky enough to be seated on the deck with an uninterrupted beach front position overlooking the Coral Sea.
After we were seated we ordered two glasses of sparkly to toast our anniversary. As we were enjoying our sparkling wine another couple were seated at the next table. As they were being seated they shared the fact with the Maitre d' that they had just got married. The next thing we knew they were being given complimentary glasses of sparkling wine!! What a missed opportunity!! If just married was good for a free drink, surely married for 30 years would have been????
Regardless of missing out on a freebie, we enjoyed a beautiful meal together on yet another gorgeous balmy evening in Palm Cove. A lovely evening to
celebrate 30 years together!!
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Janet
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What a great way to celebrate!
I should have realised you would have a blog of your Pt Douglas trip. I enjoyed reading it and it brought back memories of our own trip of 2002 to Cairns/Pt Douglas. The snorkeling trip is one of my happiest traveling moments. Sounds like you had a wonderful celebration of your 30 year milestone!