Blogs from Cairns, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 2

Day 1 Virgin changed our flight from 1130 to 930 but this worked in our favour as when we arrived at the airport we asked if there was an earlier connecting flight from Sydney to Cairns and there was, so we were able to get to Cairnd in the daylight and get settled into our backpackers, Gilligans before headed out to get a drink by the pool and do shots, as one does. We headed out to one of the breweries to try the local beer at Sauce and Co, and ended up eating there enjoying some local trout. A brief walk around, we checked out the Cairns night markets that was full of the general stuff markets have, before heading back to Gilli's for cheap drinks; $4 base spirits and I may have had a ... read more

After spending an uneventful weekend in Townsville following my Whitsundays sailing trip - during which most of my time was spent catching up on all the action I had missed from the Euro 2020 football championships - I took a coach five hours north to the (pre-covid) backpacker mecca of Cairns, where two of the best years of my life were spent in days gone by. My timing couldn't have been better, as the very next day Townsville was sent into lockdown; while Cairns was being inundated by families taking advantage of Australian school holidays. Unfortunately my arrival also coincided with some unseasonal wet weather (dry season, my arse) so my first few days in town were spent in a sort of suspended animation, wishing I could get out and explore the surrounding area but instead ... read more

Leaving Adelaide, we flew straight to Cairns. Along with Townsville, Cairns is one of the gateways to the Great Barrier Reef. When Jennie and I were here in 2005 we went to Townsville and took a dive boat boat out 200 miles into the Coral Sea for a week, but we never actually saw the GBR. For this trip, we decided to headquarter in Cairns, where the reef is much closer to the shore. Our hotel was right on the waterfront. Initially, it appeared that there was a big harbor outside our door, but when the tide went out it became apparent that it was actually just a large mud flat with sprouting mangrove seedlings. The harbor was at the end of the city, where there was a large mixed use development that appeared to be ... read more

We awoke on Sunday morning after an amazing catch-up the night before. We find it so easy to stay with our friends as they allow us to have our own space but are always there to provide hospitality if we need it. The conversation continued and we had a relaxed morning. Graham and Liz suggested we go to a local park, Lake Placid, for a walk and lunch. This was a beautiful area, not far from their house where there is a river and a large lake and walking trails. We went to Alessandro's Pizza restaurant for lunch. This is in a great location with fabulous views of the lake, but the service was very slow. We did have some good pizzas to share and some nice wine. Back at their house we continued the conversation ... read more

"Not all those who wander are lost". JRR Tolkien I have in prior travels and blogs extolled the merits of RV travel as being the very best way of truly seeing a country. Very few rules apply but our philosophy is simply never to plan or book ahead, avoid staying in one place for less than two nights and avoid doing more than 300km on any single day between destinations. So, with these markers in place our final evening in Port Douglas revolved around planning how to get to Cairns, our next stop. Slipping down the Great Barrier Reef was too easy and obvious, so we chose an inland route. Cyril, (nickname for the voice on our navigator device and with ZERO deference to President Ramapromisa), duly kicked in when we had typed in a key ... read more