Tales of Terry's Travel's: Cains Cruising

After leaving Tahiti, we went to Cairns via a overnight at a hotel by the Sydney airport.

The first thing we did as our room were not ready yet when we got to Cairns Doubletree was leave our bags with the bellman and head out to the ocean walk to find lunch.

The tide was out and walkway bordered on a huge mudflat

This big boy was out wading the mud flats. Me Pelican was quite an impressive site.

The size and types of the trees and ferns were a wonder to see on the land side of the walk.

We walked down to the docks and got lunch in a pub there

We walked back on this tree lined sidewalk that led back to our hotel.

The dock where we ate.

Then we took a walk over to the night market. We would visit every night we were in Cairns.

The next morning we had an fairly early tour to the barrier reef.

It was a cloud day with a bit of a chop

My sweetie all suited up for the snorkeling, I went, but did not stay out as long as Dale. I kept getting water in my snorkel the ship gave me to use and had a hard time clearing it.

Dale had a much better experience. He had brought his own snorkel and mask

The coral was pretty, but because of the chop and cloud cover, the bottom was a bit murky in most places.

After lunch we opted to go over to the island near where our ship was docked. Five of the eighteen on our tour choose to take a large ferry back to Cairns.

These cute little birds were everywhere on the island. Even in the trash receptacles. I found this out as I was throwing away my ice cream cup and one of the birds flew at my hand as I was dropping the paper cup in the garbage.

The island is a preserve so we took a walk around the boardwalk. We decided that we would skip the fifty dollar each ticket to see a the biggest crocodile on record

So instead we read the signs along the boardwalk until we reached the other side of the island. (It was not that big of an island)

We loved the diversity in the trees

And the pretty beach, even though it was quite windy

I got a good picture of the ship we were on that day

When we got back and ready to go, they feed the fish. They were around when we were snorkeling, but they really were easy to see how big they were when they came to eat.

On the way back we were totally on sail power most of the way. It made for a wet, but fun ride

As we walked back to shower when we got back to cairns, the festival was really getting underway for the evening. This group was part actors, part gymnastics, and part interpretive dance with the shopping cards as tools

The mechanical penguins were out in force with their people

We lucked out to happen to be there when the diamond celebration of the Cairns festival was starting

They had concert

A fun parade with drummers

Street dancers

Floats

Groups marchers

Drill teams

Bands

And native dancing to drums

All of which we watched from the balcony of our hotel room while eating our room service

They had a huge Ferris wheel with awesome lighting near where the free concerts were

Fireworks also lite the sky on our second night there.

The next day was a bit rainy, so we did a load of laundry. While they were washing and drying we sat at the cafe next door and sipped hot chocolate while we ate toasted banana bread.

After returning the laundry to our room, we ventured across the street to the aquarium and spent a delightful few hours learning about the waters of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. They had several very informative lectures as we made our way around the displays.

The colors I missed on the first day were there

We even learned about the sharks around the reef

The corals they had were totally wonderful

And the fish we vibrant

I learned that this is not a shark, but a ray. And how to tell the difference

I kept a lookout for Nemo and Dory, but only saw there cousins

These fish and shrimp were putting on a show

Another example of the colorful symbiotic relationship between the coral and the algae

Here is the view with the tide almost all in

One night we decided to have dessert first as the restaurant Dale wanted to try was not yet open

These were so yummy. I think I would like to try to make some like these when I get home.

This was the little place we went for dinner when it opened. Dale got a chance to practice a little Japanese with the owner and the waitress

My dumplings, miso soup, and tempura we very tasty

The next day was a truly action packed day, starting with a tram ride up into the rainforest.

The ascension was steep

And done in three sections. There were walking trails and stuff between each section. Our schedule as set up by the tour company did not allow very much time to linger, but we did do the quick walks at each stop

I though those trees had nest in them when I first saw them. The sign near pointed out my errors. They were other plants growing on the host tree. Neither we damaged by the relationship. A disturbing fact the sign said was that it was a favorite place for young pythons to hang out. That total killed my urge to see in one

I almost felt like I was in a movie set

The clouds caused a miss through the trees

Our second walk gave is this view of a waterfall in the dry season

Here is a picture of it in the wet season

Butterfly garden

Part of our tour was to a butterfly encounter

These two were being friendly and showing their patterns

They were mostly butterflies found in the region

They had this small side areas they called the fairy garden. All the yellow forts are butterflies. A picture just could not capture them

We had time to visit a few of the markets in the village

There were several shops not open, but the ones that were had fun stuff. We even had someone join the gang. KK will be I. Some of the pictures of Sydney

I loved these

We were feed a cafeteria lunch where I meet some very nice young people.

They were having a school camp as part of there schooling

I learned a bit about more about some different kangaroos

There were a few surprises hiding

This little guy popped out to say hi.

If you look closely you will see an impressive crocodile in the water

This guys was brave and swimming in the same pond

Next we took a land/ water ride

Also the size of the ferns was amazing

This is what the tour were on. They were the kind that did the land and water. They were from WWII

Our guide pointed out this smaller 5-6 ft python near our vehicle

Then it was time to return to Cairns. We did this on a scenic train

It was an exciting trip on a narrow gauge railroad

We went by another waterfall called bridal veil

Their were over twenty bridges and 15 tunnels are the trip down from the rain forest. Also a few bend when we could see the front or back of the train.