A Brand New Adventure

Cairns – Pronounced either Canes or Cans but no one pronounces the /r/.

CharliExploresLeave a comment

Tom and I spent today in the pretty city of Cairns, Australia in preparation for our next leg of the journey – a great big check on our bucket list. Cairns is about 1200 kilometers (a 3 hour flight) up the coast from Sydney. It is also the main access point to the Great Barrier Reef, but more about that later.

Just as we arrived in the park, we saw this sign - eeeeek!
Just as we arrived in the park, we saw this sign – yikes!
(Click to get a better look at the sign)

 

The skies looked pretty ominous when we started out, but they cleared up after a bit.
The skies looked pretty ominous when we started out, but they cleared up after a bit.

We took advantage of the down time to wander around the city harbor area and get the feel of the city – clean, laid-back, and lovely. Here are some pictures from our walk-about.

This harbor goes on for half a mile - lots of money in those waters.
This harbor goes on for half a mile – lots of money in those waters.
The path along the harbor.
The path along the harbor.
A Flock of Huge Pelicans. They were about 2 ft. tall.
A Flock of Huge Pelicans. They were about 2 ft. tall.
Beautiful flowering bush. I know they look enhanced, but this is untouched. Pretty stunning, huh.
Beautiful flowering bush. I know they look enhanced, but this is untouched. Pretty stunning, huh.
This was a cross between a maze and a huge tree house - way cool!
This was a cross between a maze and a huge tree house – way cool!
There were lots of trees and these tree sculptures.
There were lots of trees and these tree sculptures.
Views from the park.
Views from the park.
This is the top of a huge casino. This part is an amusement park with a rainforest motif - zip lining, wildlife.
This is the top of a huge casino. This part is an amusement park with a rainforest motif – zip lining, wildlife.
The path through the park wandered past restaurants and shops.
The path through the park wandered past restaurants and shops.
We saw this displayed in one of the shops as Australians' View of the World. Pretty funny.
We saw this displayed in one of the shops as Australians’ View of the World. Pretty funny.
The park ran for more than a mile along the harbor's edge. With its sculptures, flowers, and beautiful landscaping. What a lovely place to spend the day.
The park ran for more than a mile along the harbor’s edge. With its sculptures, flowers, and beautiful landscaping. What a lovely place to spend the day.

This evening we dined at an interesting place call The Cock and Bull. We walked the five blocks in the rain (Cairns has just entered their rainy season. Since it is in the middle of a rainforest, it gets a lot of rain.) We were told that it was a great place and it turned out to be just that. We looked at the huge meals coming out of the kitchen and decided to share a meal.  Tom and I decided to share a meal and even at that it was way more than enough. Traci, this is where you need to cover your ears/eyes. We opted for the restaurant special – the Croc and Roo special – yep a combo of  crocodile cutlet and kangaroo steak and it was delicious! Crocodile tastes like a combination of lobster and chicken – interesting. Roo tastes like a good variation of a good steak. It was very much worth the rain trek.

The Coral Princess
The Coral Princess

Tomorrow we board the Coral Princess  for seven day cruise along the Great Barrier Reef!!!!  This ship is small – only about 40 passengers – and much more to our style. However, there will be no internet access – expensive or otherwise, so I’ll be off line for awhile. I promise to take lots of pictures and keep careful notes along the way and I’ll catch you up when we’re back among the connected. Till then, we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Love,

Charli & Tom

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