We were greeted with 81-degree temperatures, 83% humidity, and 0 mph winds with passing showers on our way towards Cairns, Queensland Australia early this morning. Needless to say, you could cut the humidity with a knife as one of or friends said. Cairns is located in the Great Barrier Reef and is the jumping-off point for snorkeling or boating across the 2000 kilometer stretch along the coastline. It is considered one of the most beautiful places on the planet with an eco-system of corals, sea turtles, sting rays, reef sharks, and a myriad of tropical fish. On past visits here, we have had the pleasure of taking a high-speed catamaran to pontoons that held many people for an afternoon of exploring the reefs and enjoying the buffet dining onboard. We learned quite a lot on our first swim there. That was to read and listen to the talks on the way out to the pontoon. We "sort" of read the safety regulations while visiting with our tablemates. What we missed was the fact we were on a wall dive, and when the tide shifted, there was an incredible undertow that could take you far away from the pontoon. For that reason, there was a rope to hold onto while over the wall. We made a mistake of letting go of the rope when a giant turtle swam by us. Guess what? We were swept away with the current and when we turned to see the pontoon, it was barely visible. Good grief. Good thing we were strong swimmers, because it still took a long time to get back to the safety of the pontoon. Some folks like us could not swim that long, and they were picked up and hauled into a dingy by the tour operators. Back onboard, we ate lunch, then went back into the water. By then, the current subsided, and there was no undertow at all. Despite that, we never let go of the rope. Lesson learned…..
There were other tour options in and out of Cairns today. Three excursions to the reef were an 8-hour tour with lunch for $330, Green Island 7 hour day with a picnic lunch for $230, and a scenic flight for 2 hours and $240. Three more excursions took folks on the Kuranda Railway for 5 to 6 hours and $220, $200, and $140. Other tours stuck closer to town ranging from 2 to 5 hours and prices from $60 to $150.
This rough and ready town is very pedestrian -friendly with the city center being less than a mile from the pier. The Volendam was docked by 8am, starboard side to the pier and the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal. No shuttles were needed today. We hung around still working on yesterday exploits until 10am and headed across the street with a local map in hand. Following Lake Street, we turned left on Shields, searching for the local produce market called Rusty's. We went all the way around the block and saw many more boutique-like shops we had not seen before. One window had some pretty nice silk jackets, so we ducked inside to look at them. Turned out they were the Johnny Was brand, which we have at home. Would have considered buying one, but they had limited sizes and not one was my size. Sometimes you get lucky, but it wasn't here.
We did locate Rusty's and they were in the process of setting up their produce stands for the day. There are food carts there with picnic-like seating, but that only happens on weekends. Taking some necessary pictures, we continued on to the Cairns Central Shopping Centre, which is a lovely modern and air-conditioned respite in the town. Looking for a pharmacy for bandaids, we came across another Cotton:On store where one of us happened to find two pairs of shorts. Then we found the pharmacy near the Coles Market. Target, Kmart and Woolworth's are also major supermarkets here. So the mall was crowded as was their food court on the upper level. That's where we spotted several of our crew enjoying the multi-choice dining venues there. Then they went snack-shopping to their heart's delight. Staying long enough to wander every level, we headed back outside into the heat to walk to the Esplanade.
Taking Shields to Lake Street, we passed by a bunch of local bars, most of which could have come out of a movie set…..rough and ready and plenty of cold beer offered. While strolling these central streets, we kept a lookout overhead for the fruit bats hanging from the branches. We could not spot one today. Recalling that some years ago, they took out some of the trees they occupied because they were leaving a terrible mess underneath them. Perhaps they have re-located elsewhere these days.
Following Aplin Street past the Cairns Library, hotels, casinos, and more eateries, we ended up on the Esplanade that has a nice wooden boardwalk for a mile or so facing the mudflats of the bay. This is where we always see a ton of water birds in the flats. Today the water was at a very low tide, and most of the birds were too far to get photos of them. Sometimes we see a small flock of Dalmatian pelicans, but they were gone as well. The railings along the walkway have signage that includes about every migratory or native bird that exists here. Right up our alley, but we only went about halfway today for two reasons. One was the lack of birds and the oppressive heat. One bird we did see was an oystercatcher foraging in the mud.
So we headed back walking by the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon, a shallow saltwater swimming lagoon with 4800 square meters of clean seawater. The entire lagoon is surrounded with green grass and banyan trees for much needed shade. Picnic benches are here and there and nearby restrooms. There are shallow ends as well as deeper water, great for families. Better yet….it is free. Near one of the picnic benches, we saw a night heron and got some good photos of it.
Lunch was next on the agenda, and we made our way past the helicopter pad to the Salt House, a very nice venue with views of the Trinity Inlet and the Marlin Wharf and marina. Part of the restaurant has reflecting ponds with tables and couches for cocktails and tapas. Further back into the restaurant were tables along windows that were wide open. We took one of those tables for the wonderful breeze. And they serve the best pizza here, which turned out to be a Hawaiian or tropical pizza. The draft beers were locally-brewed called Macalister Latitude…..ice cold and really refreshing. We opted for a dessert called a chocolate berry volcano but were informed by the manager that they had accidently burned it, and apologizing profusely. We had the biggest laugh when she said that, and so did the surrounding guests that heard her comment. We agreed to wait another 10 minutes and she offered us drinks on the house. We asked for one more beer to share, which we thought was really nice of her to offer it. While we waited, some friends came over and we shared notes on the port today, the restaurant, and possible future cruses.
The skies were getting darker and we figured we had better head back along this waterfront. The Shangri-la Hotel is situated on this waterfront as are a number of high-end eateries, some of which we had dined in the past. Hands down, the Salt House was the best.
We were back to the terminal just as the rain began to sprinkle, relaxing in our room until it was sail-away time. Some guests on tours were running late, so we did not sail out of the Trinity Inlet until after 6pm. We had hoped to see the display of flying fruit bats, but there was not a one. Only some swiftlets coming out of the mangroves by the dozens. And there were the terns and gulls, always visible. We will have three sea days now before we arrive to Darwin.
Dinner was good again with salads, shrimp cocktails, and mains of sweet and sour chicken with egg-fried rice. No dessert.
No show or movie for us….it had been a long and hot day and we were happy to turn in early.
Bill & Mary Ann
