We had wrapped up our stay in Townsville, ending on a high yesterday celebrating my birthday on Magnetic Island. It was time to move on and head up north to tempt fate. We had decided to try our luck and head to Cairns for a few nights, wanting to take the girls to Kuranda for the day while up there. Now when l say, tempt fate, the last two times we had been to Cairns had very well nearly ended in divorce for Marty and l. But we were determined to go to Cairns and have a ball and leave on a better note than our previous occasions.
So we set off, taking the beautiful coastal drive up, passing thru Ingham, which is full of sugar cane fields. So lush and green country, and always has the fluffiest clouds in the sky. We stopped off at Cardwell for lunch, and who do we see on the other side of the road, the Beatons!!! They were on their way down from Cairns, what are the odds. We had a quick catch up as they were on a mission that day to get further south. We had lunch and then let the girls offload some energy in the playground. Now there's not much to Cardwell, small coastal town, but it looked very clean and that they had recently developed the play area. The water wasn't the most inviting colour, but l loved the palm lined beach and the jetty.
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| Lush sugar can fields.... |
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| Meg sprinted to the playground at Cardwell! |
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| Great jetty... |
Off we went again, arriving at Cairns in the early afternoon. We even stayed at the same park we stayed at over three years ago when we nearly busted up, the Cairns Holiday Park! Bloody testing ourselves out that's for sure, but it was only because it was the cheapest by far and central too! When we pulled in, some backpackers were manning the desk and when asked how many adults l stated 2, then she ran it thru. Wahoo! No payment for kids. What was l meant to do, tell them? We hadn't done this much on our trip, so when we had the chance to do so, we took it. They charge so much for having kids with you, its totally ridiculous. So we crept in and set up, telling the girls to be o their best behaviour!
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| Rolling ranges... |
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| Our Cairns camp... |
The first few days we just chilled out, caught up on blasted school and the boring jobs such as washing and cleaning the van. Doesn't matter if your home is a house or a van, their is always still housework to be done. Thankfully its on a smaller scale though, so doesn't take as long. The weather had turned a bit crappy, so overcast and not the best weather for swimming, to the girls disgust. There were showers on and off and we were embracing the cooler weather for a change, having been thru the humidity of Thailand and the north. The girls had received some much loved vouchers for their birthdays from the gorgeous Gronow family, so we stopped off at Myer where the girls eagerly chose their gifts, leading to many hours of fun back at the park, even for Marty!!
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| Thanks Gronows for our Lego pressies!! |
Seeing l still wasn't up to running due to an issue with my hip, which was concerning me greatly, l took to walking. A lot! I walked most days. I took off to find new tracks, finding my way to the Botanical Gardens one day, which was gorgeous. I did a few long walks down to the Esplanade and back. Was a great 9km route, the boarded paths great, but the scenery nowhere as great as Townsville. When the tide was out there was only mud to be seen and when the tide was in, the water was brown. Having said that, it didn't deter people, the walkway being crowded with runners, bikes and walkers.
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Photos l took while on a walk thru the
Botanical Gardens...little blurry seeing l didn't
want to stop my walk to take them! |
One day after my walk l arrived back at the park and walked past these young backpacker girls that were struggling to open their back of the van. They looked like they were struggling so when l got home l told Marty and we went over to suss it out. Now these girls were definitely of European descent, stunning with long legs, blonde hair and gorgeous bodies. They were dressed in the normal attire of bikini tops and skirts. Marty looked like a shy little school boy as we approached. After a bit of muscle and some CRC spray, he was able to open the latch of the van. The girls all jumped around squealing and clapping, chanting "your our hero". I was laughing hysterical inside as l watched my husband take the complements like it was nothing. We said our goodbyes and as we walked back to the van l hung so much shit on Marty about him being my hero! So funny.....
Marty was reaping the rewards of the caravan park camp kitchen and the excess backpackers leaving Cairns to fly home. The camp kitchen was stocked daily with new finds and if anyone knows Marty, he is always on the hunt for freebies. In the five days we were there he acquired a shifter, screw driver, pliers, huge amount of toilet rolls, two plastic boxes, mozzie coils, a real wine glass that wasn't plastic!, small BBQ, cooker plate for the BBQ and a bike tube! There was also heaps of condiments, oil, rice and pasta that was snaggled up. I had to ban him from going over, he was lurking there at dawn and making several trips to see if anything new had been left. We would surely need a trailer to carry everything if we stayed any longer!!! Lol.
With the weather not improving we decided to venture out for a drive up the coast to check out Palm Cove and Port Douglas. The weather was shitty, overcast with showers and strong winds. The coastal road was forever winding which made me crook in the guts, Marty always loves these roads as he treats it like a race track! We arrived in Port Douglas and took a stroll around town and down on the beach. It was cold and the ocean looked rough due to the winds, not inviting at all. I really love the town, its full of quirky little shops and eclectic clothing. After our stroll, we decided to head off to Palm Cove.
We hadn't really seen this town on our last trip up here, having been rushing to get to Cape York. We had heard nothing but rave reviews about Palm Cove from our travelling buddies along the way, especially the Cronan's who had done a work stint here. There wasn't much to the town, smaller than l expected, virtually it was just a street. We probably didn't pick the best day to get the best impression of the town with it being so cold and windy. It took us forever to find a cafe for some chips and bread, we were splurging and having our infamous chip sangas for lunch. We pulled up and found a table near the beach, which probably wasn't the best idea. We spent most of our time trying to keep things from blowing off the table rather than enjoying our lunch. Reminded us of our time in Geraldton!! With nothing else really to look at and the weather not being the most pleasant, the girls sooking about being cold most of the time, we decided to head back to Cairns. Marty and l reckon Palm Cove is a beautiful little sea shanty of a town and we would definitely come back to waste some days away one day!
Back in Cairns we parked the car and took a stroll down the Esplanade, the girls had gotten changed in their bathers in the car and were adamant that they were swimming today! The girls loved scooting along as Marty and l got some peace and quiet as we strolled along behind them. We stopped off at a playground and our hearts were in our throats as we heard Boo come down hard off the monkey bars. I don't tend to panic very often and Boo is a toughie, so with her having a big cry l knew she was hurt. We really thought she may have broken it, but luckily it was just soft tissue injury. After a cuddle she got up and went on like a trooper. Along the walkway, the scenery wasn't too pleasant with the tide out, therefore the boardwalk just showcased mud. At the lagoon pool we saw some fire jugglers who were just finishing off their act. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the 5 minutes that they saw.
At the Lagoon Pool, Marty and l enjoyed a laze around while the girls had fun splashing around in the pool. As l was looking around l noticed a bloody Asian man with his SLR camera taking pics of our girls. He was so obvious about it and l watched him for a while to make sure l wasn't just imagining it. The life savers nearby either didn't notice him or didn't care, so as a protective mother l took it upon myself to stop him. I yelled out and told him to stop taking pictures of my girls, my tone obvious to how l felt. He looked startled, knew he had been caught and just turned around and walked off. I continued to watch him and after a while he started taking pictures of other kids on the other side of the lagoon. Couldn't believe the life saving guards weren't taking any action! This had really upset me and thankfully the girls had had enough, so we left. We finished the day off with a real treat, ice creams all round, and not just the 50 cent soft serves from Macca's either. Actual nice real ice creams in waffle cones, delicious!
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| Lagoon pool.... |
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| Gorgeous backdrop....felt like we were back in Thailand! |
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| Sisterly love.... |
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| Tadah!! |
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| Lounging around.... |
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| Ice cream time!!! |
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| Time to scoot back...been an awesome day out! |
Our last day in Cairns we decided to go and check out Kuranda, a little rain forest village up the hills about 45 minutes away from Cairns. We had booked online, and seeing Marty and l had been here when Boo was only one year old, we knew we had to get cracking in the morning as it was going to be a full on day. We parked and headed up to the Skyrail, boarding so that we had to share with a Asian couple. The girls absolutely loved it. The views were amazing, travelling over the top of a lush rainforest below. The weather decided to provide a spectacular sunny day for us, in which we were glad. We did a few stops on the Skyrail, deciding to avoid the guided walks along the rainforest. It was so busy with so many dumb ass international tourists who would just stand in the middle of the boardwalk and not let you through! We loved the jungle walk thru the Red Peak Station, the first stop.
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| Gorgeous pic of these two.... |
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| Family pic in the Skyrail... |
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| Great views from above.... |
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Look how close you get to the rainforest canopy!
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Boardwalk rainforest walk....
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| Lush rainforest... |
The second stop of the Skyrail was at Barron Falls Station. I still remember this place from nearly 9 years ago we were here last. So, again, we had to wait until the line up of international tourists had finished with all their selfies and pics before we could even take a look at the Barron Falls. The Barron Falls National Park is heritage listed and the falls themselves plummet from a mighty 260 meters tall. We stopped off at the Rainforest Interpretation Centre which was really interactive and interesting for the girls.
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| Really taking in the views.... |
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View of Barron Falls from above...
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| Spectacular views... |
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| Down on the ground again amongst the dense forest... |
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| Barron Falls..... |
Eventually we arrived at Kuranda and took a stroll along the streets, which are filled with eateries, souvenir shops and art galleries. The girls had to go into the candy store, which ended up being pretty cool as we watched them make hard boiled lollies with such creative centrepieces. Of course, we couldn't leave without purchasing some! We decided to sit down and have lunch in a cafe which ended up being the most fun times as a family we had had in a while, everyone laughing throughout. First we sat down and saw a sign which read "Children left unattended would be sold to the circus", which led to Meg panicking everytime Marty and l got up to order or go to the toilet. Poor thing was petrified she would be taken away to the circus. Next laugh erupted when l went to take a swig out of my bottle of drink, to find the lid was still on. We just kept laughing the whole meal, think everyone must have thought we were loopy or something!
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| Last Skyrail down to Kuranda township... |
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| See the train in the distance... |
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| The quirkiness features of Kuranda begin.... |
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| Even old carts on the roof... |
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| Gorgeous Elm tree roots.... |
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| Meg still believed this statue was real! |
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| Lolly making time!!! |
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| How cool is that! |
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| The sign on the wall at lunch! Pissa.... |
Now our tummies were full, we made our way up the slight hill to the Butterfly Sanctuary. I cant believe we had to pay, around $50 for the family, to go into the sanctuary. On top of the cost of the sky rail and train, l think the ticket purchased for the day should include the attractions. So expensive, but the girls had never been in a butterfly sanctuary before and we couldn't just rave about it then decide not to do it at the last minute. Anyway, it was the largest in Australia, so we forked over the money and walked thru the plastic stripped doors. I remember this place too from all those years ago and walking in just brought back a flood of memories. There were thousands of gorgeous coloured butterflies flapping around everywhere. The girls faces were priceless. They couldn't believe how many there were. I was in a trance with the huge blue ones, but would you think butterflies stay still long enough to get their pics taken? Boo was wearing a darkish coloured t-shirt and so they were attracted to that, landing on her shoulders a few times. Meg was getting so upset that non were landing on her, she actually had a childish reaction with tears and all. Everyone can hear that voice of hers and imagine what it would have been like I'm sure! Anyway, after standing still for a little while, one finally landed on her head and then her hand! Oh the joy, thank god is all l can say, it led to a much more happier time in the sanctuary after that! After around 45 minutes we were running low on time, so took a look at the caterpillar breeding centre on the way out. So cool with the bright intense colours of these caterpillars, they were bloody huge.
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| Meg even has her wings on! |
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| Getting their nectar... |
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Meg having a moment due to no butterflies landing on her!
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| Sooks are over now she has her turn! |
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| Marty even had some land on his head.... |
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| Happy days in the Butterfly Sanctuary... |
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| Bloody massive... |
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I thought this one was relaxing, but not
the case, it was dead.... |
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| In the caterpillar nursery.... |
We quickly stopped off to get an icecream before racing down to the train station. We had an allocated time to depart, so as we ran down we heard the train whistle blow, shitting ourselves we would miss it. When we arrived at the platform we got into the first carriage we saw free, to be told quickly that we were in the wrong seat. We must have looked puzzled as they pointed out our seat and carriage numbers were printed on our tickets....whoopsy! So we hurriedly found our right carriage with the final whistle just being blown, phew! The drama just added to our fun filled day!
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| Quick pick on our race to the train... |
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| All aboard.... |
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| Whoops...wrong carriage so on the hunt for the right one! Lol |
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| Yay...we made it and in the right seat! |
As the train set off, we relaxed back into our seats, the girls quickly getting their lolly pops out to suck on. The train took us on a winding track through the forest and along the mountain sides. The girls, no we all for that matter, really enjoyed it. The track was built between 1882 and 1891 and by the end of the train ride we had crossed 37 bridges, gone thru 15 tunnels and passed two gorges and waterfalls, one being the Barron Falls. I really loved the perspective of the train going thru the tunnel with half the train still passing around the outside of the mountain. We were in one of the last carriages so you go to see it in full view, looked totally spectacular. When we finally arrived back at the Kuranda Terminal, we had to wait in the full sun for a bus to pick us up to take us back to the car park. This was the longest part of the day really, such a scorcher in the sun and it had been a full on time, we just wanted to get back to the car. Eventually the air conditioned bus arrived and took us all back to the car park. Such a wonderful last day for us in Cairns, instead of heated arguments and protests, we had had the best fun filled day full of laughter and joy. Who would have picked that with our odds walking into this town?
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| Off we go.... |
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Boo's the only one who would get off the train to
check it out with me! |
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Barron Falls....yes another viewing! They
really like this waterfall! |
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| Views of the countryside we pass.. |
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| One of the many bridges we cross.... |
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| Awesome view of train on the sweeping bend! |
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| Thru another tunnel! |
Although our five nights in Cairns was enjoyable and fun, we still probably wouldn't come back here for a holiday. Once you've done Kuranda and the Lagoon Pool, there's not that much to do. We still prefer Townsville over Cairns, but that's not to say we wouldn't come back up north, we would just opt to stay higher in Port Douglas or Palm Cove. At least we came, we conquered and we stayed married, no divorce!!! With that, we were planning our next move, which was going to be to Paronella Park. We couldn't wait, we had heard so much from all travelers at how wonderful this place was, to the point that we decided not to tell the girls where we were going, it was to be a surprise! Their princess castle await!!
Bell Xxx
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