Cairns dairy

Cairns diary

Ever since we touched down under in 2009, I have been hearing a lot about Cairns which is famous for its beautiful sandy beaches, tropical climate and also one of the greatest wonders of the modern world, The Great Barrier Reef.

When we had our leave sorted during this school holidays, we had three places in our minds to visit. The first one was a road trip to Ayres Rock AKS Uluru and the town in central Australia, Alice Springs in Northern Territory. From Adelaide to Alice Springs covering Uluru return would take minimal six days due to the distance, 1700km one way and the stay in between that would be Coober Pedi. Three years ago we visited Coober Pedi which is one of the unique places in the world let alone Australia. 

The second was the city of Darwin in NT  as we have visited all other capital cities in Australia. This outback city was affected badly following the Japanese invasion in 1970. It has moulded back to its former glory since the massive destruction. Darwin also suffered from natural calamities few times. People have migrated to many other parts of Australia and settled as little hamlets. On our way to Coober Pedi we spent some time in a little township called Kimba which was created by the settlers from Darwin some 45 years ago. Darwin is the home of Charles Darwin university which ranks one of the best in the world. We could also catch up with some of my friends in Darwin too. 

And the third one was the tropical city of far north Queensland, Cairns. After some contemplation, we decided to proceed with Cairns. Finally, we browsed through few options of flights and accommodation we found an attractive deal with Discover Australia where one could organise hotels and flights costing AU$3100. Of course, there are many websites offers the likewise deals, I decided to settle with discovering Australia this time. also I reserved the car rental with Rental cars and picked Thrifty with additional full cover insurance. We booked the trip just two days before our trip . 



 24th April 2018

And the day has come and the Independent taxi took us to Adelaide airport. I usually prefer to take the taxi all the time as I don`t want to cause an obligation to others to commute between airport and home. Also, considered leaving our car at the airports long term parking area as we had done before, but finally the taxi won this time. We were pretty smitten to see the S class Mercedes Benz displayed at the airport.

The S Class displayed at Adelaide airport

We boarded the 10.15AM Jetstar`s direct flight to Cairns. Kids were excited and so we were and we had a pleasant journey. I had a little snooze as the flight cruised over the Simpson desert of central Australia. The 2.45 hours journey was completely overland. Emi settled the kids and ofcourse me with the burgers from

On board Jetstar

Hungry Jacks of the airport. These low-cost carriers offer condiments but anything above will have to flash our cards. I got tempted and settled with a Pure Blonde from the flight which cost a bit extra than the usual price. 

As the plane descended over Cairns we had our first glimpse of this beautiful city. It was full of green and the blue sea on one side. As we step down to the airport, I couldn`t help myself for not taking a photo of this picturesque sight from the ground. 

Jetstar from Adelaide

Our Jetstar at Cairns

In no time we approached the Thrifty car rental`s counter and after the brief paperwork, we had our first view of The Mitsubishi Outlander which was all ready for us. The GPS was directed to our stay in Trinity beach which is aprx 20km from the airport. On our way, we couldn't dim our eyes even for seconds as the views around were so beautiful. The rainforest hills ahead kept us "wow" all the time.

Mitsubishi Outlander

In Smithfield, we came across a shopping mall and had some domestic shopping from the Woolworths. I guess this is one of the biggest in Cairns which houses, apart from Woolworths, Coles, K Mart and many others including the favourite Dan Murphy`s. I paid a quick visit to the latter and brought some boosters. 

As we were screening around the surrounding mountains, something which stumbled on our views at far. It was a cableway and it was none other than the Skyrail cableway. We reconfirmed that it is a must see and there will be more about that later on. 

From Smithfield

Cableway at far

After 10minutes drive which is a mixture of 60, 80 and 100km/hr, we reached Coral Beach resort in Trinity beach which will be our home for the next five days. The Asian lady at the reception was pretty friendly and after signing the paper works and charging $1 from my Credit card she handed over two sets of keys and a touch remote to open the shutter to park the car. 

Though it was an elephantine task to carry the items of luggage up to the third floor, the views from the top were superb. Our apartment was composed of a large reception, kitchen with dishwasher and other utensils, two toilets with bathroom, a washing machine and dryer and all those things required for a family to live. Kids were immediately smitten by the pool and we were pleased to see the beautiful garden with barbecues and the palm trees. 

Coral Sands Resort

Once we settled, we took a stroll down the Trinity beach which was just across the road. The views we had were beyond any words can describe. The coral sands beach were densed with coconut trees and mountains and that immediately gave us a feeling that we were in Kerala-the Gods own country. Though we thoroughly enjoyed our walk, our face became grin by seeing the sign saying crocodiles had been spotted at the beach. 

Trinity beach

At far, we spotted a large ship which was stationed. I tried to test my new Nikon P900 83x/2000mm zoom towards this ship and I was amazed by its zoom capacity. The zoom was clear enough to read the cruise liner`s name as Dawn Princess. Later the big boat made a 180° turn and proceeded to the next destination.

Crocodile warnings

Trinity Beach

25th April 2018

The next morning, we decided to drive towards north to Port Douglas. The 50km drive through the coastal route was filled with pristine beauty. Not a fraction of second is bored and it was filled with superb views. The sea on your right side and the green mountain on your left. We spent some time at the beach. it appears to be very serene and lots of people including kids were utilising the swimming enclosures. The Dawn Princess was docked a few hundred metres away and some passengers were parasailing and also took their time in the beach.

 

On the way to Port Douglas

 In Port Duglous, we paid a visit to the privately operated Bally Hooley railway. The short but sweet 2 feet 4km track from St Crispin's station to Marina Mirage was really fun and anyone with a kind heart would enjoy. This one-hour return trip which runs through few stations and bushes are really fun especially kids will definitely have a great time. In Marina Mirage you could take the boats for snorkelling or other trips. This market is a great place if you are up to purchase novelties. When we return to St Crispin's station we had a great opportunity to watch the train engine being turn tabled. it was interesting and much of surprice that the big engine was literally turned  by two men. 

Baly Hooley railway station

Bally Hooley train

It was time to have some munch and we were content with our homemade sandwiches and the drink we brought along. 

At this point in time, our sceneries were totally changed and our road was cutting through sugarcane fields. The sugar cane industry in Queensland is a big business for centuries. More than 80% of the sugarcane produced there is supplied to the rest of Australia and almost 80% gets exported to overseas. There were lots of sugarcane carriages left on either side of the roads and I understand that they all are still being used but only during the harvest season. These carriages are few hundred metres long. Their small rail tracks are running everywhere and many times we cross over that.  

Sugarcane fields

Sugarcane plants

Meantime our Satellite Navigation started to lose its battery as the power from the SUV as connected due to the faulty adaptor I brought with. Jeff wanted to try the apple car play facility of the Outlander and he managed to link it to the car. I was then able to get the map from my iPhone on to the screen and we had the great relief to keep going.

Apple car play 

Our next destination was Cape Tribulation. This place is composed of the Daintree national park and the wet tropics world heritage area. The drive to there is through the rain forests and it reminds me of the roads to Kodaikkanal from Ghat road. Though we haven't done many activities there, we thoroughly enjoyed the calm and serene atmosphere of the woods and the calmness. People can hire or avail 4x4 and go further north to enjoy the breath taking sceneries. Jeff and Chris had the fear of their life when they spotted a large spider hanging over the toilet they were intended to use. 

Large spider

Port Douglas beach

 On our way back to Cairns we stopped at the special Daintree ice creams made out of the fruit grown in their orchard. The taste of those was beyond any scripts can describe. These ice creams rendered as a set of four flavours in a single cup. One would notice the calm and quiet atmosphere that they would visit there again for sure. 

Due to our limited time, we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and returned to Trinity Beach. The return trip was filled with stunning views of the mountains and the sunrays sizzling through them. We stumbled upon a sign of a world ward 2 bomb site and proceeded through an unsealed road but it ended up in vain as we couldn`t locate any such thing. However, there were lots of friendly cattle in the field and they welcomed us with a curious look. 

26th April 2018

Though we were still snowed under by the exciting views we had seen so far there were few many areas of interest were left in our cards. The Skyrail was one of them and we decided to dedicate the following day for that. After a short drive from our apartment, we reached the Skyrail visiting centre. No matter if you come by car or bus there is ample area to park. Checked with the lady at the enquiry that if we could do a combined one that including the Great Barrier Reef. The lady said that they could do the same but that would be a packed one and the kids would be exhausted. So we decided to do the Skyrail and Kuranda scenic railway for the day. 

While I was browsing around, I noticed that Queen Elizabeth was one of the famous visitors of the Skyrail when she visited the site in 2002.  There was enough rush but we only had to wait for few minutes before we have proceeded to one of the gondolas. Each gondola is equipped for 6, but once we four were in they closed the door and here we go.... The Skyrail started climbing through the heavy ropes and what you see next is really really breathtaking views. The gondolas ply over the rainforest leaving the town behind.

 

Throughout the entire 7.5km ride over the Kuranta rainforest one finds it hard to control their excitement. The whole route is composed of two stations Red Peek and Barron George stations where you could get out and take a stroll through the woods with breathtaking views including a waterfall. A wild red necked rooster decided to follow me for a while which was one point bit scary.

The rooster

Finally, we reached Kuranda station. The passengers can return back to the base in the Skyrail with a reduced price, but we opt to take the Kuranda scenic railway. Since the train departs only at 14.00hours, we took the free shuttle bus to the beautiful little town of Kuranda. 

Skyrail experience

Before we had a stroll, we decided to visit the privately owned and operated Australian Butterfly sanctuary which is the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Its a home of 2000 different and vivid colourful of butterflies. We thought $50 family ticket was high, but once you enter the sanctuary what you see is almost 2000 of friendly butterflies which comes in a spectrum of colours. These beautiful little flies are freely flying everywhere and some of them even rest on us. The sanctuary conduct research too and also can see the stages of developments of larvae.

The friendly butterflies

Caterpillers

With those glittering mind filling sights, we diffuse to the town. Had our snacks from a side shop, we then had sugar cane juice and we couldn`t try the tender coconut juice as our tummy was full. Much of the excitement to have the sugarcane juice came dimmed as it was not that sweet as we had in Kerala. Is that because they didn't mix lemon or ginger in it..? I don`t know.. Anyhow that was our first sugarcane juice outside South India. After visiting an ancient men's and ladies room we took the return free shuttle bus back to the Kuranda railway station near to the Skyrail point. The historic Kuranda hotel was just opposite to the Kuranda station which boasts to have tasty home cooked meals and I took a couple of snaps of that beautiful building. 

Sugarcane juice being pressed

Tasting sugar cane juice

The one and half hour 37 km slow Kuranda train journey through the wood is unimaginable. Mostly on your right side, what you see is hills but the left side you would get the superb views that include the Cairns city at far and the Skyrail cableway and the waterfalls. It also has few stations in between. Though it is currently used as a tourist trip; this used to be one of the regular commuting trains years before. The journey over a curved bridge gives the passengers a beautiful view of the train itself and as it towards the end of the trip, the train takes a 180-degree turn. When it was built in 1891, there were more than 1000 workers at a time and interestingly they had to bring their own work tools. Well, the law was like this--if you want a job; then bring your tools. So simple as that. They acknowledge the numbers of workers who perished their life during its construction in the deep jungle.  

Onboard Kuranda scenic train

View from train

Waterfalls

After passing through sugarcane fields, we finally reached Freshwater station. Had to use the men`s quickly and rushed to the free air suspension coaches waiting for us to take back to the Skyrail area where we left our car. 

We decided to take a look at the city of Cairns. Our aim was to find a car park near the reef marina where we could possibly book our tickets to see the wonderful The Great Barrier Reef. However, we reserved the tickets over the phone and proceeded to the marina. We spotted a helicopter ready to be flown off to one of the islands. 

Chopper to Green Island

Cairns marina

The marina appeared to be one of the beautiful sights. The famous Shangri la hotel houses close to the marina and we strolled through the esplanade. It was a serene atmosphere and we were amazed to see the pool and the lots of little activities around there. There were also huge catamarans returning from the outer sea. 

Catamaran`s returning from outer sea

Shangri La hotel, Cairns

We decided to have our dinner from Cafe Villano which is an Italian restaurant at the Esplanade and I was content with my large Chicken portion. Then we walked along that part of the city and took some snaps of the historic Cairns post office and some other buildings. Earlier we booked to visit The Great Barrier reef the following day over the phone and we should be at The Reef terminal by 8.15AM for the 9.00AM departure.

Reef Fleet Terminal

27th April 2018

We booked the half day trip only as we didn`t want to spend too much time on the Green Island and that cost us $280. After collecting the boarding pass, we proceeded to the ferry. We met a Malayalee family and by seeing us the senior person nodded that we look like Malayalees.. We introduced ourselves and the parents are visiting from Kerala for the past three months and they are from Melbourne to take the cruise to see the TGR. 

Reef fleet terminal

Reef Rocket to Green Island

The 45 minutes Reef Rocket voyage was really fun. We were warned that people can be seasick as it is jerky. The boats offer free ginger tablets to ease sickness. I decided not to take it and see how it goes. Luckily it was not that shaky and we finally landed on the Green Island which is just above 27km from Cairns. We were given 45 minutes to stroll through the island. The island houses a private resort where we could hire the activities or have the refreshments. A group of people walked pass wearing the special gear to have their snorkelling experience. I was amused by their camera with the special protective case for the underwater photography. Lots of other people were also seen participating the same. We decided to opt out that this time. 

Onboard Catamaran

Cairns CBD 

We start with walking along the little beach and found a helipad and in no time a chopper just landed there which came from the mainland. After some light refreshments, we decided to walk back to the jetty. Kids had an amusing time as that area was dense with little fearless birds. The view from the jetty was so brilliant with blue sea and the boats scattered in nearby distance. 

Our first experience was to travel in the semi-submarine boat. From the jetty, we entered through a big catamaran and then stepped on the yellow semi-submarine. Lots of tourists from China and Korea were there and the instructions were also given in their languages too. The semi-submarine is composed of a glass enclosure which is half submerged beneath the water level. Basically, the rest of the boat will be visible as normal. 

Inside semi-submarine

Multicoloured reefs

Views from semi-submarine

Semi-Submarine

As the boat began sailing; hundreds of multicoloured fishs of different sizes and shapes started to swim along. The appeared to be very much friendly and fearless. We were given live commentary as well and they encouraged us to yell out if we spot a shark. In no time a meter long shark just swims past. 
Then we were able to visualize one of the beautiful sights which had ever seen. The beautiful reefs of different colours, shapes and sizes were scattered throughout. The sea in that area is shallow and we will have a clear picture of the same. The fishs were swimming through there. Not only fishs, there are stingrays and turtles were also spotted. 

The Green Island

Fish feeding

The great barrier reef is one of the wonders of the modern world which extends for 2800km through the Queenland coastal line. The reef is a real problem as it is at the risk of being endangered as per Sir Richard Attenborough. We only visited the minor portion of the reefs. To see the lot you will need months. 
From the semi-submarine, we were directed to the glass bottom boat. Here the floor of the boats is glass and we could see the fishes, reefs and the bottom of the sea. The captain thew food to feed the fishes and they would come there as a flock to have their feast. That was really an interesting sight. 

Glass bottom boat

We boarded back the Reef Rocket and returned to the city. On our return trip, most of the tourists were fast asleep and I decided to settle with a locally produced beer. 
Once back in the city, we had another drive through the city and spotted some of the land marks like the Bishops house etc and returned to our apartment before stopping at Smithfield shopping mall.

Cairns CBD

Cairns CBD

Cairns post office

Once we settle there; kids wanted to swim in the pool and we had a great time in the shallow pool of the Coral Sands. We too had some fun with the kids. 

Later that evening we drove through the nearby village of Yorkees Knob and went up to a highly steep area and the marina.

View from Yorkees Knob

Yorkees Knob

On our way back we stopped at a KFC to check the taste difference of the chicken there. The little shopping precinct was so busy and one of the shopkeepers said its pretty normal on Tuesdays and Fridays.A guy was drinking a bottle of wine he just brought from the lacquer store there and was wandering there and here reminded me of Kerala

We spent our last night at the resort pretty relaxed with our take away with home-cooked meals and drinks.  



28th April 2018

The following morning after checking out we drove through some other residential areas of Trinity beach and the spent some time at the AJ Hackett Bungy.

At A J Hackett Bungy

On our way back to the airport, we filled up the fuel before returning our companion for the last few days. Our return flight was with Qantas and via Brisbane. The checked in bags were through to Adelaide which was a great relief. The Qantas allows each passenger to check in 23kg bags. 
The 12.55hour departing 1.45hour flight to Brisbane was pleasant. Had the snacks and we had three hours in Brisbane. Got out of the airport terminal and decided to take the train to the city for a quick visit. Considered the free DFS shuttle bus but it only operates over the weekdays. Returned terminal and boarded the 2.45-hour flight to Adelaide.  
 Landed in Adelaide just before the expected time of 8.45PM. Collected our pieces of luggage and took the taxi home. 

I would strongly recommend those travel buffers who likes tropical weather and certain adventures activities. Cairns is really beautiful and fun. 

Thank you!