We spent just about a week here, mom, sam and I. The town itself is not much to speak of, I would guess it to have the highest population of shops selling tours in maybe the world and tons of tourists to match. There was a nice boardwalk along the mangroves (there isn't a swimable beach here), a concrete and sand swimming area to cool off in, some wicked large yaghts in the harbour and buskers on the mainstreet. Oh and bats, tons of large bats in the massive trees that are scattered among the city core.
Generally it seems the draw of Cairns is what you can do around Cairns.
We took a day trip with Ocean Freedom out to a section of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) for some snorkeling and SCUBA. I'd never been snorkeling in tropical waters before and this completely impressed me. Tons of fish, really big torso sized fish in all colours of the rainbow, massive growths of coral in colour from bright blue to yellow to black to red, stingrays, big schools of little fish, fat two foot long sea cucumbers and starfish. To top it all off on our second snorkling excursion we saw a baby reef shark. I was very impressed to say the least.
I managed to get 2 dives in, although I do have my NAUI open water certification it had been about ten years since my last SCUBA. I was pumped that they let me go for it and happy that I slipped right back into being a ocean astronaut quite easily. On our way back to shore from the reef we got our first glimpse of whales breaching in the distance.
A couples day later we took a trip to Kuranda, a little hippy town in the hills just north of Cairns. There are three ways to get here. First, driving up the windy road. Second, old fashioned restored train. Third, by gondola right up over the surrounding rainforest. We opted to take the second and third options. The gondola provided spectacular views of the rainforest and surrounding countryside as well as waterfalls running through the center of the park. A stop half way up to change gondolas allowed for a small scenic walk and lookout.
Kuranda itself was fairly tourist oriented but quite cute at the same time. There is one main street with shops selling icecream, jewellery, artwork and the usual souviner fare. The fun up here lies in the sanctuaries, butterfly, bird and koala sanctuaries to be exact. The butterfly and bird sanctuary were best described as open habitats where residents and guest were open to roam quite free and interact. The birds were very friendly looking for treats from the bags of seeds and crackers we purchased for a couple dollars on entering. My favorite was a little owl who sat just outside the entrance looking like a furbie and eating grubs.
We passed on the butterfly sanctuary and went right on the the koalas. This was more of a zoo like setting but all the fences were low and we were free to wander amongst the kangaroos and wallibies. We paid the 15 extra dollars for a picture with a koala. The most lovely thing in the world I have to say. Lazy, soft and smelling like eycaliptus I instantly fell in love. Lizards, fresh water crocs and snakes were also on view here. The snakes I don't even have pictures of, I'm not normally that squimish, I can deal, but these snakes made me feel nauseaous, they were terrible.
From here we hurried to catch our train home. Its a super old school train with wooden seats that face each other. The views were spectacular as it travelled along side the water fall and river but I admittedly slept for most it. Overwhelmed I think by the happy koala experiance.
meh.... just a koala....
Ps. Elizabeth got here yesterday! wicked!
Pss. Xavier Rudd concert tomorrow!
Psss. epic surf conditions
Pssss. life is wicked
