TWO WEEKS IN CAIRNS
24/04/09 TO 10/05/09
Preparing for our trip up the Cape turned into us spending 2 weeks in Cairns. We decided to have a winch fitted to the front of the Patrol and this meant a new bull bar – so why not go the whole hog and have side rails fitted which also meant new running boards. The parts did not arrive when the should have, the Monday that David had booked the car in for the work to be done turned out to be a public holiday and in the end the work took 2 ½ days. We had very few other campers close by for the entire 2 weeks. The weather was hot and the pool was well used even though the water temperature was very chilly – not much direct sun shines on the pool because of the shade sail covering the whole area. During the second week we had rain almost every day which cooled things down a little.
Ever since we left Bundaberg I had been keen to do a trip out to see the reef. Most of these cruises include snorkelling and, although Ross is not keen, I am interested in having a go. Earlier attempts to organise this did not work out due to weather and the further north we went the more people were saying it would be best to do a trip out to the reef from Port Douglas. Instead of going to Port Douglas in the van as our next stop after Cairns, it made sense to do a day trip up there (which turned out to be a weekend – the long weekend). The drive to Port Douglas is likened to driving along the Great Ocean Road and, as the road hugs the ocean, the views out over the coastline are truly spectacular.
Having spoken to lots of fellow tourist about what was offered by various charter boat companies, I was keen to do a trip with Wavelength who have a limit of 30 passengers unlike Quicksilver and some others who might have up to 200 passengers. After a quick look at the Port Douglas weekly Saturday market, we found the Wavelength office which was closed but stumbled upon ‘The Hut’ in the main street. The Hut is run by Jilly and is a booking office for all forms of cruises, flights, accommodation & attractions. Our discussions with Jilly confirmed our suspicions that the weather for the best part of the next week was not looking good for boat cruises out to the reef BUT she did suggest an alternative - a helicopter flight to the outer reef, with lunch on a small sand cay and the opportunity to snorkel. This sounded like a good alternative - although a very expensive alternative!!! Jilly was also able to organise some accommodation for us for the night at Palms Villas - a very nice complex of villas just off the main street. The following morning the weather was still looking ominous. We were due to be picked up at 12noon and at 11am it was raining. We were picked up in the main street and driven to the airport where we were weighed and given basic a basic safety induction before setting off for my first ever helicopter flight (Ross’ second) and thankfully the helicopter had doors. We had a birds eye view of the reef, Low Isles and Snapper Island on the way out, landed on a very secluded patch of sand in the middle of the ocean where we were the only three there (Ross, Lyn and the helicopter pilot, Jacinta). This area is referred to as a sand cay and not an island – the difference being an island has vegetation on it, a sand cay has none. The wind was blowing quite strongly as Jacinta proceeded to set up a cold meat & salad lunch for us (along with champagne & beer) behind the protection of a brightly coloured beach umbrella. With Lyn being the only starter for snorkelling this seemed like the best time to give it a go. The wind was strong and we had a light shower of rain. Ross helped me walk backwards into the ocean with my flippers on, mask & snorkel on my head. After a while I got the hang of the breathing method but, with the wind so strong, I was terrified that if I ventured very far from the shore I might finish up out in the middle of the ocean somewhere. So I had my little attempt at snorkelling – saw some fish, coral and sea cucumbers. As we lunched the weather continued to deteriorate and we were forced to pack up in a hurry and flee the sand cay with a heavy rain squawl approaching. Rain on the way back made visibility poor but it had eased off as we came back into Port Douglas and, as we circled over the town, we spotted a croc sunning himself on a mud bank in the estuary area of the river. What a shame the weather was so bad. The whole experience is quoted by Ross as ‘Being the most expensive counter lunch you (Lyn) will every have.’
We also rode the historic Scenic Railway train to Kuranda, spent the day at Kuranda and returned on the Skyrail. After leaving Cairns Central the train travels along the 75km long hand made railway line which winds its way around the mountainside towards Kuranda, passing through 15 tunnels, crossing dozens of bridges and negotiating 93 curves. The return journey was by SkyRail which I had seen on travel shows and remembered hearing the description ‘as you float silently over the tree tops’. I read in a brochure the description ‘you skim the rainforest canopy on skyrail – the worlds longest rainforest cableway’ and in another ‘Gliding just metres above the rainforest canopy in comfortable six-person gondola cabins, the Skyrail journey immerses you in an intimate rainforest experience where you’ll see, hear, smell and become part of the tropical rainforest environment.’ Well I don’t know about the intimate rainforest experience, we were too busy worrying about our fate if our gondola fell to the ground - we certainly would become part of the tropical rainforest and be dead. The towers supporting the cables are enormously high and as you glide between these spans the loops seem enormous and ever so high above the rainforest canopy. Being very nervous I found that if you concentrate on looking straight down into the forest the fact that you are so far up in the air doesn’t seem so apparent. None the less it was a great day.
Of course we were able to find a few camping stores to browse in (and made a few purchases). We had a smaller shade sail made for the offside of the van and had a sail rail fitted. During our last couple of days in Cairns we purchased our meat requirements for the Cape trip and had all meat cryovaced, did a very large grocery shop for dry grocery items as well as having hair cuts & a colour for Lyn.
So with as much preparation as we could do in Cairns having been completed, we headed on to Mareeba. While planning our trip up the Cape, we had discussed leaving the caravan at Cooktown, Mossman or Mareeba. After talking to fellow travellers we were convinced that the rodeo grounds at Mareeba would be the best option. The grounds are like any show grounds campsite but enormous. The park was full of motor homes, buses and caravans – about 60 in total. Facilities are clean but basic and fees very reasonable - $14 per day for a powered site and $2 per day to leave the caravan here on power while we are away. What more could you ask for.
We began our day by trying to ascertain from the police station and visitor information centre whether all the roads up through the Cape were in fact open. No one seemed to know. The large sign on the outskirts of Mareeba indicated that some of the roads were not yet open. If we had paid attention to this we would never have left. It seems that they are not always updated when the should be. We have packed and re-packed the car with camping equipment, food and water in readiness to leave tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned …
