Australia day 20: Kickoff in Cairns: orientation, organization, and meat coma, 24th October 2009
Saturday, 24. October 2009, 23:29:21
So, today was sorting shit out day (tm). We got up, went for breakfast, then got some groceries in for future breakfasts, dinners, etc. Next up was the task of working out what the hell to do for the next few days. We wanted to see some great barrier reef, some rain forests, and some of the cool town, mines, waterfalls, and other awesome stuff that surrounded the area. But there were so many options that we found it hard to work out.
So we again called on the advice of the excellent receptionist to help us out. She gave us good advice, and we ended up booking a day in the rain forests and a day visiting the Franklin Islands part of the reef, with aims to hire a car on another day to go and see some other cool stuff.
We then set off to walk down to the main Cairns centre and see the waterfront. I was surprised at this point - a few people had remarked that Cairns town itself is a bit crap, and it was mainly worth going there for the obvious surrounding tourist attractions. But what I saw on this day was absolutely beautiful. The walk down the waterfront was really pretty, and featured one of the biggest and best kids parks I have ever seen! Gabriel and Elva were in heaven. To top it off, there is a place called The Lagoon right in the centre - a man-made beach/swimming area (there is no real beach as such right in Cairns). It was amazing to see Gabriel swimming by the beach with loads of families having open air picnics and BBQs ... at about 7.30pm!
We also got a chance to check out some cool comedy acts leading up to the opening of the Cairns 15/15 film festival (15 minute films made in 15 hours...)
By this point we started to feel hungry, so we walked back in the direction of home, stopping only to have dinner at the Cock and Bull tavern, an English/American crossover style pub that does good beer on tap, and the most impressive mixed grill meat coma meal I have ever seen! For $23, I got a steak, lamb chops, pork sausages, bacon, grilled tomato, bread and tons of potato wedges. This rounded off the day perfectly!
So we again called on the advice of the excellent receptionist to help us out. She gave us good advice, and we ended up booking a day in the rain forests and a day visiting the Franklin Islands part of the reef, with aims to hire a car on another day to go and see some other cool stuff.
We then set off to walk down to the main Cairns centre and see the waterfront. I was surprised at this point - a few people had remarked that Cairns town itself is a bit crap, and it was mainly worth going there for the obvious surrounding tourist attractions. But what I saw on this day was absolutely beautiful. The walk down the waterfront was really pretty, and featured one of the biggest and best kids parks I have ever seen! Gabriel and Elva were in heaven. To top it off, there is a place called The Lagoon right in the centre - a man-made beach/swimming area (there is no real beach as such right in Cairns). It was amazing to see Gabriel swimming by the beach with loads of families having open air picnics and BBQs ... at about 7.30pm!
We also got a chance to check out some cool comedy acts leading up to the opening of the Cairns 15/15 film festival (15 minute films made in 15 hours...)
By this point we started to feel hungry, so we walked back in the direction of home, stopping only to have dinner at the Cock and Bull tavern, an English/American crossover style pub that does good beer on tap, and the most impressive mixed grill meat coma meal I have ever seen! For $23, I got a steak, lamb chops, pork sausages, bacon, grilled tomato, bread and tons of potato wedges. This rounded off the day perfectly!
WIDGETIZE