Cairns

Next stop was Cairns. It may appear to be a bit of a double back of our route, but it made sense to us in the planning stages. A few days before, we had changed our accommodation from Palm Cove to a place in the city. We were very happy with that decision, as it meant we got to see and do more in Cairns itself. There were the usual household duties to perform, catching up on washing and restocking the larder, as well as getting windows tinted to avoid the heat and glare of the Outback (what we thought was tinting was actually privacy glass). We sampled the night market stall food, enjoyed Mexikorean fusion food, absorbed the holiday vibes of the town at night and during the day, loved tasting Wolf Lane gin, watched the sunset from Rocco Rooftop Cocktail Bar with cocktails in hand, visited the Botanic Gardens and Tanks Art Precinct and strolled the Esplanade many times.

A visit to Kuranda, up in the Atherton Tablelands, was a delight. We caught the famous railway up the mountain, exploring the village, popping into the Butterfly House and lunching at the Rainforestation Experience, getting an Army Duck tour with educative commentary through the rainforest, buffet BBQ lunch, Indigenous cultural performance and meet-and-greet with some Aussie wildlife, then a return journey down the mountains on the Skyrail gondola (Wanda’s fear of heights was challenged big time). It was a great day and very much one of the must-dos of Cairns.

A tour guide, after listing all things to do in Cairns and us saying “done” concluded that there was nothing left for us to do! He was wrong, in that we missed the art galleries in town, as they were closed to change exhibitions.