We were a little unsure about staying in Cairns after listening to the radio shock jocks railing against out of control crime in the area, as we were driving down the Far North Queensland coast. We had booked into Big 4 Ingenia Holiday Park at Worri, which is a fifteen minute drive from the centre of Cairns, and we couldnt have felt safer. Security gates and regular patrols were in place, and the facilities in the park were the best we had encountered. Two water parks, a mini BMX track, playgrounds, an excellent caf and reception doubling up as a tourist booking agency, made our stay there memorable.
Cairns, being the first large city that we had stayed in on our trip, provided an opportunity to take care of some minor maintenance. First priority was our Breville Coffee Machine, that had a split seal. Our SLR Camera had dust on the lens, courtesy of the outback, so we had to put the camera in for a Sensor Clean at Camera House. I had repaired our inner door handle on our caravan twice, and Cairns was our first opportunity to buy a new Camec replacement door handle. All good.
had booked a Green Island Fast Catamaran for the next day, as the weather was looking good. We boarded the ferry at 8.30am and caught the 4.30pm ferry back from Green Island. I had heard about Green Island from decades ago, but wasnt sure whether it would match up to Ningaloo Reef in WA as a world class snorkelling venue. We had an amazing day on the island, snorkelling with three large turtles who were totally unfazed by our presence. We saw lots of tropical fish and corals of various colours. Close to shore, the corals were a little bleached, but as you swam further out, the colours in the corals became brighter. I wanted to swim out to see the brighter colours out deeper, and Kim stayed on the beach. Whilst out there, a two metre Black Tip Reef Shark came and checked me out and only swam away when I turned to face it. It shook me up and I quickly headed back to shore. I mentioned the encounter to the Dive Instructor on the island, and he said dont worry, Black Tips will only attack Coral Trout. Later I was thinking about my green and black rash
vest with blue board shorts, and concluded that I may have been disguised as a large Coral Trout. Green Island is a day trip I would highly It was also a good opportunity to try out our underwater action camera.
The next day we drove into Cairns Wharf, picked up the SLR Camera and walked around the foreshore. Cairns Council have done a great job with the boardwalk and the best artificial beach inside the foreshore park that we have ever seen. There were tourists everywhere sunbaking and using the facility. There are an extensive range of cafs and eateries along the foreshore, and we enjoyed morning tea and a hearty lunch whilst we were there.
We were up early the next day to catch the famous Skyrail to Kuranda, which is essentially a cable car that climbs up the Cairns escarpment to the Atherton Tablelands. It takes around an hour and a half for the cable car ride, and provides excellent views over Cairns, over the rainforest, Barron Falls and the Barron River. On arriving at Kuranda, we did a long walk through the rainforest, and then settled in for lunch at a restaurant we had
discovered on our previous visit to Kuranda, Petit Caf, which serves savoury and sweet crepes. Check out the photo. Yum!
We caught the vintage Kuranda Rail Train back to Cairns, which winds its way down the Barron Gorge, past waterfalls, through many tunnels and cuttings. The railway opened in 1891, with the building of the railway line costing many lives, and ended up being one of Australias greatest yet little known engineering feats.
