16-28 deg C
Greg went
for a walk with Gunther whilst Wendy did the domestic goddess thing and did a
load of washing.
After breakfast we headed off on the bikes to check out Cairns. First stop was at the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal. We figured they were getting ready to receive a cruise liner as they were very busy sprucing the place up - leaf blowing and vacuuming, etc. We later found out that a liner was indeed due to dock. We also did the pier where we saw some rather speccy boats.
It was
then time to cruise the Esplanade to the end and then back for a coffee at the
Cairns RSL. Although the coffee was just OK, the service was a tad under par -
slow and disorganised, but we did eventually get our orders. Whilst at the RSL
we visited the Military Museum. It was back onto the bikes to check out the
Casino and ZOOM wildlife dome. We were able to get to the shop but to enter the
dome would have cost $24 each just to see some animals which we have probably
seen before. Any of the other activities on offer, such as zip lining, were
additional $. We chose to pass.
The Art Gallery was next on the list of things to do. As with any art gallery, there were some good things and some not so good things. After that lot of excitement, it was time to find somewhere to have lunch; ended up at the Night Markets food court.
We then headed to the Railway Station to purchase tickets for the Kuranda Train and SkyRail. We will go up on the train and down on the SkyRail. As is tradition in most places we visit, the Botanic Gardens was next. Wow, what a set of gardens. You could spend the better part of a whole day in there and still not see everything. The most spectacular was the Conservatory where the orchids and bromeliads were. An interesting part was an art gallery inside an old concrete fuel tank. This was one of three fuel tanks built for the Navy in 1944. They were carefully camouflaged under the rainforest shroud of Mt Whitfield to protect them from enemy eyes. The tanks held crude type furnace oil and pumped it through an underground, gravity fed pipeline to a refuelling jetty in Trinity inlet. The tanks were used to refuel Australian and visiting American and British ships until the tanks were decommissioned in 1987.
Wendy had had enough by that time and it was 3pm. So back home it was on a very busy road, but we made it back safely. Cairns has certainly grown and gotten a LOT busier since Wendy lived here in the mid-80s.
Another great day on the road in Australia.
Fan palm
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