Tropical Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef!

We arrived at our new place for the month in tropical Cairns around 11:30pm on a Friday evening from Darwin.  We are staying in one of Cairns oldest neighborhoods called Edge Hill, an inner city suburb.  Edge Hill is home to the Cairns Botanic Gardens, cafes, restaurants, and boutique shops.  We seem to migrate to the botanic gardens.  Cairns is located in the “Wet Tropics”, and, of course offers easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, but has much more to offer in its Central Business District (i.e. CBD) as well as many other day trips!  It is a great spot to serve as a base for heaps of fun!

DSC09710We spent our first Saturday in Cairns doing some errands to help settle in for the month of July.  We both made a trip to the “barber” at Divine Hair…our first professional cut on the road.  We enjoyed our visit and mined some recommendations from Caitlin and Edward.

DSC09672DSC09652IMG_4205The 3.4 km long Cairns Esplanade was the next stop for a walk and lunch.  It overlooks the Trinity Inlet on one side and the Coral Sea on the other.  The Esplanade is a tree lined boardwalk along the shore, with bike paths, picnic area, cafes, exercise areas and a salt water lagoon/pool.  The city center waterfront is a muddy tidal flat, different than the beautiful beaches to the north and south of the city. The backdrop to Cairns on its western side are outstanding lush, steep mountain ranges and rainforest.  The “winter” weather here in this tropical “monsoon” climate is terrific after a quite warm Darwin!  The winter here is similar to Sarasota’s winter, just slightly warmer and perhaps a bit drier.

IMG_4184We had lunch at a Sarasota favorite, Barnacle Bills, apparently not related ?.  I must say the food was much better than the Sarasota restaurant.  Tracey had a delicious prawn curry and I had the chef’s seafood pie of local fish and prawn.  After lunch we stocked up at the Woolworths grocery and liquor store and headed back to our new home in Edge Hill.

IMG_4190Ok, too soon to cook at home, so we had to test one of three Edge Hill Japanese restaurants for dinner, Haruka, just minutes from our place.  We shared a mixed sashimi, temaki sushi, salmon fried rice and sake that was all delicious!  Oishii!! This will be a go to place for the month!

The traveling and staying at a different place every 2-3 nights as we have been doing since we left Melbourne May 31st can be tiring.  This “living around the world” can be a lot of work :).  So Sunday was a bit of a lazy day here for us.  We did a little cooking in, writing, researching and watching the exciting Australian election results.  Folks here are happy the “long” 8-week election campaign is over (they are also suffering through the 2 year US election campaign!). The US election process makes theirs seem cordial!

IMG_4281During our stay in Cairns we have two different Sarasota couples joining us!  JoAnn and Lance are joining us for a couple days early in the stay.  Mary and Dave are joining the fun toward the end of the Cairns trip and traveling to Brisbane with us!

Well, on to some of the fun we had in Cairns and nearby excursions!

Cairns Botanical Gardens

Tracey at Cairns Botanic GardensWe are ready for some exploration after a couple days of relaxing, starting with a visit to the Cairns Botanical Gardens.  The Gardens were so nice to have in our Edge Hill backyard, to walk through and even drive through as access to much in the area includes a route through them. IMG_0892

By Heritage branch staff - Queensland Heritage Register: WWII RAN Fuel Installation
By Heritage branch staff – Queensland Heritage Register: WWII RAN Fuel Installation

Within the gardens is the Tanks Arts Centre  which includes a theatre that hosts many shows from plays to live music.  What is interesting about the Tanks Theatre is that it is actually inside a converted tank!  (Picture borrowed from their site). Three concrete fuel tanks were completed during 1944.  They were constructed in this Mount Whitfield rainforest to camouflage them from enemies.  They were used until 1987 for refueling Australian, American and British ships.

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The Cassowary!
The Cassowary!

Our morning in the garden included the uphill (and then downhill) climb on the 1.3 km Red Arrow circuit, up the hike to the Mt. Whitfield Conservation Park.  While the hike is less than an hour, the many steps and ascent make for a great workout.  We did see a mate in shape running up and down the track!  Once at the top there are fantastic views of the Cairns Trinity Inlet and Coral Sea, Cairns City, nearby beaches, and to the north, the Cairns airport. The hike itself is through thick scrub and forest, bamboo, palms and of course many Eucalyptus.  There are many birds, we saw the scrub turkey and moorhen.  There are warning signs about the very large cassowary which are nearly the size of an ostrich or emu.  Apparently they are shy, but when provoked can be capable of inflicting injury or death!

 

IMG_4199After our workout at the garden we stopped by the local library to test the free internet.  The day was rewarded with happy hour on the Esplanade at the Rattle and Hum Bar and Grill and carryout from Edge Hill Thai and Laos Takeaway!

The Atherton Tablelands

DSC09953 DSC09864We made a couple trips up to the Atherton Tablelands during our month long stay in Cairns.  I think this is a MUST DO road trip from Cairns.  It is a fertile plateau of volcanic origin southwest of Cairns rising some 1,200 to 4,200 feet above sea level.   Our Aussie mate Warren (Warren and Lyn) that we met in Patagonia several years ago grew up in the town of Malanda in the Tablelands and recommended this trip to us.  To get to the Tablelands you drive up the beautiful mountain range surrounding Cairns with 189 turns, magnificent mountain peaks, lush green rainforests and incredible views of the land below. The drive also takes you through the many sugarcane fields as well as banana, avocados, strawberries, macadamia, mangoes and citrus.

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Curtain Fig
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Cathedral Fig

Some of the amazing scenes in the Tablelands included gigantic strangler fig trees.  The Cathedral and Curtain figs are 500 plus years old and are two of the tallest trees in tropical north Queensland.

 

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Lake Barrine

Also, in the area is Lake Barrine, the largest of the natural volcanic lakes in the area.  It was formed over 17,000 years ago when a large volcano erupted, leaving a crater that over time filled up with water.  The water is crystal clear and its only source amazingly is rainwater.  This is a great stop for lunch or even a boat tour around the lake.

 

IMG_4213 DSC09752On our first trip to the Tablelands, we had lunch in Yungaburra.  There are a few good choices here.  We followed Warren’s recommendation and were rewarded with an excellent lunch at the Whistle Stop.

Our second trip to the Tablelands involved, of course, more eating, a BLT and chicken pie lunch in Millaa Millaa at the de Millaa’s Coffee Shop before doing our Tableland waterfall circuit.  There are many waterfalls in the area that have been formed from hard columnar basalt from lava flows. We did our best to visit most of them! They are all unique and beautiful in different ways.

Millaa Millaa Falls was the first stop, a near perfect long waterfall!

18 metre falls in Atherton Tablelands
Millaa Millaa Falls a near perfect long waterfall!

Zillie Falls – another picturesque cascading waterfall, easy access from the road, however no access to the bottom of the falls.

Zillie Falls
Zillie Falls

 

 

Ellinjaa Falls  – giant waterfall that spills down over a series of lava columns!

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Ellinjaa Falls

 

Malanda Falls – a cascade waterfall on the North Johnstone River, in the town of Malanda which is the aboriginal word meaning “waterfalls”.

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Malanda Falls

 

Millstream Falls – known as Australia’s widest single-drop waterfall over old columns of basalt lava flow.  These falls are near the small town of Ravenshoe, the highest elevation town in the Tablelands at 930 metres (3,050 ft) above sea level.

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Millstream Falls
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Millstream Falls too!

 

The Dinner Falls – near the Hypipamee Crater.

The Dinner Falls
The Dinner Falls

 

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Mount Hypipamee Crater

Hypipamee Crater is incredible as well.  It is a diatreme or volcanic pipe that was created from a huge volcanic explosion.  This crater is very wide and deep, 61 metres in diameter and 82 metres deep.

And finally, Pepina Falls!

Pepina Falls
Pepina Falls

 

DSC00111The Tablelands are a beautiful place with magnificent sunsets.  The only thing that slowed our visit there were a few cattle in the road!DSC00012

Cairns CBD

IMG_4232We enjoyed a fair amount of time in the Cairns Central Business District (CBD) from the Night Markets for cheap beach towels (and good souvenir top for our friends) to the Esplanade for happy hour to good restaurants and music venues.

 

13179293_10154137983153350_3923233270901201661_nIMG_4289One of our favorite spots was 12 Bar Blues.  We enjoyed a couple nights of good music, drink and company at this music venue.  This is a great spot to hear local and nearby artists or other musicians travelling through Cairns.  AD and Marilyn, owners of the venue were great hosts!  We hope to connect with them in Sydney as our paths may cross there!  IMG_2660We enjoyed spending an evening there with Grant, his cousin Sam and friend Shannon.  We made a brief visit with them in the early morning hours to the infamous backpacker bar called The Woolshed.  It is mostly hundreds of twenty somethings  (and a couple oldies like us) packed liked sardines enjoying music, drink, conversation and even some table top dancing.

We had a few great meals in Cairns.  For some good Australian food, we ate at Ochre Restaurant  with our friends JoAnn and Lance.  We sampled a lot of food from prawns, barramundi and crocodile to lamb, kangaroo, and wallaby – all washed down with some great Australian wines!  Another nice evening we dined el fresco along the Esplanade at The Raw Prawn, a taste of “modern” Australian and Japanese.  Great service and perfect evening weather.

In the Edge Hill neighborhood, we had a great Thai dinner at Samgasat followed by Baileys, cosmos, more wine and vanilla bean panna cotta for dessert at NOA restaurant. Samgasat is an unassuming BYOB spot, but so favored you must have reservations.  It was so good we dined here again during our Cairns stay. Another favorite of ours for brekky a few times in Edge Hill was Ozmosis, the sister restaurant to NOA!

 

Road Trips South of Cairns

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The rainforest surrounding Cairns made for great road trips north, south, and west of Cairns.  First to the south!  We started off the day with our Sarasota mates JoAnn and Lance with an awesome brekky at Ozmosis.  Full stomachs and ready for exploration of the coast and mountains south of Cairns …swimsuits and hiking sandals ready!  Our first stop was Josephine Falls, a short walk from the car park.  A series of falls and an excellent large “sliding” rock, tempting but the water was just a bit chilly.  Many others however were taking the slide and the plunge!

DSC09970DSC09943Second stop was Bramston Beach and the Bramston Beach motel for a most relaxing late Friday afternoon lunch!  The grounds also had the very noisy “laughing” Kookaburras, a Tree Kingfisher.  Their loud call almost sounds like people laughing loudly!  Debra, the owner of the motel was a most delightful host!

DSC09980 DSC09983The last stop on the way back to Cairns – the Boulders, remarkable large boulders covered by fast moving water lining the gorge.  This tropical creek is sourced by the surrounding rainforest and originates at Mount Bartle Frere, Queensland’s tallest mountain (As an aside, Queensland has a campaign to reduce traffic accidents from sleepy drivers.  One way to help keep drivers awake is to play “road sign trivia”.  One of the questions, oft repeated on the roadways is “what is Queensland’s highest mountain…now ya know, mates!)
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Another day trip took us back south to Behana Gorge.  The Gorge, about 30 minutes south of Cairns is a favorite with locals. After about a 3 km walk from the car park down a paved road the spectacular gorge, fast moving water and falls appear.  There are several steep falls and drops at this point and a 90-degree bend in the river.  There had been about a week of rain (even though it is dry season!) so the river was raging.  A fairly hilly walk, but worth the trip!

 

The Great Barrier Reef!

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Frame-31-07-2016-06-37-21 Frame-31-07-2016-07-48-27We made two trips to the Great Barrier Reef, both times with two different couples from Sarasota, FL.  We used two different companies, in part because we wanted to experience a couple of different parts of the reef.  Both trips left out of Port Douglas, which was an absolutely beautiful drive one-hour north of Cairns following the coast, with sugarcane, rainforest, the mountains to the west and the sea to the east.

 

DSC09791The first trip we used a company called Quicksilver.  The Quicksilver boat was a big boat, 45 metres (about 150 feet) long that has a capacity for 450 people.  The good news is that it was a big boat.  The ride out to the reef passes through some less protected waters and can be a bit rough at times.  The bad news is that it was a “big boat” with many passengers. The bigger boat handles the rougher water quite well!

 

DSC09849 (1)The boat went to a permanent platform at the reef.  The platform was prepared to handle the many snorkelers and divers.  It also provided a submersible/submarine type vehicle for no additional charge as well as helmet diving and helicopter rides over the reef for an additional charge.

 

DSC09826DSC09836We tried all of these services!  We all enjoyed the helicopter ride, Lance and I enjoyed the snorkeling, JoAnn liked the helmet diving.  We all toured the reef in the underwater submersible.  It is amazing that they are able to maneuver the sub under the water getting so close to the reef and its many formations!  We were able to see some spectacular coral, fish and turtles as well!  Overall a great day, great friends, and friendly staff!

 

DSC00455 IMG_2756Our second trip to the reef, with our mates Mary and Dave from Sarasota, also left out of Port Douglas.  This trip we went with Wavelength on their newer boat the Wavelength 4.  This boat was much smaller than the Quicksilver boat, holding a maximum of 48 passengers…good news and bad news, again.  The seas were a bit rougher this time, and, with the smaller boat about half of the passengers seemed to use the “sea sickness” bags.  Our group of four survived the trip out and back without using the bags!

 

Frame-31-07-2016-06-54-40The good news with the smaller boat was that it was a bit more personalized service and fewer people out in the water snorkeling.  We were also able to visit three different spots in the reef which really provided three different snorkeling experiences.

Frame-10-07-2016-11-55-39Frame-31-07-2016-06-28-37This trip definitely allowed for seeing better and more diverse fish and coral.  On this trip we “found nemo”, the clown fish, as well as the very large Humphead Maori Wrasse fish hanging out by the boat.

DSC00474There was also a talk over lunch out on the boat’s front deck by a marine biologist that was quite detailed and informative regarding the science and status of the reef.

 

On the way home we stopped at a little village by the sea for dinner at Apres Beach Bar and Grill in Palm Cove.  This is a great little beach community about 20 minutes north of Cairns.

Mossman Gorge

On another day trip, we traveled north from Cairns to explore more of the wet tropics lowland rainforest with a walk through Mossman Gorge. We had a couple days of rain so it was a good day to get out and see some sun and water.

DSC00150 Swimming at Mossman Creek

DSC00123 DSC00132The rainforest circuit track through the gorge itself is a four km walk.  The info center recommends a bus trip to the start of the track.  We decided on walking it, at first thinking it was only one km.  Good news it was three km, we can eat more; bad news, it was three km and it was warm and humid!  All good – it was a nice walk along the road which was interesting with a sugar cane farm with harvesting occurring on one side and an aboriginal community on the other.

DSC00137Before we entered the track we passed by one of Australia’s big beautiful spiders.  I am so glad we saw these instead of walking right through them!

mossman gorgeDSC00162The walk at Mossman Gorge itself is beautiful.  It makes me think of a time when you were young, dreaming about walking through a jungle…looks like the dream!  The tropical rainforest has thick lush vegetation, streams, rivers, cascading waterfalls, palms, vines, birds singing continuously, bromeliads all over the trees, even saw one looking like it was hanging by a thread! This is also aboriginal land and every so often there was signage as to how certain plants were used for many purposes or how boomerangs or other tools were used.

Beef Brisket Nachos at Ellis Beach Bar and Grill Continuing the diet at Ellis Beach Bar and GrillOn the way back to Cairns, we stopped at Ellis Beach, population 60.  We stopped at the cafe/ bar that had a lot of motorcycles outside as well as a touristy looking few and some just out enjoying this beautiful day.  Every Sunday this place had fresh raw oysters for a buck each.  We just missed them.  We were told they sold over 900 in the first hour and ran out!  We will likely be here next Sunday earlier to enjoy some oysters, a cold brew and listen to some music on the deck…all while surrounded by the mountain on one side and beautiful beach and surf on the other!

The food itself was good here.  I had the classic Aussie burger with beets and a fried egg on in it! Tracey ordered the beef and nachos which was huge!  The waitress said the to-go box was popular with this item…so we also had our dinner!

Barron Gorge

Right outside of our backdoor, thirty minutes into the mountains northwest of Cairns is the Barron Gorge National Park and its tropical rainforest.  The park is within the Wet Tropics World Heritage area, which stretches over 450 km along Australia’s northeast coast.  It is a beautiful winding drive to the area and well worth a visit!

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DSC00313The gorge is spectacular, carved by the 165 km Barron river that starts up in the Atherton Tablelands, flows over the 260 metres (850 ft.) Barron Falls and flows all the way down to empty into the Coral Sea.  We made the approximate 30 minute drive to the falls lookout, but the area is also accessible via the 7.5 km Cairns Skyrail cableway gondola and the Kuranda Scenic Railway.  The railway was built in the 1800s and includes 15 tunnels and 37 bridges.

Cape Tribulation

DSC00224 DSC00228Last but not least, and, perhaps the most beautiful, a trip a few hours north of Cairns to Cape Tribulation! It is about a three-hour drive north on the Cook Highway which includes a short ferry crossing over the Daintree River.  It is probably worthwhile spending a couple nights and days here if you have not seen crocodiles, a rainforest, white beaches or the great barrier reef. I was a little skeptical about seeing just another beach, but these beaches were vast, spectacular and not inhabited by many humans.  The drive itself up the coast just after sunrise through Port Douglas, Mossman, Daintree Forest, and ultimately to Cape Tribulation is worth the drive itself.

DSC00168 DSC00192Our first stop was Myall beach.   After a short walk across a boardwalk through the mangroves, it opens to a large stretch of beach, both to the north and south.  You get that tropical feeling that you are on a small South Pacific island, a big one, anyway.  There are many palm trees including many coconut palms and of course the Achtung (baby) crocodile signs.  This beach to me has to be one of the top in the world and we have seen many in the US mainland, Hawaii, Caribbean, Greece, ….

IMG_2672You get the sense, just as the brochures say, that this is where the rainforest drifts into the sea.  We walked as far as Mason Creek that feeds into the ocean and decided not to cross due to the depth and the possibility of crocodiles. At that point we turned around and walked back down the beautiful beach, deciding to drive around the cliffs to Cape Tribulation beach.  We did see many kayakers that had apparently traveled around the Cape Tribulation heads. We did not, however, see any cassowaries along the beach which apparently have been cited. Also the road from the ferry to Cape Tribulation has signs just about the entire way warning of cassowary crossings!
DSC00279DSC00280Cape Tribulation beach was beautiful, as well, with massive abundant mangroves. These are the kind of places where you could sit and relax for hours. We made a brief stop at the Dubuji Boardwalk that wanders through the rainforest.  A beautiful walk with large fan palms and dense vegetation.  We could see the start of the fig trees surrounding and growing up their host trees.

DSC00227DSC00232Our journey continued on to Cow Bay apparently named after sea cows or Dugonges, which are similar to the manatees that we have in Florida.  Again another spectacular beach with very few people at the beach.  This is definitely worth another reflective stop.
DSC00300DSC00349Our last stop of the day before returning to the ferry was Kimberly Beach. Kimberly Beach is over 3 km long and stretches to the mouth of the Daintree River that the ferry crosses. Just off the beach is Snapper Island.

 

We almost did not make this drive to Cape Tribulation.  As it turns out, it should not be missed!  Cairns and the surrounding area are absolutely beautiful and a must see when in Australia!  We were sad to leave this absolutely wonderful place.

And a few more pics…

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Suspension Bridge at Mossman Gorge

Mossman Gorge Skink

 

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