New Years in Cairns

From Lake Eildon National Park on Christmas we go all the way north to Cairns Queensland and Skinny Dips all male resort for 6 nights including New Years Eve.

The flight left at 7am, meaning Iral and I had to get up early on the Tuesday the 29th. Security for domestic flights here is quite different from the states. We checked in at the kiosk for Jetstar and got our boarding passes. At the counter we show them to the clerk and our luggage gets the usual sticker. The only questions asked, “Are we flying to Cairns and do we have any explosive items in our bags”. No identification is required at all. This relaxed approach continues at the security gate. We are not required to take off our shoes or open our CPAP bags (Iral has one too) or even show our boarding passes to anyone. We just empty our pockets, throw our bags on the conveyor belt and stroll right on by. Iral’s bag did get sent through the scanner a second time but it came out fine and no one even spoke to us. We got some beverages and I started to read my book. (A true story about an Jewish American family that moves from LA to live in Jerusalem Israel in 2001, entitled “Coming together, Coming apart” by Daniel Gordis, regardless of your political views it’s very interesting reading) I managed to get us into row 1 of economy class and we arrived in Cairns a few hours later just fine.

Cairns is only has about 150,000 residents and nearly 3 million visitors a year. Our resort offered a free pick up at the airport and we had been instructed to obtain our luggage then place a call to them and they’d come get us. Only being a few minutes from the airport it saved us cab fare. We obtained one of our 2 bags and thought the other would be coming along any minute so I gave Wayne at the resort a ring to come get us. He mentioned where we should wait for him and he’d be there in a jiffy. After a few minutes all the bags had been claimed and our 2nd piece of luggage was nowhere to be found! I ran out to meet Wayne while Iral waited in line at the baggage service desk. Wayne said he’d make the loop and I went and filled out some paper work. We had a direct flight from Melbourne to Cairns and the missing bag contained all of the clothes for both Iral and me, including brand new Christmas clothes. After about 20 minutes with a very polite customer service girl, Ebony. I was assured most bags turn up in 24 hours and that it was probably still in Melbourne. I surely hoped so because the outfit I was wearing was quickly becoming damp with sweat from the 95% humidity Cairns has in summer.

Wayne was polite and made his 3rd or 4th loop pass. Just like in Portland cars are not allowed to linger in the pickup area. A heavy set woman with a white nose and wide brimmed hat made sure he moved himself along. Once at the resort things got back on track and we were shown our room that over looked the courtyard pool and hot tub. As I had requested a bottle of champagne was chilled in the refrigerator. Since we were on holiday we started it off right by drinking the entire bottle before heading to the local shopping mall to buy some new outfits to wear. A little tipsy and off we go in a cab to Cairns Centre Mall, hoping to score some after Christmas deals on clothes. I got 2 t-shirts and a pair of swimming trunks and Iral got the same all for only $80. Not too bad, Thank god for Target! We spent the rest of our afternoon between the resort pool and our air conditioned room only stopping at the bar occasionally of course. That evening we decided to take a stroll into the central business district and find a place for dinner. 3km later we made it to Outback Jack’s on the edge of the tourist area. The walk taught us that our flip flops were not good shoes for long distances and the humidity has zapped us of our energy. With our feet up I gulped down some water and Iral enjoyed a cold beer waiting for our food. The establishment was a HUGE gimmick and tourist trap. There wasn’t an Australian in sight and that included all of the employees which were mostly backpacker kids. However, I have to admit the food was very good. After our meal we had more energy and found a local public pool to sooth our tired pig toes in for a few minutes while enjoying a ice cream cone. 

From there we drifted over to the casino for a little while and lost a total of $10 in more than an hour of playing games. Every large town in Australia has a casino and the gaming industry is run by private investors not the indigenous people. This one only has 500 slots and about 20 tables really quiet small by American standards and gambling is about the only vice I have anymore. (I know some of you may find that hard to believe but its true) A vice I have learn to keep in check or at least try to. Back outside the humidity hasn’t dropped at all and in minutes you are sweat covered. A short cab ride back to the resort and our first day is over before we know it.

Wednesday morning was another early to rise day. I had booked us on a rainforest waterfall tour with Bob Stranger http://www.gaycairnsaccommodation.com/GayTours.htm Bob and his partner Andrew own Boyz on the Beach B&B, north of town. Bob had been a National Park Ranger for many years and knows the area VERY well. He only accommodates 4 guest per day. Iral and I got lucky and we were his only clients for the day. He immediately put us at ease by letting us know what was planned and that we could adjust the itinerary as we desired. Our first point of interest was the small tourist town of Kuranda Queensland in the hills above Cairns. We didn’t stop here really as most places weren’t even open yet and I had planned this trip to get out and enjoy nature. So Bob gave us the narrative while we cruised through on our way to Barron Gorge National Park and the wonderful Barron Falls. It may not look like much but the view was great and at the end of the rainy season (we were just in the first few days of the 3 month period) Bob said there would be several metres of water flowing over the falls. The link to Wikipedia shows a good photo if it with more water and has other information on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barron_Falls. From there we did a little 4x4 on some dirt tracks and got a horticultural lesson about some of the native plants. We learned about how the grass tree (see earlier blog of the Brisbane Range National Park hike for a photo) needs a forest fire to germinate. How some types of trees live off established trees by growing around them and eventually killing them. How there’s a species of palm tree the shoots out spiky vines to help advance it up into the canopy and that those spikes have a poison in them that is highly troublesome to people with asthma. He showed us several kinds of orchids which unfortunately weren’t blooming at the time. Damn Mother Nature doing things on her own schedule not mine! Plus many more facts of useful information I can’t remember anymore. Around 10am we had morning tea by a creek. Complete with home baked cookies, several kinds of herbal teas, a table cloth and even didgeridoo lessons. The trick is to loosen your lips and flap them like a horse, here's Iral have a try at it!

After morning tea Bob took us farther down another road where Iral and I were able to take a walk by ourselves for a while. He just dropped us off and said follow the dirt road until you see me again. We had about 45 minutes to enjoy the sounds of nature, the exotic plants and butterflies of the rainforest and smell the clean humid air. It was great! I do really enjoy the outdoors and after months in the big city this is exactly what was needed. We met up with Bob again and proceeded on our journey. From the deep forest he took us to a fresh fruit stand where Iral picked up a flat of his beloved mangos. I was able to get some chilli mango sauce, some termite tea tree honey for my flatmate back home and a jar of mango jam for a friend of Iral’s.

The rest of the day was spent at another out of the way spot Bob knew about Emerald Creek Falls. This area was not a national park but it was a spectacular afternoon. On the road out to the trailhead we passed a giant termite mound. This mound is about 6’ in height and at least that in diameter. Bob says this would have taken over 100 years to construct. I have to assume that means many queens have ruled the palace in that time. The termites in this part of Australia eat only dead material and the traditional way to make a didgeridoo is to sick a log of wood in one of the mounds. The little sawdust makers only eat the soft centre and leave the outer hard wood. You can see that someone has placed a log beside it in hopes that a year from now it’ll be hollow.

Once at the parking area Bob showed us a spot where we could cool off in the stream while he prepared our lunch. About 45 minutes later we returned and found this lovely setting beside the water.

 Bob had cooked a hot meal for us on his propane camp stove, Steak, green salad, coleslaw, roasted veggies and a nice bottle of champagne. We enjoyed our meal cooled from our swim with the cascading waters at our side, the chirping birds in the trees and one of the mangos for dessert. After we helped Bob pick up the picnic items then he took us on a stroll up to a spot of amazing beauty. The reason he brought us here, the lovely Emerald Creek Falls. Along the stroll we came across a green ants nest. These little buggers make their home in the leaves of trees and fold the leaves over coating them with a substance that holds them together. Bob informed us that the Aborigines eat them for protein. So I tried one and it sort of tasted like a lime. The natives also used them to create a green paste for painting of the face, didgeridoo and shelter hieroglyphics.

Once up at the falls we were awestruck by its grandeur. We were the only people here! The large pool of water is cool and inviting. You had to swim about 40’ to reach the falls. Iral and I played in the water for a lon cssfloat: right; floaus for a little while but then wandered of assuring us he’d be back and allowing us to have some time to ourselves. We spent time taking many photos from several angles, very few of which I can actually post on this blog.
 After a long while of fun and I spotted a viewing platform point above the falls. As I often to I have to climb to the top of things. So we started back on the trail to a fork we had passed along the way. I was sure it would take us up above the falls and it did.

Once back at the car the day was nearly over. Bob placed an Elton John CD in the dashboard and we enjoyed the scenery as it passed along the highway. Heading back to town we stopped along the way for some ice cream and it dawned on me that Jetstar hadn’t called to tell us if they had found our luggage yet. So I tried to call them and made several attempts at various numbers to no avail. Without me even realizing it Bob called the resort and found out that our luggage had been delivered and was sitting in our room waiting for us. Our last stop of the day before getting home was this great viewpoint on the hillside as you climb up from the ocean’s edge. In the distance you can see Cairns airport tower. It was a wonderful day and one of the best tours I had ever taken. I highly recommend if you’re ever in Cairns to look Bob up. He’s a great host and knows the area well. He has 4 different tours he takes guests on so I know I’ll be looking him up the next time I’m in town.

This is just the first 2 of the 6 nights we spent in Cairns os stay tuned for more updates.

This website has changed how I load images and not for the better. I am no longer able to load small movies and it's much more of a pain in the ass to load pictures. I'm going to quit for the night since it's almost midnight and try to finish loading the photos in the morning. If anyone reads this and knows a better sight to post a blog let me know please by emailing bkhpdx@yahoo.com.

Thanks!