My apologies for the delay in a new post. As you may know, I've been busy on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, my family websites(s), my wife's business website, my friend's business website, my son's wedding website, my friend's musical website...you get the idea.
Today I'd like to tell you about a little spot o' heaven in the southern hemisphere. Cairns is located on the northeastern coast of Australia, far above both Sydney and Brisbane. The best way I can describe Cairns is to imagine Hawaii (it's very tropical), but not quite as developed...and even more laid-back. The city is adjacent to a tropical rainforest, as well as the Great Barrier Reef. That makes it an amazing place to visit. Here's a chart showing the year-round temperatures:
I can't believe it dips down to a chilly 65-degrees!
I think you're beginning to understand. Cairns is popular with travellers because it's easily reached by plane, and offers a perfect spot to explore the rest of Australia's Queensland. The city itself isn't the attraction. Although nice to explore, most people use it as a "base" from which to explore all of the surroundings.
The hotel I stayed at, is called the Oasis Resort. It was a great hotel. My favorite part was the pool:
How much Diet Coke can I drink while swimming?
It was the first pool I used, that you could swim right up to the bar. For me, that just meant more virgin Pina Coladas ; ) I visited Cairns in early September, which is the beginning of summer there. The temperatures were well above the "averages" on the chart above. This pool was a welcome respite from the heat.
The journey takes a couple of hours, but the scenery is beautiful. Once at the end of the rail, you can hike through some portions of the protected rainforest.
Except for the noise from other travelers, this was a peaceful, quiet and humbling place to visit. Once we were done hiking, we decided to take the SkyRail Rainforest Cableway - a gondola that is suspended high above the rainforest canopy.
This was amazing, as well. Once again, the only the sound was the cables being pulled along. From the height, you could look down on all of the amazing plant life - there were some pretty awesome specimens - as well as some wildlife below.
Speaking of wildlife, another great spot near Cairns is the Cairns Tropical Zoo. Although small, you get a chance to be up close to Australian animals (I'll tell you much more about the wildlife when I post about Sydney). Because of restrictions in Sydney, you can't actually hold a Kuala bear. Not so in Cairns ; )
Although extremely cute...kualas don't really do much but eat, poop and sleep...a lot. However, they are adorable. Also in this zoo, you get to hand-feed kangaroos:
The best part about visiting Cairns, however, is the Great Barrier Reef. It's really hard to describe how amazing this part of the world actually is. I will spare you the lectures on biodiversity and global warming. Needless to say, the Reef is in trouble. However, there has been a great deal of effort put into preserving this astounding area.
Here's a shot of our tour boat:
It's the one in back ; )
Besides the physical beauty, the Reef is memorable for another reason. Due to an incident years ago, I have a pretty healthy fear of the ocean. I chose the Great Barrier Reef as the place I would overcome this fear. I decided to go scuba diving. Unfortunately, the tour company's insurance wouldn't cover someone with Diabetes, so I chose snorkeling instead. Needless to say, it was a transformative experience.
Anyone that has talked with me about my world travels, knows that I highly recommend Australia...for a variety of reasons. The post on Sydney will be a lot of fun, because I've had such wonderful experiences there. Cairns will always hold a special place in my heart. I can't wait to take my wife there ; )
1 comment:
I should have stolen your pictures for my "K" post today.
It looks like a really beautiful place. Have to admit my hands were sweating as I looked at the gondola.
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