Cairns

The flight from Uluru to Cairns takes only about 2 hours and 30 minutes or so. Qantas, probably the best airline I’ve ever flown, served us a small lunch, in my case a beef sandwich. When we arrived in Cairns, it was like going from one extreme to the other. Uluru was 104F, and very dry. In Cairns, it was 92F “but feels like 98F”, and there were heavy clouds strongly suggesting that rain was imminent. This was the tropics, and the rainy season at that. Our first sight of Cairns was nothing like the above photo, but we were still to experience some nice sunny spells, interspersed with spells of significant rain. We took a bus directly to the hotel.

Our hotel in Cairns is the rather fancifully named “Shangri-La The Marina”. It certainly is a luxurious hotel, and it is located, as you might guess from the name, right by the marina. But, when you arrive at the hotel, it appears more built-up than the above photo suggests. And it took me a surprisingly long time to figure out how to get to the marina and its associated restaurants. Or any place else, for that matter. The people at the hotel told me to just walk out the front door and seemed to imply that everything would be obvious. They gave me a map, after all. But when I first ventured out, there was no crosswalk across the road outside the main entrance immediately outside that front door. I had to ask two people before I could figure out my way. The pathways are similarly confusing. But here’s the foyer. It certainly gives a good first impression. Here’s the view from my bedroom window/balcony: Anyway, we checked in, and it wasn’t long before we were in our beds for the night.

After breakfast, we hopped on our bus, and headed north to the Daintree Rainforest, namely Mossman Gorge. We drove up the Captain Cook Highway, past many fields of sugar cane. Apparently, Australia grows a large amount of sugar cane. A typical field of sugar cane along the Captain Cook Highway We drove through the town of Mossman, and arrived at the Mossman Gorge Visitor Centre. There, we met “Skip”, our Aboriginal guide, and took a smaller bus to the beginning of the trail we were to follow. Skip was very good at explaining things to us. First, he asked us to undergo a kind of initiation ceremony, one involving smoke, which we moved through to expose our bodies to it. We then moved on to the trail, led by Skip. He stopped quite often, at clearings in the trail. At the first such stop, he showed us a plant: The plant in the center of the above photo is considered the most dangerous plant in the Daintree Rainforest. It is the dreaded ‘Stinging Bush’, also known as ‘Gympie-gympie’. It is covered in thick hairs that, when touched, inflict a painful sting that may last for months. There is no known antidote, so travelers beware! By this stratagem, Skip very effectively got across the message that the forest could be a dangerous place. From that point on, we were afraid to touch anything at all! Skip told us many interesting things about plants that the aborigines make use of for many uses, including catching fish, and other prey. At a stream, he demonstrated how to create paints from soft mineral stones. These can be used as natural sunscreens and insect repellents, plus body paints for various reasons. At the end of the trail (a circular one, so we ended up where we started), we sampled some native bread, and listened to Skip play the didgeridoo (not an aboriginal word) with some skill. From there, we returned to the visitor centre by the same small bus.

After our Rainforest experience, we drove back through the town of Mossman, to the Mossman Lawn Bowls Club, where we were to experience a typical Australian pastime: Lawn Bowls. I was familiar with the concept of the game (they also play it in the UK), and also the concept of a social club centered around a popular pastime, and inexpensive drinks. Such institutions are common in the UK. Indeed, my parents were longtime ballroom dancers, going to a number of different social clubs through the years. It was a major part of their lives. We ordered what we wanted for lunch, and then Matt moved us out into the lawn bowls area where some of us practiced, and then he arranged for a ‘USA vs Aussies’ game. Not us, just a representative photo of people playing lawn bowling at the Mossman Lawn Bowls Club Meanwhile, inside the club they were showing cricket and Rugby League on the TVs. We ate our lunch there. It was very good. Lots of people had the “Barra” (Barramundi, a fish), and really enjoyed it. It’s popular over here. I also partook of a couple of Victoria Bitters (a beer) -- quite good! We returned to the hotel via the Captain Cook Highway, and, on the way, stopped at the Rex Lookout, where we got a great view of the Coral Sea. Thence, back to the hotel in Cairns.

I had discovered that I had not packed as many pants/trousers as I had thought, so I decided to try to buy some in Cairns. So, soon after we returned from the Daintree Rainforest, I set out for the Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Fortunately, a fellow traveller had rented a cab, and she shared it with me to the center. From there, we went our separate ways, as we had different goals. It turned out that the Cairns Central Shopping Centre was what I would have called a mall, and a pretty conventional one, at that — but pretty large. I asked advice as to where I might find trousers of the sort I was looking for, and was told either K-mart or Target. They have both of those over here? It turned out that neither of them had what I wanted (the nylon pants that I wear year around, because they’re so comfortable). Then I was pointed to a store called Lowes. No, it’s not a hardware store. It’s a store that focuses on menswear. There, I found what I was looking for, but they (the nylon pants) suffered from the same failing of most of those in the US: while they offer different waist sizes, they seem to think that all men have the same leg length. Why? I tried them on, but they looked ridiculous on me. But I noticed that Lowes sold more conventional trousers, that specified waist side, and came in ‘S’ (for short). I tried them on, and, while they were still too long (I have short legs), they were acceptable. I had grown tired of encountering this problem, so I bought two pairs of those trousers. The exchange rate between the US and Aussie dollar was advantageous. Then, I decided to walk back to the hotel, which was a pretty long walk. My legs were suffering from long periods standing around listening to Skip at the Mossman Gorge (I have few problems walking, but I don’t do standing around very well). So, the walk back to the hotel was more of a wincing trudge than a real walk. I had to sit down on a bench once, but I made it. Mission accomplished!