After some well deserved rest after all this exercise we have been doing, we thought hiring a car might be a novel way to see some more of the surrounding towns before heading off south.
So we got a little red runabout and headed to Port Douglas for the day. Port Douglas was very nice but VERY expensive. So we had a little explore and look on the beach but obviously at this time of year you can't swim in any of the sea near the land because there are jellyfish. There are safe areas that have swimming nets but we thought its probably a good idea to stay out of the water altogether. We had had enough water anyway with the diving so we jumped back in the car and set off again.
We saw some pretty amazing views with mountain on one side and beach and sea views on the other. It was a nice little drive. We stopped at Barron Falls which was a really good view (and Wright's lookout just because it was named after me!). It was nice because we had a lot of freedom of where we wanted to go. That isn't to say that we didn't get a little lost...we did try and find a spot that was recommended to us, Stoney Creek Falls, but after driving around aimlessly for an hour up dirt tracks in the middle of nowhere, we gave up. We ended up stopping at a Crocodile farm on the way back to Cairns. This was actually very cool. There was a croc in the water around near the restauarant which usually doesn't surface. He is their oldest and biggest croc at 900kg and 5.4metres long. We managed to see the main attraction at the farm which is a crocodile show (which we have some videos and pics of). Our Aussie host teased the croc with food and fish to get it to do deathrolls and other parlour tricks to show just how strong and lethal these creatures can be. You wouldn't catch me playing tug of war with a croc that's for sure!
We also saw some very sleepy Koalas (which I think are my new favourite animal) they are just so god damn cute and cuddly. I didn't get a cuddle with one yet but I am told there are places further down south where I can have a cuddle with one! Very exciting! We also saw Cassowaries (the ostrich type birds with a funny colourful head) and a cute little wallaby that came right up to the fence to see us. Not exactly in the wild and such a touristy thing to do but it was very good anyway. Tomorrow we head off for Townsville. No particular reason, just that its a stop on the way down to the Whitsundays. We use our first part of our Greyhound ticket which is the coach service to take us down the coast. No matter what, it will never be as bad as any of the bus journeys we had around Asia so we are actually looking forward to it.
When we told people we were heading to Townsville, we received lots of strange expressions and the question "Why would you wanna go there?!" so we are filled with optimism about the city of Townsville. I think it's just that it is quiet and not a lot there. As a stop-over, I'm sure it will be fine. I just hope the cockroaches don't find me... More thumbnails ...
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Cairns Hotels
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