Far north Queensland, June 17 to June 20th, 2009
Now I understand why so many Kiwis fly off to Queensland for the winter, and many never come back!
I arrived in Cairns late on June 17th, on a balmy evening, about 27 degrees. At The Travellers Oasis young people were still lounging beside the pool, under the palm trees, enjoying the tropical air. After a good nights sleep in my single room with fan and fridge, I was ready for anything.
My first Servas hosts were Graham and Terrie and their two lovely dogs, in Kuranda. Following their advice I caught the local bus (at $4, the best value bus ride in Australia I am sure) and met Graham in his “office”. An ex lawyer he spends his days writing articles and preparing court cases, in between providing free cups of coffee and biscuits for “lost souls” and anyone who drops in.
Kuranda is very like Coromandel, a small town surrounded by tropical forest and home to drop out hippies from the sixties, artists and craftspeople. But it is high in the hills, not on the coast, and two degrees cooler than Cairns. Lovely cafes, markets and art galleries and full of day trippers! At three o’clock they all disappear! Terrie pointed me towards a cafe owned by a Frenchman, where the patisseries were superb, especially the French plum tart.
I visited the tropical butterfly garden where a very young guide fascinated us with her tour and talk about butterflies. At the Kuranda Koala Gardens I succumbed to the delight of having my photo taken cuddling a koala. He was surprisingly heavy but solid and soft, with very sharp claws. My justification was that the money goes to saving koalas.
I had my own comfy studio room with en suite in their lovely tropical style home. The forest was very close to the house, so I kept the louvre windows closed against unwelcome visitors. I am sure they were lurking out there!
The colourful tropical vegetation amazed me, very few flowers but such brilliant foliage. I am determined to turn my deck at home into a tropical Queensland paradise.
Graham picked paw paws and passion fruit from the garden to make delicious fresh fruit salad for breakfast. They very kindly took me for a day out, up the coast to Port Douglas, where we had lunch at the Cosmopolitan club, overlooking the river and across to the mangroves where the crocodiles lurk.
We visited Four Mile Beach and a classy hotel with the most beautiful swimming pool/lagoon. We stepped through the coconut trees onto a picture postcard beach which looked very inviting, until you saw the bottles of vinegar and warning signs.
You would definitely think twice about a dip in the sea to cool off. A full body, lycra stinger suit might protect you against the marine stingers but would offer little protection if you met a salt water crocodile!
Thank you to Terrie and Graham for making my visit so enjoyable. I caught the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway back to Cairns, expensive but well worth it.
I didn’t take the Sky train, a gondola car which carries you above the rain forest. But it is an option. I am not at all keen on gondolas or cable cars, no matter how spectacular the view.
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