Cairns
Following our happy week in Sydney, we flew up to Cairns in northern Queensland (MAP). This is a curious town that has grown up purely to service the tourist industry in recent years.
The "Esplanade", a three mile long sea front lined with hotels and tourist shops. The large white building at the end is "The Pier", a large collection of boutiques and restaurants. We stayed in a central hotel on the Esplanade which provided simple but adequate accommodation.
The water front at Cairns is, much to the chagrin of the local tourist board, mostly mud as opposed to sand. As such, it is a great place for mangrove seeds to settle and germinate. Once a year, the town council have all the new plants (such as the one above) removed so that a mangrove swamp does not grow up and bring with it mosquitos that would then chase away the tourists. The mud came mainly from the dredging of the Grafton Channel for shipping to sail to the open ocean and the dumping of the mud from the channel just offshore where it promptly swept back in.
The Belleview Hotel
Sunrise over the pacific ocean.
Most of the group at Barrons Falls near Kuranda (MAP). Back row. ML, Devon, Steve, Laura, Ashley, Drew. Front, Jen, Casey, Briana, Rich, Dave (lying down). Missing, Jess Erin and Rachana. This is in the middle of the rainforest, see below.
Steve and Drew try out to be models for The Gap, or American Outfitters. What do you think, do they have the right stuff?
A lighter moment back at the hotel.