Cairns is a lovely, well-managed town with a cleanliness that had mom in raptures for the entire time we’ve been here. The truth is that it is an incredibly clean town, which is extra surprising given the number of hostels and young people around here. This may or may not be besmirching young people and backpackers (whose numbers I’ll be joining soon enough) but you’d expect some level of chaos. And another thing: no panhandlers! I saw 1 person I could classify as homeless, but he wasn’t asking for anything. The city is small, lush, and offers some breathtaking vistas.
The palm trees are lovely, and the ocean looks beautiful, even if it’s a bit of a deadly mess, with jellyfish and crocodiles lurking in the shallows and the depths, which has curtailed my swimming severely. I guess we don’t have those problems closer to the reef, which is where I’ll be snorkeling in a day or two, and would really hate to be face to face with a gator.
Everyone here is very friendly and ready to help with directions or recommendations, though I have to say this place is expensive! Holy geez, getting an average main around here is $25 at least, and if you’re hankering for seafood, be prepared to shell out $30 at minimum. It hasn’t helped that we’ve been mainly to the tourist hubs (the Esplanade) but I’m starting to Google where to go to next further into the city or out of the way places because that is not extremely budget friendly. We did discover Pawn Stars just across the street from us, selling fresh oysters and king prawn at a reasonable $30/kg, so we’ve been busy hiking up our cholesterol levels for the last couple of days. Canadian yogurt is now also ruined for me, as I have never had such rich, creamy, decadent, luxurious yogurt as I have had here. DAMN YOU FULL FAT EVERYTHING!
The coffee here is amazing too. Everyone’s got an espresso machine – you don’t really find any drip anywhere, and that is a blessing. Mind you, this also means that coffees are in the vicinity of 3.50 – 4 dollars, but hey, so’s Starbucks and the coffee there is starting to suck the big one too. Speaking of which, I could really do with some coffee right about now. Following online advice, we made for this lovely cafe called Re:Hab on Lake street, where the coffee and the brunch was excellent, and the atmosphere super quaint and fun.
The other thing the interwebs got right was to recommend Rusty’s Markets, which is kind of like the St. Lawrence Market back home in Toronto, filled with fresh produce, and ready-made food stalls, and then places selling all manner of trinkets and such. We’ve been buying a lot of fruit and veggies and making our own lunches this way, both to keep the scurvy at bay (people here like their starches and protein a little too much), and our waistlines and budgets slim.
Aside from the general beneficence of people, the other noteworthy thing about this place is the sheer number of travel and tourism spots in the town. You can’t throw a brick here but hit one. Every other shop in the downtown core is an Xtreem Backpackers Travel, or a Travel Xtreem Backpackers, or a Backpackers Xtreem Travel. You get the idea. Some are pushy and clearly trying to shove packages down your throat that have nothing to do with what you want or your budget, but others manage to listen to you and talk options – which goes a long way towards sealing the deal. We met a really wonderful couple managing Backpackers World Travel, who took 3 hours and booked half of our April on various tours. Thanks to them, we’re about $2000 lighter, but set to experience Airlie Beach and Uluru. Who knew seeing a glowing rock in the middle of nowhere would be so expensive?
People say “no drama” here, instead of “no problem,” but “no worries” is also well represented. They also have The Simpsons on at least several times a day across several channels, as if they knew I was coming. They get me here. The hotel we’re staying at is also mint – beautiful pool, gorgeous location, comfy everything. The first few nights the bed was ultra soft and I’ve been having a fairly chronic upper-back ache, but we’ve switched room and both the bed and couch are firm and nice and stiff.
People also have a wicked sense of humour it seems. Certainly the tourism industry leaves no stone unturned, as I’ve discovered when I saw these at a tourist shop!
Who looked at a pair of testicles and said “I just really think there’s some untapped potential here” ? For 30 dollars, no less. I wonder what next – udders for coin-purses? (They also make coin purses from kanga scrotum skin, proving once and for all the versatility of the ball-sack).
Mom and I wanted to go on a hike around Cairn’s “Blue Arrow” (or was it the Red one?) just behind the botanical gardens, but it was a 5km walk over the to the gardens at 2 pm with the tropical sun beating down on us, and would have been another 2 hour hike once we got there, that mom threw her hands in the air and said she was done. So we strolled back to city centre on another street and discovered an amazing fish and chip place (waaaaaay better than anything I’ve had in Toronto) on Sheridan Street, and an enormous fig tree filled with bats.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really get to see much of Cairns’ night life, as it took us about four days to break the in-bed-by-9 and up-by-5 cycle. And then I caught a cold, after having avoided one the entire Canadian winter season, and ended up sleeping at 9 for the remainder of the Cairns trip anyway. Cold or no cold though, we did tour the rainforest and waterfalls, and then I went and snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef – hang tight for the next post!
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Other things in and around Cairns
Delicious! Including the kangaroo balls. You are off to the races and I’m cheering (and howling)!!
Such gorgeous pictures! All are looking just awesome, especially Magda. Enjoy it for us here!
Is that an onion or heart in your coffee? hee hee!