Cheers Mate!

Help!!! We’re turning Aussie!!! Jon and I are now saying things like, “no worries,” “cheers mate,” "how you going?" and “damn mozzies.” Mozzies are mosquitoes. We have made peace (rather we’ve submitted in humble defeat) with the unbearable tropical heat of summer and don’t let it prevent us from going on with our lives. We’ve seen wild kangaroos on the side of a road and a Koala bear at the top of a Casino in downtown Cairns. We say, “Cans” when pronouncing Cairns. Apart from moments of unbearable heat and humidity when we’re not in “air con,” we are having a blast.

Most wonderful of all has been meeting up with Jon’s cousin, Danielle Perquin Christie, who lives here in Cairns with her husband Dave and their four year old son Adam, and her older children Justin and Adrienne. Though they had never met, family bonds were quickly established and we’ve all become fast friends. Danielle has given us a place to call home, driven us on boating errands and fed us more times than I can count.

Adam has taken a real shine to Jon. Though only four years old, he is an avid fisherman, swimmer and now snorkeler of the Great Barrier Reef. Here, they are kayaking off Green Island, a day sail from Cairns.

Cairns is an easy city in which to be a nomad. It’s small and full of young backpackers from Europe, Japan, and the US. Practically anything one needs can be reached on foot, and if not, it has a great public transportation system. The Public Library is nearby and we seek the refuge of air conditioning there most afternoons. We’ve got the grocery stores figured out and learned that “fly bys” are coupons and “trolleys” are carts. We joined the fitness club at the Marina hotel and are enjoying the luxury of having all the time we want to work out.

One of the best things about the city is that it has a large public pool (that’s free of charge) right in the middle of town on the bay. It’s called the Lagoon and provides respite from the heat and from all the things that can kill or seriously harm you, if you were foolish enough to swim in the harbor or inlet (such as crocs, box and iriganji jelly fish, and cone shells to name just a few).

Along either side of the Lagoon are dozens of public BBQ sites with covered tables and free propane for the grills. The whole area is kept really clean and it’s always being used. There are also free exercise classes either at the pool or in a park nearby. In addition, there is a jogging trail, children’s water park and about 2.5 kilometers of boardwalk. Spreading out from this park is the Esplanade, a street lined with outdoor cafes, pubs, ice cream and tourist shops selling cheap boomerangs and stuffed koala bears that were made in China. In the evening it’s really pleasant to walk along the water’s edge one way and come back via the lively Esplanade.

And, before returning to the dinghy dock and then to Grace, which is anchored out in the mouth of the inlet, we finish up our evening walk by listening to the colorful and lively Lorikeets preparing to roost for the night in the trees that separate the Marina from the bay, and by watching thousands of very large fruit bats head out across the inlet to the Aboriginal land of Yarrabar for their nightly feast.

From our boat, we can see the Cairns Airport, dozens of tourist boats taking hundreds of visitors out to the reef, the nearby seaplane and the local helicopter pad. It’s a happening place. But we also have a lovely view of the verdant mountains that surround us on three sides; and on the fourth side, the waters that encompass the Great Barrier Reef and lead to the Coral Sea.

It’s not a bad place to hang out while waiting for the cyclone season to pass, but in a few weeks, we’re bound for Southeast Asia by air – Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia for a month and then back here for a few days to check on the boat before a 2-3 week trek through New Zealand … more posts to follow, as we explore these new lands from ground level.

[N.B. We are in a part of Queensland called the Far North. Queensland is about the size of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah combined so it is quite big, and we have been fortunate to be far from the flooding that is currently devastating southern and eastern Queensland. We had a category 1 cyclone come through just south of us on Christmas eve and Christmas Day which caused a few days of flooding, but nothing like in the south. Right now, an area about the size of France and Germany combined is underwater in what have been record breaking floods; of biblical proportions as the news outlets have been calling it. Thanks for the notes of concern, and knock on wood, we are all right.]