Cairns

It was a quiet end to our time in Singapore with the timing of the flight meaning that just Peck Chan came to see us off. When we left for London in 2003 it seemed that the whole church turned up with over 50 sitting together in the airport concourse.

The flight to Cairns was uneventful but slow – four hours to Darwin, two hours on land from 0230, and 2.5 hours to Cairns in a Jetstar aircraft which is definitely not as comfortable as BA…

Cairns itself is very much a backwoods town, quiet with lots of low buildings, and small malls in the outskirts. The climate and vegetation are reminiscent of Singapore – such as this ‘cannonball’ tree. The hotel is on the edge of town and we decided to walk in rather than taking the shuttle bus – we realised that there were hardly any pavements ie people don’t walk (!) and it poured down in a couple of sharp showers – but it was a good way to see the town. There was lots of wildlife on the mudflats including this pelican (a wonderful bird is the Pelican…..)

and an opportunity for photos. Some of the birds have lovely names like this Willy Wagtail, the Peaceful Dove, and the Figbird that was singing its heart out.

When we got back to the hotel the Lorikeets were busy eating the Palm Nuts and making a real din.
The excitement is mounting for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow…