Paul and I arrived in Cairns alright. The airport is tourist
friendly as there were information guides waiting by the baggage claim waiting
to help people. One of the guides came up to help me when she noticed me
looking at some papers. I was reading the receipt from a rental car company and
the instructions on where to pick up the car. She told us where to wait for the
shuttle that would take us to the car company.
The car we got was a Suzuki Swift which is a small car which
is pretty roomy inside. It’s great for two people with luggage and can fit five
people comfortably without luggage.
I called the hotel to see if we could check in early and
they agreed. We had a self serviced one bedroom apartment, which had a small
kitchen, laundry and bathroom. The room was just like the pictures on the hotel
website except a bit more rundown. There were some scuff marks on the walls and
the sofa looked a little worn. The deterioration was only minor and the room
was clean and tidy. Paul was exhausted so he took a nap when we arrived.
Afterwards, we went out to explore the place and get some
groceries. Cairns is a popular tourist spot so I thought it was going to be
urban like the Gold Coast, with hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions all
crammed in. While Cairns did have all those things, it wasn't a crowded city.
There were lots of people but it was quiet and peaceful. I was also surprised
at the mountainous countryside which was covered in forest. Although, I have
never been to Hawaii, I imagine that it was a good resemblance for it.
We decided to visit the beach that was just across the
street from our hotel. The sand was very gritty compared to the other beaches
that I have been to and there was a big net in the water to keep out the
jellyfish. The marine stingers can really hurt and the pain can last for hours.
There was also a sign warning that there might be crocodiles in the water. Most
crocodiles are removed from areas that humans frequent but sometimes we miss
one. Fortunately, there were no crocodiles present
and we had a nice walk along the beach.
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So glad to hear there were no crocodiles! It looks like a beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteOh we never got over our fear about the crocodiles so we never swam in the water.
DeleteThis is such a pretty place; I like the beach! Crocodiles sounds scary though. :P
ReplyDeleteThe beach is even better in real life. I was too paranoid about the crocodiles to really enjoy the beach.
DeleteDoes the beach have a life guard on duty? Are they trained in crocodile wrestling if necessary? I think I'd have waded in the water but not gone swimming. The pictures of the beach look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that while it appeals to tourists that it didn't come off as commercialized which can happen when everything is crammed into a small place a la Atlantic City here on the East Coast of the U.S..
There is a life guard on duty for most of the time. I don't know if they are trained to wrestle crocodiles. They would probably call wildlife experts to come and take the crocodiles away. There's a crocodile farm somewhere in Cairns so I suppose they would call them. We don't kill crocodiles because they are in our way. Most of the time, we just move them on or put them in a zoo or reserve of some kind.
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