Arriving in Cairns we were slapped in the face by the change in temperature, the dry heat of Western Australia was behind us and now were smack dab in the middle of the tropical humidity of the North East. We headed to the Esplanade at 7am and found a eerily quiet city, with no rush hour traffic, no street noise and just the quiet calm of the sea. At the esplanade was a swimming lagoon that was framed by a long park and the ocean stretching into the distance as far as the eye could see. The lagoon proved to be our savour over the weeks to come as we fought a losing battle to stay cool. Even after emerging from the somewhat cool waters of the lagoon within 5 minutes we were dripping sweat again.
Our first order of business was to find a van and we spent the day wandering the streets looking for ads. We found a caravan park to camp at that even leant us a tent, however it was a daunting 4 km walk from the city centre after a day walking the streets. We trod this route each morning as the heat of the day descended on the city and each evening long after the sun had set. Sadly our first day at the caravan park we returned to find that someone had tried to break the lock on our tent during the day. However, this was only a slight blip in a fantastic day.
On our first walk about we found the sailing club and discovered that the next day they had afternoon sailing sessions open to the public, so we quickly signed up. We arrived early with a hot sunny day before us. We met our captain and he quickly put us to work, we had made no pretense that we knew anything about sailing so he patiently showed us how to tie knots, explained the various names and features of the boat, and had Greg hanging over the side cleaning off sledge and barnacles. As the rest of the crew arrived we discovered that the day out sailing was actually an afternoon race and we were part of the crew. Greg quickly was sent to the front of the boat to man the headsail and I was put on the wenches. The crew was great and we were off with the wind in our hair, a huge white sail above us and the sun sparkling off the ocean. As we “tacked” the boat would lean precariously on it’s side, my toes dipping in the water as the boat lay almost horizontally. Everyone would rush to the other side and hang over the edge to weigh down the boat. My favourite saying was “think heavy, think heavy!” Being the last to start (delayed starts with weekly handicaps) we raced past other boats, beer can clattering, friendly ribbing as we passed other boats and some great crew to teach us the ropes. We ended up finishing third, but it wouldn’t have mattered if we finished last, the day was absolutely fantastic and the thrill of sailing soared through us leaving us eager for more.
This spawned the start of our Sailing adventures. Each town we ventured into we quickly searched for the yacht club and inquired about their sailing days. We returned to Cairns the next week and were faced with a skeleton crew of only 4. This was a great learning experience though since we learned why we pull at certain times, how much to winch in and out and raced neck in neck with another boat. We cut in front of the wind to throw them dirty air to slow them down as we tacked around a buoy. The tension was high and it was a real nail bitter, in the end our novice crew showed thru as our slower tacks let the other boat slip ahead and earned us a fifth place finish. The cold beers, wind in our air, thrill of the day and the free appetizers afterwards made for a spectacular day.
Our next sailing adventure was further down the coast at the Whitsunday Islands. We headed out for a late afternoon sail. This time anyone who wants to go out, just shows up and anyone needing crew recruits. There was probably a dozen of us travellers eagerly awaiting a captain to come and invite us to join. Greg and I sat there waiting anxiously - it was like being in public school all over again, when we would gather for a sports team and captains would pick their teams all the while you were praying not to be picked last - Greg of course being the athlete that he is, was unfamiliar with this apprehension and as we sat there and others around us got picked; our hopes were dashed. Finally, everyone had pretty much left and so we decided that our day would not be a waste and we would wallow in self pity with a beer when a couple came in and looked at us and asked if we were here for the sailing. We eagerly replied yes and then they asked if we knew how to sail,. Fearing they would turn away and search for someone else we told them our experience was limited but we were eager to learn and very hard workers! So they decided to take a chance on us and again we were just a crew of 4. This time the boats were anchored in the bay so we rode out on a little dingy and boarded the boat. We help set the sails and then practiced our tacking followed by a beer. This race was a little different in that it went in a circle around the bay and proved to be an exciting race. Boats of every size got ready, there were catamarans worth millions and huge sailing boats mingling with little one man skiffs. As we crossed the line, the race began in full force, we spent the majority of the race neck in neck with another boat, tacking around turns and passing other boats. This boat was much smaller than our previous sailing vessel and with limited weight we piled on the high side legs dangling over the side as the boat leaned precariously to one side. As we neared the finish line we gave it everything we had and nosed over the finish line just before the other boat and wound up with an astonishing 2nd place finish. Our captain was so happy with us he invited us back out on the Saturday. We revelled in our victory with a beer in hand, Greg taking the keel and steering us around the harbour as the sun began its descent for the evening. Another fabulous day at sea.
However, I digress, back to Cairns. After 4 days in Oz, we expanded our traveling team and so enters Hank. We have dedicated a whole blog post just to him, so check it out if you can. As soon as we had the mechanic sign off and paid to transfer Hank into our names, we fled town to the North. Heading through the tropical North Queensland was a fantastic first road trip. The roads were lined by miles and miles of sugar cane fields, quaint small towns dotted the highway and enticed us to explore, and we soaked up the miles of beaches and waters. Our first night we parked along the highway at the ocean’s edge, sounds of waves lapping against the shore filled our ears, along with the high pitch hum of the mosquitoes. We headed to the beach right away and bbq’d on the beach. The fantastic thing about Oz is that every town and park has electric, stainless steel bbq’s for public use! They are usually set in the most picturesque places and free to use. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
The only problem in this paradise that we had entered was that swimming is a bit tricky as venomous jellyfish with a fatal sting wash into shore and hungry crocodiles roam the waters. This means you can only swim in designated areas within the stinger net zone. When the weather is in the high 30’s and humid, it is horrible to have the oceans cool waters taunting us and beckoning us to come in, and being unable to jump right in whenever you please. However, we headed for the cool oceans whenever we could, playing in the rolling waves, body surfing or swimming in the tepid waters. This being said even a dip in a lagoon or the ocean itself was refreshing only to a point. The waters were very warm, almost like sitting in a warm bath at times. If we swam laps we would have to cool off after the swim! On really hot days when we couldn’t find a beach we would duck into a mall and bring down the core body temp in the cool air conditioned mall.
This phenomena was not just in Port Douglas, we encountered it throughout Queensland and NSW, just the birds change. In NSW it is parquets, green and purpled heads with bright red and orange wings and bellies! The skies in Cairns are teeming with birds and bats. It is straight out of the movie “Birds“. As dusk descends on the city, the swallow like birds race down the esplanade like fighter jets, low to the ground and super fast, they bolt just overhead to one set of trees. As you walk along and look into the evening sky, birds and bats block your view, at times they are so thick it is like they carpet the night sky. The sounds that accompany them, add a eerie feel to the evening. If someone told you that you were in Transylvania, you wouldn’t question them.
These were just some of the phenomena’s that occur at night. The other one that we discovered was that when we camped at little parks as dusk moved in so did the Cane toads. Now, if you are not familiar with Cane toads, they are relatively large, ugly toads, almost cartoon like, that pack a mean punch with their unique defence mechanisms. Their glands lining their backs emit a poison that kills or at least discourages attackers. As we ventured to the picnic table or the loo, we would have to slowly head in one direction and dodge the numerous toads that hung about. They seemed somewhat wary of humans and would take a couple of jumps out of the way. However, one night as I got up to use the loo and walked towards the bathrooms with just a dim orange glow from the bathrooms and the moonlight to guide me, I found myself surrounded by dozens of toads, all sizes. I panicked a little trying to plot my next move. As I stepped towards the door, a couple of toads leapt towards me, this sent me bouncing about, dodging toads and jumping about, doubling back as if I was doing a highland dance. I safely made it inside, however I still had to get back to the van. When I emerged from the bathrooms, the toads had scattered and only I few remained, so I high tailed it to Hank. On other nights the instead of scattering and jumping away the opposite occurred and as I was slowly and steadily heading towards the toads, who seemed to like the soft glow of the bathroom lights, instead of jumping out of the way and standing stone still, the toads hopped ahead of me and I ended up chasing a toad into the bathroom. He quickly disappeared under the stalls and I tell you I have never peed so fast in my life, just praying he didn’t bounce into me while I was in the stall!
Each day in the North was a mix of sunshine and showers and nights filled with torrential downpours. One sunrise after a fitful night sleep in Hank, the sun rose with a magnificent display of pinks, reds and oranges splashing across the morning sky. Driving along the ocean road with the ocean surprisingly calm and serene, Greg spotted his first crocodile, swimming along the oceans surface! Once again our incentive to swim only at designated areas was reaffirmed.
We spent our final night north of Cairns back in the first town we had driven into - Trinity Beach. We decided to stay the night at the sports grounds. We picked out our parking spot and settled in for the night. A couple of skateboarders were entertaining us until they left and then it began. There was a glimpse of motion off to the left and there standing at the edge of the grass 20 feet away was a kangaroo. He slinked into view on front feet, sort of crawling like a rat. We “oooed” and “awed” and grabbed for our cameras and then there was some more movement on the other side of the van. In the next half hour, dozens of kangaroos, hopped out from the tree line to graze in the sports fields. Some were big, some were small, some had babies in their pouches and they just kept coming - over 30 of them. They used their strong tails to balance as they stood stone still, and watched us momentarily when they realized they were not alone.
We were ecstatic with this little display straight out of a national geographic episode, only to discover that this was just the opening act. As we were watching the roo’s, this funny little bird, almost chicken like, with long legs and a long neck, but a short stubby body, that growled, waddled into view and so came the special edition of Discovery Channel - “The attack“. We watched mesmerized as this little bird waddled across the skateboard park, then onto the scene slinks a cat and we held our breath as the cat stalked the bird. Just when we thought the bird was done for, the cat went one way and the bird the other. You would think this was the end but no it is just the beginning. Next the bird starts chasing down a cane toad. First he would peck the toad then quickly jump back, warily approach, peck again and then jump back again, sometimes flinging the toad high into the air. Each fling brought the toad and the bird closer to the van until they were standing feet in front of us.The toad must have had skin of leather, as this went on for about 30 minutes. Suddenly the bird grabbed the toad and swallowed it whole. Now it was like a scene off of Fear Factor. The bird gagged and struggled to keep the toad down! I think the bird was just as stunned because it just sat there for ages afterwards. As if this wasn’t enough the sky lit up with the setting sun and the night sky was clear with thousands of twinkling stars!
Back to Carins
So we headed back to Cairns to meet up with Hank’s old owners - Josh and Jen from Calgary. We had had a beer with them before buying the van and decided that we would drive them to the airport after meeting up for a BBQ. We showed up to a fantastic steak dinner, great company, a few beers, cards and a couch to crash on. If this wasn’t enough, they gave us the keys to their share house - an apartment style rental unit - to go back and shower and watch the Olympics until check out the next morning after dropping them off at the airport.
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