Clean as a whistle in Cairns

We’ve had several days in Cairns but we certainly have not been idle. Not only did the new big batteries have to be fitted, but we had to get rid of the dust and grime from 8 weeks of travelling, particularly on Cape York Peninsula.

While John and his mate Rick did the battery-fitting bit, I started with a swift and thorough clean of the bathroom.  Then I left them to it while I went to town on a mother-of-the-bride dress-hunting expedition. As some of you know, once we reach home I will have only have 3 weeks until Penny’s wedding in Brisbane, so I decided to have a little hunt around Cairns.

And it succeeded! Not only did I find a dress that suited, but also satin shoes and bag AND a matching fascinator. All are now safely stowed in a storage space beneath a dinette seat and it’s a load off my mind.

As part of the major clean of the interior, we went out the next morning and bought a small vacuum cleaner. We’d been trying to manage with just a broom but dust gets into places even water won’t and we needed that extra suction to make everything clean. We worked like navvies for the rest of the day, wiping down all surfaces, including the walls and ceiling, until sure everything was sparkling.

We took time out for some walking, including one to Centenary Lakes and the Cairns Botanic Garden . . . but I forgot to take my camera. We were blown away by some of the wonderful tropical plants there, particularly those in glorious flower.

Just some of the orange tents.

Our site in Cairns Holiday Park is opposite the tent-camping area and we’ve been intrigued by all the young European backpackers and tourists. We’ve decided we MUST be getting old as a lot of them honestly don’t look old enough to be out without their mothers.

Large bunches of them arrive in buses, they pitch matching orange dome tents, then they trek off each day to the various forest and reef attractions.

We had a chat to a young French girl who had driven with her girlfriend from Perth (around the Top End). Another traveller had given her the remains of her groceries and washing liquids, etc and as the French duo (+ her friend’s parents, who had just arrived) was moving on towards Melbourne, she came over and gave the bag of stuff to us.

It turned out she came from Montpellier, a city I know fairly well in the south of France, so we had a few moments of talking about places we both knew around that region. Once again, small world!

This morning, we were up at the crack of dawn, with electricity, water and grey water hoses disconnected by 7.15 so we could take the Isuzu in for a service. The dealer’s courtesy bus dropped us on the esplanade where had a slap-up breakfast, then walked it off for the next 6 hours.

The crew hard at work on Rasa, from the Cayman Islands.

We checked out the marina, with some huge yachts moored there, one in particular from Georgetown in the Cayman Islands, was having some attention to its timber railing (or what the Yanks call its ‘brightwork’) from its crew; then watched one of the many tourist boats to Green Island depart.

There were some great exhibitions on at the Cairns Art Gallery, including one called Ghost Nets, which featured art works made from the fishing nets that drift and endanger sea life. Quite a lot were made by people from Bamaga and Seisia, where we had been, so we found that very interesting.



The waterfront lagoon at Cairns.

After more walking, we came to a large shopping centre where we found a couple of things on our shopping list, and finally, around 1.15pm, the call came that the service was completed.

Now safely back in the caravan park, we’re starting to plan our next move south to Townsville.