samwhite 1 Posted June 13, 2014 Cairns and Fitzroy Island 2014 On April 29th we departed Darwin and fly to Cairns (pronounced cans). This was a strange flight as they only offered an 8 pm departure and it got us into Cairns pretty late. Below is the flight path. The first thing we noticed after getting off the airplane was that is was much cooler and far less humid. Russ arranged a ride for us and we were the first ones dropped off. But not before the driver got some digs into us. For example “we Australians have been in every war you yanks have started”. Anyway as we were getting in late I reserved rooms at the Travel Lodge. Australia has not adopted many of the rules that we Americas have been subjected to. There are few handicap ramps for instance. Also hotels do not need elevators unless they are over three stories. I can tell you it wasn’t much fun hauling two fifty pound bags plus other stuff up three floors at midnight. I can only imagine how Woody felt as he got most of his stuff up to the second floor of the wrong building. We had a leisurely morning and caught the fast cat to Fitzroy Island. Cairns harbor with a shot of my latest yacht. Fitzroy Island is an Australian national park with a resort on it. The first thing we were greeted to was the sign. We spent a fair amount of time at Foxy’s bar that day. We had arrived after the long two week Easter holiday and FINALLY the locals had returned to where they belong. Some views from Foxy’s. We had dinner at Foxy’s that night as the restaurant was only open on selected days. The next day we all took the boat out to the reef (about 150 feet from the resort). Some pictures of the trip. Please note that some of these pictures came with the package I purchased. That afternoon I took a hike to the top of the island. Not much of a climb and it was but it was something to do. In the afternoon Woody, Carole Pat and I hiked over to Secret Garden. I am at a loss how it can be called secret when everyone knows about it. But it is a good source of water on the island. Just before sunset Russ called my on the ham and told me there was to be a partial eclipse. I didn’t know this in advance and I only had my 24-85mm zoom. But here is the picture I took. I spent a bit of money on this camera and now is when I get some of it back. Expanding the above photo yields the picture below. I returned to the resort in the dark, found the others, and had a wonderful dinner. The next morning I got up early and hiked over Nudy Beach. Please note that it is not! But what it was, was at high tide and there was not beach. I did see a big spider on the way back. I pointed this out to some Japanese tourists and in broken English one of the women said “no like”. In the afternoon Pat and I visited the sea turtle exhibit where they try and bring hurt and injured turtles back into good health. They are cute but have nasty beaks. In the afternoon I hiked up to the decommissioned lighthouse. It is mostly a two track paved road. Along the way…. We caught the ferry back to Cairns and got to the hotel in Port Douglas around 8 p. The view from our room. The hotel was right up next to the Coral Sea. The next day we drove up to Mossman Gorge, which is a short distance from Port Douglas. Mossman Gorge is on aboriginal land but is no big deal. You park in the lot and pay $5 for a bus ride into the gorge. Once there you have pretty much free access to the site. The bid attraction is the water. Rain forest is everywhere. One must be careful when leaving valuables as they can be compromised. This is a movie. If you double click on it you will be routed away from this site. But it is worth it. We then returned to Port Douglas, dropped off Russ and then drove over to the wildlife habitat. Hand feeding a wallaby is really a hoot. We did get there late in the afternoon so the next day Carole and Tim went back while Russ, Pat and I drove up to Daintree NP. Daintree is know for its beauty having rain forest on one side of the road and the Coral Sea on the other. It is pretty much where the Great Barrier Reef meets land. To get to the Park you must take the ferry across the Daintree River. Crocs do infest this river. Some views of the Park. While the water looks inviting you must consider that a trip could be life threating. If a croc doesn’t get you a box jellyfish will. We went for a hike on a boardwalk in the rain forest. I think I saw Tarzan. The road ends, sort of, at Cape Tribulation. We drove about a half mile on the dirt and then turned around and went back to the hotel. We had a fine dinner. The next day we flew home. La Commedia è finita! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,313 Posted June 14, 2014 What an exciting trip. It really looked like a lot of fun. Thank you Sam! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ob1jeeper 447 Posted June 17, 2014 Thanks for sharing the adventure with us Sam… Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,589 Posted June 17, 2014 what exactly is that pretty chicken that wanted in your bags? also, this is a beautiful shot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
samwhite 1 Posted June 17, 2014 Kris, It is a Kiwi bird. This one is a special one i.e. toy. It is a "chatter" Kiwi. I will post a video of how it works. Here is the link. I so wish I had purchased this at the beginning of the trip rather at the end. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
