Cairns

The tour dropped us off back at the Summer House Cairns backpackers. From 5-star luxury to a backpackers? Yep. We like backpackers. So long as the bed is in a double room, not a dormitory, it's fine by us. Nowadays we prefer an ensuite bathroom and many backpackers offer this. At a fraction of the price at a hotel.

We had 6 nights before our flights back to Christchurch, so 5 full days to explore the Cairns area. We pencilled these in as:

1. A guided bird-watching walk in the botanic gardens

2. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef

3. An eco tour of the Atherton Tablelands

4. Kuranda, and

5. Spare.

Numbers 1, 2 and 4 generated so many pictures they will have a post each.

In preparation for the forthcoming activities, we had a pleasantly idle day in the town.

September is supposed to be the end of the dry season, but 'the Wet' must have been imminent, because irregular showers arrived, some of them very heavy.

In the evening, while walking through the night market we came across Blythe and Karleen from the Outback Spirit tour. They were having a couple of extra nights at the Shangri-La Hotel and had chosen to dine in the night market food court.

We were waiting in Abbott St. for the shuttle back to the hostel when this Bush Stone-curlew walked down the road.  An odd name because it is not a bush nor a stone nor a curlew.  It was also out well past its proper bed time.

The bird-watching walk in the botanic gardens was a naturalist's delight, but we got very wet.

By late afternoon we were back at the night market looking for souvenirs. A piece of trivia, in Cairns “permanent” apparently means 40 days.

For our trip to the Great Barrier Reef we opted for Michaelmas Cay. A full day trip but the cay has both coral reefs and thousands of birds!

Thursday, 18 September was our trip to the Atherton Tablelands. The minibus picked us up at the hostel; a small vehicle and not nearly full.

The driver made much of the 200+ bends in the Gillies Highway. He started counting them when we arrived, but mercifully stopped after the first 3. It is a good sealed road and no more wiggly than the road we live on. We reminded ourselves that this was Australia, where the default road curvature is dead straight.

We were taken to a selection of nice bush locations, with photo-worthy views and/or trees. The Millaa Millaa waterfall was running steadily. It can dwindle to a trickle at the end of the dry season, so the heavy showers we were experiencing had pumped it up a little. The driver's pronunciation, “Miller Miller” seemed to conflict with the spelling, but we didn't query it.

The Curtain Fig tree.  Starting from a seed dropped high in the canopy, this strangler fig grew vertical roots, which gradually became thicker and interwoven. Over hundreds of years these roots have strangled the host causing it to fall into a neighbouring tree.

Lake Barrine

A big cluster of orchids growing by the teahouse at Lake Barrine.

Two Queensland Kauri trees, Agathis robusta, as tall and straight as the NewZealand species, Agathis australis.

Millaa Millaa Falls

And then Paronella Park. A Spaniard migrated to Queensland and managed to save enough from labouring to buy and profitably develop land. After 11 years without sending so much as a postcard he returned to Spain to find his fiancée had married someone else. So he married her sister instead and brought his bride to Queensland and built a castle in the bush. In England it would be called a folly.

You can read the full story here.

A nice avenue at Paronella Park

Apart from the folly, the site is home to some rare Irwin's Turtles, named after the late conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin.

An Irwin's Turtle is recognised by its pink nose.

The last stop on the trip was Babinda Boulders. The showers had made the muddy path from the car park to the boulders very slippery. Eve didn't like the look of it. Bill promised that he would be very careful but, despite his promise, he had skidded and fallen on his back within 10 metres. The most serious injury was to his self esteem, but we turned around and went back to the bus.

On his first visit to Australia, in 1971, Bill had taken the scenic train from Cairns to Kuranda. His journal reveals that his return ticket cost 89 cents. In 2025 the train is $170 for the two of us. Include admission to the 3 wildlife attractions and we paid $294. Australian dollars, of course.

The train may have been the same, but there was much more to do in Kuranda now. So it will get a post of its own.

Rusty's Market opens only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Our last full day in Cairns was a Saturday so we took the opportunity to go and see it.

The market is known for tropical fruits and vegetables. These stalls occupy the prime positions.

A selection of tropical fruits.

Jack fruit are notoriously niffy, so are displayed wrapped in cling film.

While we were there Eve picked up a pair of spectacles from the ground. There was no-one nearby who might have dropped them. A stall-holder directed us to the market manager's office. That was locked so we left the specs on a ledge next to the office door. Let's hope the owner recovered them.

The afternoon was spent idling around the town centre and debating where to go for our last dinner. The decision went to Spicy Bite, an Indian Restaurant.

The Lagoon, where families can paddle and swim without fear of sharks, jellyfish or crocodiles.  Even so, there is a lifeguard on duty.

The journey back to Christchurch was uneventful until we tried to summon an Uber on exiting Christchurch Airport. Bill's 'phone appeared to have a signal, but the Uber app refused to function. We had to get a regular taxi.

The Torres Strait Islands and the end of the tour

The tip of Cape York is the Northernmost point of mainland Australia, but there are bits of Aussie that are even closer to Papua New Guinea and the equator.

For the history and geography of the islands, read the Wikipedia article here.

The way the tour was organised, the bus took us to Seisia Wharf, near Bamaga, and we took the ferry from there. We could only take one piece of luggage each, that fell within the Qantas cabin allowance. Once we were on the ferry, Grant turned the bus, with our main luggage, towards Cairns and had a day-and-a-half to drive back what had taken 9 days to cover when Northbound.

The wharf was obviously a popular fishing spot.  One of the anglers caught a good meal while we were there.

There were several terns fishing for smaller fry.  We think they were Common Terns, but this has yet to be confirmed.

The Thursday Island ferry arriving at the wharf.

Debbie accompanied us on the Ferry to Thursday Island.

Due to the whims of European navigators, four of the islands are named after days of the week; Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island, Thursday Island and Friday Island. So every week in the Torres Strait has a long weekend. ;-)

Our tour of Thursday Island did not take long. It's much smaller than the neighbouring Prince of Wales Island and Horn Island. We were taken to Green Hill Fort. It was constructed between 1891 and 1893 in response to the “Russian scare" of 1885.

Will it still work after 140 years?  Or did the guide tell us it was WW2 vintage?  I've forgotten.

Modern communications providing a nest site for an Osprey.

A Rainbow Lorikeet that didn't hide from the camera.

More interesting (to us) than old guns was a visit to a pearl farm on Friday Island. We were provided with very elegant snacks, and shown how the oysters are 'seeded' to generate pearls.

The water taxi that took us to Friday Island

Being taught how to coax an oyster to generate a pearl.

Our night in the Jardine Motel was without Internet. The motel's wi-fi was not working. Because of the Ospreys, maybe?  However, the room was comfortable.

Bougainvillea growing on the motel wall.

A very insensitive view of history greets the visitor.  Torres was the first European, but the strait had been navigated by Melanesians for thousands of years before he arrived.

The next morning we boarded another ferry, this time bound for Horn Island. Off the ferry and onto a small bus for a tour. The museum was small but informative. 

You simply can't get away from our name in North Queensland.

An elaborate example of the headdress worn by the dancer in Bamaga.  The museum did not explain why the wearer is looking so grumpy.

The island had an airfield in WW2, which attracted Japanese bombing so we were taken to the remains of a heavy anti-aircraft battery.

Plenty of sandbags for protecting the gunners.

A heavy AA gun.  The guide is opening a bag with an example of the ammunition used.  Hopefully just a empty case!

A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

The airfield is still there, but used now for more peaceful travel. The Qantas flight to Cairns was part of our tour. 

A sparrow?  Yes, but what kind?  This is a Eurasian Tree Sparrow at Horn Airport.

As he had promised, Grant met us off the 'plane and we boarded the Outback Spirit bus to the Shangri-La Hotel for our last night.

A welcome surprise was a reunion with Blythe and Karleen. The manager of Moreton Telegraph Station had driven them to Weipa, an almost 2 hour journey, to a doctor. They were reassured that it was nothing serious and required only rest.  They were well looked after. From Weipa, they were flown to Cairns.

They were full of praise for Outback Spirit. Not only did the station manager personally take them to the nearest doctor, the company sorted travel and accommodation and helped with their travel insurance claim.

The final night dinner was thankfully not an emotional weep-fest, but a few email addresses were exchanged.

Our room at the Shangri-La overlooked the Cairns marina.

Moreton Telegraph Station and Bamaga

The station was built as part of communications with far North Queensland when messages had to travel over physical wires. It continued in use until 1987. Now it is an Outback Spirit lodge.

It doesn't have the personality of the other Outback Spirit lodge, Lotus Bird Lodge. There is no billabong. There are no wallabies. But there are birds. The personnel are every bit as friendly and there is a 24-hour coffee machine! The wi-fi has to be accessed just outside the laundry.

The bird on the right is the closest we got to seeing a Palm Cockatoo.

The rooms were comfortable, but in motel-like rows rather than individual cabins

Pleasant, open eucalyptus forest

A pleasing extra at the station was a large outside fireplace, so we could enjoy pre-dinner drinks around a campfire.

Mike had brought his ukulele with him and gave us a song.

A full day at the station was most relaxing. To encourage us to go on an afternoon walk we were promised an ice-cream!

A plant we have not yet identified.

A St. Andrew's Cross spider with its very distinctive web.  It has 8 legs, like all spiders, but chooses to align them two-together so it looks like only 4.

Masked Lapwing

There were several of these Pale-yellow Robins around the station.  Not gaudy, but certainly not shy.  This one is perched on a hose fitting.

The grounds were well populated with Australian Brush-turkeys.

The Wenlock River is reputed to have the highest diversity of freshwater fish of all Australian Rivers.  But we saw none at all.

We were super-careful when crossing this bridge.  As you can see, there is no pedestrian lane.

What is the sign so high up in this tree?

"We were here in a boat 14th March 2003"  It's a record of a gigantic flood.

Why would anyone put a 'phone box here, in the middle of the Peninsula?  One suggestion was that cellphones probably don't work here!

A Four o'Clock Moth

The next day, the sensible but sad decision was taken for our new friends, Blythe and Karleen, to leave the tour. Blythe had contracted a cold and spent most of the previous 2 days in bed. In the event, we met up with them again at the end of the tour. See the next post.

Back on the road to Cape York, there was a pause to admire some more Magnetic Termite mounds and a swimming stop at Fruit Bat Falls. The geography of the river guarantees that there are no crocodiles at the swimming location. Bill was very keen for a swim, but access is over natural, uneven rocks. Now that he has swapped contact lenses, which are OK for swimming so long as the head is kept above the water, for spectacles, he needed help to get in and out.

Our crew, Debbie and Grant, posing in front of a termite mound and the tour bus.

A carnivorous pitcher plant near Fruit Bat Falls.

There are crocodiles in the river, but they can't get at Bill in the pool at Fruit Bat Falls.

The uneven rocks continue under water and bill grazed a toe. Debbie applied first aid, liberally applying antiseptic cream. You never know what germs may be circulating in the tropics.

The Jardine River is big enough to warrant a ferry.

The further North we got, the more World War 2 featured in the history notes. The Japanese army never landed troops on mainland Australia, but there was fierce fighting in Papua New Guinea, which is not very far away. Bamaga's war story is the DC-3 aircraft that crashed en route to New Guinea. The remains are still visible.

Bamaga was established after World War II by people from Saibai Island in Torres Strait, after Saibai Island was devastated by abnormally high tides.

After dinner we were treated to an example of Torres Strait islander music and dancing. The young man dancer wore a mask with long feathers in a semicircle around his head. This emphasised his head movements, especially looking to right and left. The teenage girl dancer sat, apparently resentful at the world, until it was her turn to dance, when she performed very well.

The Torres Strait islanders are distinct from the mainland aboriginal peoples. For example, they farmed crops, rather than gathering wild plants. The islands are part of Australia, but the islanders have their own flag. Note that it is the flag of the people, not the territory. See Wikipedia's explanation here. 

The reason for staying in Bamaga is to access the Tip of Cape York, the northernmost point of mainland Australia. The road doesn't quite reach the tip. The explorer must walk the last 1km. Our itinerary describes the walk as “Difficult. Rocky, uneven. Extreme slopes at times.” Eve decided that she would give the walk a miss and settle for the end of the road. In recognition of the path's difficulty, Bill used his hiking pole.

Eve was made very comfortable, with a canvas chair and a picnic table in the shade, overlooking a beach. While the rest of us picked our way carefully over the rocky terrain Eve alternately read her book and admired the view.

Part of Eve's view.

Rocky, uneven?  Oh yes.

At the Tip of Cape York

Proof that Bill made it to the Tip.

Since we were in the neighbourhood, we were taken to Somerset, once the official residence of John Jardine, Police Magistrate and Commissioner of Crown Lands. There are a few graves left, adjacent to a very pleasant beach. There is no resemblance to the county in England.

On the way back to Bamaga we stopped at the Croc Tent, the furthest North souvenir shop. We bought a few gifts for grandchildren, including a colourful shirt and some “crocodile eggs”. These look like eggs that, when soaked in water, break open to reveal a 'baby crocodile' that continues to absorb water and grow for about a week.

Lunch was later than usual after such a busy morning. Debbie and Grant prepared a BBQ at the delightfully named Injinoo Lookout.