Cairns Week 1

Bluegrass band on the Esplanade

Saturday 22 September, our first full day in Cairns and we can now see our apartment in daylight. It is the ground floor of a Queenslander, a wooden house with a raised deck at the rear. We found it via Airbnb , a B&B website for people who have rooms available in their homes. It has all we need, but it is basic. The light isn't good but the welcome is warm and we will endeavour to be out as much as possible. Didn’t really do much today but a bit of food shopping. Food is incredibly expensive here – I couldn’t believe that they were asking $2 (£1.10) for a lime! They’re about 30p in the UK and we probably import them from Australia.

 

Dancing with the band
 

We also collected our hire car, a Hyundai ix35. It will be our ride for the next 5 weeks and the only negative so far is that the Sat Nav has been preinstalled with the voice of an Australian woman with a terrible, adenoidal and very dull Aussie twang. She has to go. Stephen Fry she is not. We took a walk along the Esplanade and found a Bluegrass band in full swing. Despite the absence of a significant audience they were really very good, even the accompanying dance troupe.

 



Yorkey's Knob - where else?



Sunday 23 September, our third day in Cairns and we are beginning to adjust to the humidity. For September it is, apparently, unseasonably hot at 30c. I've acquired my first mozzie bite which, as it is day three, is not too bad, especially as neither of us has been using any form of insert repellent. Not much more to report at this time other than a short trip today to Yorkey's Knob (Australians have a wonderful way with place names), an idyllic small town with an even better beach.

That's an fine way to spoil a beautiful beach vista

A barefoot walk in a warm tropical sea was just terrible, but we managed somehow to set aside the pain and guilt. Back to our apartment then for a sausage tray bake supper, which was fun as the ancient electric cooker kept overloading its circuit and tripping the fuse board. Well equipped this kitchen is not. Maybe we will eat out more for the rest of the week. Then again, at these prices, maybe we’ll go straight onto a diet instead.