We arrived in Cairns around 1 pm. Security at the Melbourne airport was different than the US. We did not need a boarding pass to get thru security. We did not have to take off our shoes unless they set off the metal detector and we did not have to use 3 oz containers. It was great. Our Virgin Australia flight went well. Landing in Cairns was beautiful. The hills of rain forest meet right with the ocean. It is a gorgeous tropical place. The warm, humid air hit us as we exited the plane. A nice contract to the 40F degree weather we left behind in Melbourne.
We took a taxi to the hotel though there is a shuttle service from the airport. Our hotel was the Mantra Esplanade and it is fantastic.
We have an ocean view room with a king size bed with an ocean view. Awesome! After checking out the hotel, we meandered down the esplanade, had lunch at one of the pizza shops, and then walked around the lagoon. We also stopped at the grocery store to pick up some snacks and wine. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the balcony enjoying the sounds of Blues Fest in the park down below. We had a 6:30 pm "booking" at Ochre. Ochre is the fine dining restaurant in Cairns and it lived up to the hype. We got the tasting menu with wines. The wines were interesting because they were boutique wines from across Australia. The food was very good. The first two courses had some missteps but then the meal hit its stride. We tried the Taste of Australia platter with emu, kangaroo and crocodile. The flavors were pretty good. The kangaroo has a gamely flavor. The crocodile is a tougher, stringier chicken. The emu was served raw so it had a subtle game flavor and a nice texture. Our favorite dish was a quail presented in a fried chicken wing preparation with a soy, jalapeno sauce plus pickled watermelon and a native Australian leaf. When you ate it all together - it just worked.
We may be eating our Asian chicken wings with pickles from now on! It was an awesome, decadent dining experience. All we go do was head back to the hotel and go to sleep.
Day 2- The Great Barrier Reef aka I found Nemo
Today, we went on a Quick Silver Cruises snorkeling tour of the Great Barrier Reef. We rode about an hour through the mountains to Port Douglas on narrow windy roads that made us glad we didn't drive. We boarded a large, modern, catamaran yacht.
The crew and boat were fantastic. The passengers were mostly divers. Only six of us were snorkeling. The crew was very professional and safety-oriented. The water was a bit choppy so they offered us ginger or anti-sea sickness pills before we left. We both took them. It was a bumpy ride and a couple people were looking a little green. We battled the wind up on deck which helped a lot. We rode about 90 minutes out to the outermost reefs. We could see the waves breaking on the shelf which is a sheer drop off at the edge of the reef. The crew said this was the best spot to dive and snorkel because the deep water comes in over the edge of the reef with all these nutrients to help feed the coral.
We went to three sites and had at least an hour at each site. The reef is amazing. Most sites were about 20 - 30 meters deep with coral coming up to with a meter of the surface in some places. The colors of the coral are just incredible. The fish were great and I even saw a sea Turtle and Nemo.
The boat had morning and afternoon snacks and a very nice buffet lunch. We left the hotel at 645 am and returned at 6pm. This tour is definitely for people who are serious about snorkeling. The seas were a big rough so it was hard to snorkel the full time in each of the spots. One of the couples on the trip skipped the third stop entirely because they were tired. Some other trips in the area offer a boat ride out to a platform where you can sunbathe, snorkel or eat at your leisure. That would be a good option for people who just want a taste of snorkeling the reef. We relaxed with some snacks and wine on the Balcony. Then we headed out the back door of the hotel to The Courthouse for some dinner. The food wasn’t memorable but the $4 Coronas hit the spot. We were surprised how popular Coronas were!
Day 3 Cairns
Today Glenn made a list of fun places to check out around town. We started at Coffee Works, a gourmet coffee shop. The beans are grown about an hour from here. The coffee was really really good.
Next up was Meldrum's Pies in Paradise. These pies are like chicken pot pies, but they fill them with all combinations of meat, cheese and sauces. They are incredible popular in Australia. I had the steak, bacon, and cheese. Glenn had the steak and kidney. So good.
We headed over to the Cairns central shopping district - basically a mall. We were surprised it had a Target, several "chemists" (pharmacies), two grocery stores right next to each other, and about 8 coffee places. Otherwise the clothing and electronics stores looked very familiar. Across the street from the stores is the Grand Hotel which boasts a bar carved from a single log into the shape of a crocodile. Of course, we had to get a drink there.
We then tried to find the Blue Sky Brewery. The brewery is advertised all over town. We found the address, but the place was deserted. It was so weird. There no indication of what happened or that is was even closed. We solved the mystery a couple days later when we found out there was an issue with the sewage pie that runs under the building. It would have been nice if they at least had a sign. We headed to the Reef Casino. It was small. It had high table minimums even though it was empty. We found a couple penny slots and had fun. They were definitely older games than what we have in the US. We walked out to the Pier and had a fantastic lunch at Salthouse.
We ordered a dozen Tasmanian oysters. They came with bloody Mary caviar and an awesome lime ginger granita. I had dill risotto with smoked rainbow trout and fennel. Glenn had a lamb chorizo burger with fries. It was one of the best meals we had in Australia. After a mandatory rest period, we headed out to a trio of the popular backpacker bars. Cairns is a backpackers’ playground. Everywhere you look there are young people from all over the world. They get a one year work/holiday visa and then go from town to town until the money runs out and they have to get a job. The most common jobs are farm hands – picking apples, grapes, etc. The good thing about the backpacker bars is that the prices for food and beer are slightly less expensive. We tried some more Aussie beers, had a $12 dinner, and watched a AFL game. Overall, a fun day.
Day 4 Cairns
We booked a tour with Wilderness Eco Safari. We headed out on a 4 wheel drive Eco tour of the rain forest. It was us, another American couple, and our guide. We picked this one because it was small and that allowed us to get into harder to access areas. We were not disappointed.
We drove over two different mountains. We got to see lots of amazing plants and tree. One type of tree grows around a host tree and chokes out the sunlight so the host tree dies. Then huge roots shoot down form the top of the tree. This leaves a void in the middle.
The guide set out lunch in the middle of the rain forest. It was a terrific experience.
We also swam in a rain forest stream.
We stopped at a local fruit stand to try the custard apple - very soft and sweet.
We covered a lot of ground and got to see a lot of the rain forest. By the end of the day, we were both itching to get out of the car. I would highly recommend the tour. After the tour, we went to a nearby Italian restaurant for a very good dinner and said goodbye to Cairns.
Overall - Cairns is a worthwhile stop. The downtown area has a backpacker vibe with some very nice accommodations and great restaurants. The day trips options are terrific. Downtown Cairns does not have a beach - they have a lagoon right along the water. A number of resorts dot the landscape between Cairns and Port Douglas if you are more interested in a resort experience. I don't think we will be back. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, but we have checked off rain forest tour and snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef off our bucket list.
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