The Wonderful World of Cairns

I wish I had someone to share this experience with. For you, my readers, I can only do my best to retell in imperfect detail the wonders that I found in Cairns. As such, I’m afraid that much will be lost in the transliteration of sentiments to words. Nonetheless, I will try, as I have said, and begin with my accommodation at the Aspect Central Motel.

My room was on the ground level and equipped with a kitchenette and mini-fridge. It would be the first time since travelling that I cook for myself (tacos every night). Little ants proved to be a bother and the privacy was a bit lacking, there being a large window at the front of the room which could never be fully covered by the blinds. That aside, I had all of the necessities to make me content. In fact, with the quality of creative writing I managed to type out those first two days, this motel seemed to be my own version of Hemingway’s studio in Key West or Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond. I shouldn’t dare compare anything I’ve ever produced to their work, but I now see the value of finding the proper place to sit down and write.

The first afternoon I spent sorting out money matters. It has been a bigger hassle than I had imagined, especially because of delays in visa transactions. For relief, I took a short walk along the Esplanade and pier. Instead of beachfront, Cairns was graced with mudflats which have been decorated with crocodile warning signs. The running trails and parks are nice though, with the highlight being a public swimming area marked with big metal fish spurting water from their fins and tails. Many residents seem very active, but greetings are less common than in other Australian cities I’ve passed through.

Day two presented a small surprise. Apparently a cyclone was headed our way, so no boats were leaving port. This delayed any opportunity of scheduling a scuba diving trip in the Great Barrier Reef – the whole reason I went to Cairns. Instead, I walked towards the Botanical Gardens with the intent of climbing Mount Whitfield. As it would happen, the trails were also blocked off because of the impending storm, though that was probably for the best. I had brought with me only one granola bar and one water bottle. When I eventually did climb the mountain two days later, I was relieved to find myself better prepared. With the trail blocked off, I wandered the different gardens and even in my ignorance I could appreciate the diversity of flowers, plants, and trees.

As a side note, I happened to read about the Coriolis Effect on a sign in the park. It explained the rotational difference of hurricanes in the northern and southern hemispheres. It reminded me of the myth that toilets in Australia flow in a different direction than in Canada, so I tested it out. The toilet in my motel room just created one giant gush and swallowed the water, but there was some sign of clockwise motion afterwards – the opposite of my toilet in Canada. So, there you go: it’s true! Except it isn’t. Although the water in some toilets may spin in the opposite direction, it has to do with the manufacturing and not a special physical phenomenon. Now back to my story.

Despite the impending arrival of Cyclone Dylan, I was able to join a tour through the Atherton Tablelands on my third day. This tour included a swim in Lake Eacham (an old volcanic crater filled with rain water), a viewing of Dinner Falls and Mt. Hypipamee Crater, an expensive pub lunch, a swim under Milla Milla Falls, and finally a sliding session down Josephine Falls. We were also provided with tea, local fruits, and a handful of knowledge. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to write in depth about this trip, but here is some trivia that I picked up as compensation:

• Based on a poll of the 20-odd tourists, it seems that just as many people scrunch toilet paper as fold it. As for myself, I am a folder.
• Bananas are more ambiguously classified than I thought because they grow on an herbaceous plant and not a tree. I’ll keep calling them fruits though.
• The kangaroo and emu are on Australia’s coat of arms as a metaphor since they can’t walk backwards.
• I was told that the name “kangaroo” comes from the native term for “I don’t understand you.” That is, when explorers came to Australia and asked a native what that animal was, the native responded with “I don’t understand you.” A Google search tells me that this is a myth (I also modified the point regarding the ambiguous classification of bananas, since my guide’s explanation was also a bit misleading).
• People from the U.K. call pool noodles “woggles.” Australians, like Canadians, call them noodles.
• Eating kiwi fruit whole is more convenient than peeling it or scooping it out of the skin.
• Another fact regarding bananas (which again, I’ve modified with my own research), is that they are cooled to prevent ripening during transport, and then sprayed with ethylene gas to restart the ripening process before being put on display. After reading up on it, I’m not overly concerned about this, but having now tried a naturally ripened banana, I know that countries which cannot produce their own bananas and naturally deliver them to market are missing out.

On my fourth day in Cairns, the trails of Mount Whitfield were reopened. I don’t know what made me think differently before this trip, but I stopped off at the grocery store to buy trail mix and an apple. I also happened to have an extra water bottle in my bag from the Tablelands tour. For the first time since my arrival, there weren’t sporadic showers throughout the day and the sun beat down strong. The tropical climate also meant that it was very humid. I headed back to the Botanical Gardens where the entrance to the red and blue arrow trails began.

The hike was considerably more difficult than I imagined. I haven’t been in the best shape since travelling, but I’ve done a lot of walking which is the only thing that could have saved me. Parts of the trail were paved, other parts had make-shift stairs, but a good portion of the blue arrow path was little more than a turkey run. After only a few minutes, I was sweating like crazy. Runners with their shirts off were heading back to sea level after their morning run and I couldn’t help but think that hiking even an hour or two before noon was a bad idea on my part. Still, I hiked on through the forest, meeting fewer and fewer people and more and more bush turkeys. At the highest points of the trail, jogging was prohibited, so I didn’t see anyone for a very long time.

I took water breaks fairly often and stopped at every lookout. Disappointment was overcoming me when each lookout I reached had the same view of Cairns Airport. I knew that was the wrong attitude to take. Instead of seeing the lookouts as a set of goals, I chose to see the whole hike as its own reward. How often do I get the chance to take several hours off to walk along mountain trails? Not to mention, I was in Australia! Eventually, I was partially rewarded at the top of one of the highest points. It still didn’t look over the best area and was largely obstructed by trees, but at least it wasn’t the airport!

Hiking down the mountain was just as difficult in some locations as going up. It was a relief to finally reach the make-shift steps again. When the blue arrow trail joined with the shorter red, I started to see more people. At one moment, when I was alone, I spotted a tree kangaroo hopping through the forest. He stopped and I was able to move quietly back up the steps to get a better look. Unfortunately, he was still too far away to take a good picture. Other hikers came from both directions of the trail and I lost sight of him.

During my last full day in Australia, I was able to take a boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef! Because it was less than 24-hours before my flight, I wasn’t able to go scuba diving, but snorkelling was better than nothing. A young skipper with dreadlocks kept the double-decked boat on course with hands behind his head and feet on the wheel. Two and a half hours out, we made our first stop and he cursed out orders like a true sailor. Views of the first and following stop weren’t particularly remarkable. The fish and reef were nice, but not being an expert in biodiversity, there was little more for me to gawk at relative to other snorkelling trips I’ve done. Perhaps most strikingly is that the colours aren’t as wonderful as in Finding Nemo. There were a few brightly coloured fish, but not many. The most amazing thing was a giant clam that I probably could have fit in.

Although I have left out many details, this post is likely my longest yet. I hope that it is satisfactory or at least that I make up for it in future retellings of my time in Australia. I could easily write more if I had the time, but a new adventure is about to begin! My exploration of Asia starts now!