Day 22, Year 3: A Day in Cairns
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2008
Weather: Partly Sunny, Temperature in the Low 70’s
Location: Marlin Marina, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Today was a pink and blue day. That means that the “girls” went one way and the “boys” went the other. Mark and Gerry of Scot Free II spent their morning in local ship chandleries and to Bunnings Hardware, an Australian version of Home Depot. Gerry bought a new outboard engine for his dinghy (a Yamaha 8 hp) and Mark bought and installed a new shower head and controls for Windbird’s aft head. It had gotten progressively more difficult to completely shut off the cold water in the shower, so the new installation should take care of that. That was the “blue” day.
Donna and I hopped on a bus to the far side of town to visit the Cairns Botanic Gardens and Centenary Lakes and the Rainforest Boardwalk that connects the two. The Botanic Gardens had a collection of tropical plants, both native to and imported to Australia. There was an orchid house, a fernery, an Aboriginal section that featured plants and their uses, as well as beautiful walks through lush tropical forest habitats. There were also a few exotic birds here and there. You have to imagine two women running like children through the shrubs and trees all afternoon trying to capture pictures of elusive birds. It’s amazing how many hours you can spend chasing birds!
Tomorrow is a shopping day and later tonight and in the morning we will make Skype calls back home. Then it will be time to get ready to leave Cairns and head for the next stop.
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| 080531 Day 22 Cairns At Night |
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| 080531 Day 22 Tropical Rainforest Walk, Cairns |
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| 080531 Day 22 Cairns Botanic Garden |
