CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 23RD

Cairns (pronounced “cans”) is a tropical town in North Queensland.  The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system, stretches for some 1,250 miles along the Queensland coast and is comprised of more than 2,000 islands and 3,000 reefs.  Cairns also is a gateway to one of the world’s ancient rainforests, found in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation National Parks.  Nearby is the Aboriginal township of Kuranda, otherwise known as the “Cultural Rainforest Village.”  Excursions on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail, Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park, and crocodile farms were available.  Cairns has a tropical climate with little distinction between the seasons.  Temperatures are warm to hot all year with the occasional “cold snap” during June and July.

We’d been here in 1999 and 2016 and didn’t take any excursions but opted instead for shopping at Cairns Central Mall.  Michael picked up a pedestal fan from Target for $12 US which we thought was a great deal.  Our room is the coldest on the entire ship, I’m sure, and our cabin steward actually likes working here because of the coolness.  For me, it can’t be too cold and somehow I think the air conditioning was adjusted while we were in cooler New Zealand and never brought back to the way it was before in French Polynesia.  Whatever the reason, we are more comfortable now with the fan.  Of course, we’ll “donate” it to the crew when we leave. 

Seeing the price for lunch, as an example, at the local “Burger King” (called something else – I can’t recall now – in Australia but with the same logo) – 15.50 AUD for a double cheeseburger and fries, we decided it would be cheaper to take a cab back to the ship and have lunch onboard.  That’s exactly what we did.  Afterwards, we took a long walk on The Esplanade looking for the Pier Marketplace only to walk way passed it, listened to an outdoor band, and headed back to the ship.  All along the Esplanade, there were restaurants but Michael said, “hold up, let me take a look around the corner.”  Well, all the restaurants were on the ground level of the Shangri-La Hotel which had signage on only one side of the building which informed passersby that there were actual shops inside the lobby.  Who knew?  No one told us anything.   Absolutely the worst signage ever.   When we told the women in the shops that we found them quite by accident, they all complained that the advertising stunk.  Over 600 passengers on a cruise ship and we were the only two people who came that day.  Unbelievable.  Not to say that everyone was a shopaholic, but management should certainly advertise their shops considering how much rent is paid for such a location.  Needless to say, we helped the economy. 

After walking over 17,000 steps that day, we were very happy to be back onboard with our purchases.  I was so tired, we called room service and stayed in for the evening.  So pooped, we didn’t even dance that night. 

Our adventures weren’t all that exciting to read about here so I’ll relate an adventure we had in Cairns 20 years ago which I think is a lot more interesting. 

We wanted to go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef so, during our visit to the “night markets,” a kiosk advertised snorkeling on the “Passions of the Sea,” the name of the vessel.  The name should’ve been a clue but we booked our tour for two days from then anyway.  The following day, while sitting outside our hotel, the Passions of the Sea returned from the day’s outing and we sat there, horrified, as what appeared to be dozens and dozens of far-younger people than we were, even at that time, yelling and hollering, covered in mask-like make-up, and, no doubt, drunk.  Michael says he counted at least 100 people.  And there I was, envisioning setting sail on a chaise lounge with pretty-colored drinks with fruit and umbrellas, and what do I see but a vessel with less benches that would accommodate all the passengers.  We sat there wide-eyed, looked at one another, and immediately went into our hotel to inquire about a snorkeling adventure the following day because we had only one day left before leaving.  We were able to book a 4-seater float plane that took us to Green Island which, at that time, had a private section that was available to us.  The following morning, we rented our snorkeling gear, with a mask with vision correction so I wouldn’t need my glasses, flew to Green Island, transferred onto a dinghy and then taken to the Island itself.  The pilot picked us up later that afternoon.  We had our chaise lounges, drinks, snorkeling and very happy not to have embarked the Passions of the Sea.  The name sounded good but the experience would have been horrific. 

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:   I found that I wasn’t interested in snorkeling around the Great Barrier Reef.  After hearing about the passenger who died earlier this month, learning that she had been snorkeling and cut herself on coral, which may have contributed to her demise, I felt even less inclined to visit the Barrier Reef.  I did, however, want to test my knowledge of fine jewelry especially opals.  Ever since I proposed to Leona in 1988, I have slowly built my knowledge of fine gemstones, gold, platinum and other exotic settings.  Many people are aware that Australia is famous for its high-quality opals.  Opals, unlike diamonds, are difficult to evaluate and determine a price.  I enjoy talking with jewelers and learning more about this amazing stone.  But, even more important, I like guessing prices of the stones either by themselves or in settings.  Being a notorious window shopper, I seldom, if ever, purchase while on vacation.  The stores that we visited had a number of nice stones and the prices were actually quite reasonable.  Unfortunately for me, I have, in the last 20 years, been spoiled having spent many early Februarys attending the world-famous Tucson Gem Show and have seen opals that were so magnificent that opals I see in a retail setting pale in comparison.  High quality opals from the Lightening Ridge area of Australia can command between $350,000 - $400,000 for an opal the size of my thumbnail.  Disinclined to purchase such a stone, I simply amuse myself by trying to guess the cost of opals in the retail setting. 

This time around, I found Cairns very pleasant and the people were very friendly.  The highlight of our visit was purchasing the $12 fan from Target.  As I entered the cruise ship with my purchase, security required that I surrender the box in order for the electrical officer to approve the fan for use in our cabin.  By early next morning, the fan was returned and I was able to assemble it, thanks to my multitude of travel tools, within minutes.  The only thing missing was the adaptor which I had left at home but, luckily, Jefte, our cabin steward, was able to locate an Australian to U.S. adaptor which is presently in use.  And Leona loves the extra cooling breeze, especially after a shower.