Bunbury North or Bust!

Earlier this month Martin and I took to the skies, flying to Cairns in Far North Queensland. Our friends Noel and Kirsten have just moved there from Adelaide, and the opportunity to join them for a short holiday was a temptation too great to resist. Toffee, my new little friend, thoroughly enjoyed the flight too, especially when Martin held her up to the window to see the view. (I will tell you more of her holiday in a later post.)

We left Adelaide rugged up in winter woolies and arrived in Cairns to find the temperature around 30 degrees Celsius, so the first thing I did was to remove as much clothing as decency and opportunity allowed. O the blessed relief of not having to brace against the cold!

Needless to say we had a wonderful time with our friends, sharing the enjoyment (and challenges)

We found the burst water pipe

of setting up a new home (Bunbury North), and also taking in some of the sights of the tropical north.

'Supermoon' at Clifton Beach

Clifton Beach Sunrise

The supermoon rose over Clifton Beach while we were there, and we took pictures of the moon rising without knowing that it was 'super', and the next morning Martin greeted the sunrise on the same beach.

We were captivated by the beautiful Crystal Cascades, a secluded freshwater swimming hole, hidden in a tropical rainforest, where a series of small waterfalls flow into large pools surrounded by boulders. We watched crazy kids jumping off cliffs into one of the deep pools - the NO DIVING signs were no deterrent to them - 

and saw a Golden Orb Weaver spider - so big! -

and an Orange Rustic butterfly.

Another highlight of the trip was the Skyrail rainforest cableway - a 'must do' for any visitor to Cairns - we loved it!

Rainforest from the Skyrail

On our last day, we packed a picnic lunch and drove to Mossman Gorge - yet another amazing rainforest paradise, north of Cairns and not far from Port Douglas. Words fail me to describe the walks through the rainforest there, and the clear mountain river is wonderful to swim in, if you can brave the current and cool temperature (I didn't).

It's cold!

Our holiday drew to a close too quickly, and we reluctantly said goodbye to Noel and Kirsty in the early morning darkness, leaving for the airport at 5am! By 9am we were back in Adelaide, glad of the winter woolies we had discarded 10 days earlier, and full of happy memories of a wonderful time with dear friends in a great place - Cairns.

Sleepy friends say Goodbye