I never did sample any of the Bundy Rum (this is rum made in a town called Bundaberg - would have loved to have visited the distillery but alas did not have time). I was far too tired after the day at the Whitsundays to suggest it. I am determined to try it though, so will not doubt have another opportunity.
It was another long Greyhound ride to Cairns and I arrived there at around 6pm. The hostel was quite a fair walk from the bus stop and it is very hot in Cairns. I looked pretty sweaty with a slight hunchback when I arrived - my rucksack gets heavier everytime I leave a place.
When I had showered and settled in, I took a walk to the Cairns night market. This is a really lovely indoor market which is open until 'late' - I suppose that means when the stall holders get fed up. The stuff they were selling was awesome and I spotted so many great souvenirs for people (crocodile/kangeroo biltong, chilli wine, local honey, handmade jewellery etc). Unfortunately money is tight so couldn't buy anything. I just thought I would tease you with what might have been...
There was a guy there who had a bunch of snakes with him, being a fan of snakes I decided to go over and speak to him. The snakes are carpet pythons and he took a few photos of me holding the larger one. The snake is called Honey and she was very curious and wouldn't stay still, I was rather taken with her though.
When you stay in Cairns, you are able to book various trips such as snorkling the Great Barrier Reef and trips through the surrounding rainforests. My budget for Oz is pretty much spent and I took in some of the Barrier Reef when I sailed the Whitsundays, so decided not to book anything. My plan was too just explore the city and then spend the afternoon swimming at the large lagoon near the ocean. Imagine my horror when I arrived at the lagoon to find that it has been closed for 7 weeks. Those bastards! On the upside though, I did find a really nice art gallery nearby, so it wasn't a wasted journey. I did really like Cairns, it is a fairly small city, but really nice to walk around and you can see the mountains that surround the region. It is so hot though that I had to flee screaming into the shade on several occasions, the sun really is wasted on me unfortunately.
I went back to the night market in the evening as they have an awesome food court there and I fancied some Chinese food buffet action. I was not disappointed. Tasty noodles! I did some wine tasting too, as there was a tropical wine stall. I felt a bit bad for not actually buying anything. There was a little beautician section in the market and it looked slightly ropey but was cheap, so I thought I would I get my eyelashes and eyebrows tinted. This lovely Japanese lady, did the honours and she was so gentle that I hardly noticed her touching me at all. She did a marvellous job too.
On the way back to the hostel I got harrassed for money by a bunch of people on the street, they were fairly polite about it so gave them what little change I had left in my purse. One of them moaned about the amount, so was half tempted to take it back, except that there was 6 of them and I'm pretty sure they could take me.
Today, I flew back into Melbourne and it is really nice to be back here, even if it is a flying visit. I'm flying to Wellington tomorrow and will be staying with my friend Stu for a few nights before heading to Christchurch for my 3 day bikeride. I am really sad to be leaving Australia as I've had such a great time here. The people are lovely and the country really is beautiful, it's just a shame that I only had just under 3 weeks. There are so many places I would loved to have visited, but will no doubt come back here in the future. I'm really looking forward to New Zealand now and my next blog will be from there!
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