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I’ve been going through my posts, and came across my trip to Australia, and thought I’d share it today.
It’s a long trek to Australia, the first leg was from Chicago to Los Angeles, than straight to Sydney, and on to Cairns. I either sat at the airport, or on the plane for what seemed like an eternity. The length of the journey was well worth it-Cairns is stunning.
My first impression of Cairns was the arrival at the hotel in the early evening, after a long flight, a couple of layovers, and a delayed flight, I thought I’d be too tired to pay attention to anything except how quickly I could get to bed. Not so.
The hotel, a few steps away from the boardwalk, faced the water. The tropical vegetation was magnificent, and the desk staff accommodating. Once I made it to my room, the view took my breath away. The harbor on the left, the water and mountains straight ahead, and the lit boardwalk and gardens below.
There was no way I was going to sleep, without first checking out the area. Shower and bed had to wait, I did freshen up-it was a long, long trip-not even counting the 10 hour layover in Los Angeles, and then a 4 hour delay-instead of taking off at ten, we took off at two in the morning. You have to give Virgin Atlantic credit, they were serving dinner in the middle of the night. I opted for sleep, but I digress...
The stroll on the boardwalk was mesmerizing, the boats along the harbor were dimly lit, the water shimmered in the dusk, and there was a gentle breeze, you could hear the rustle of the fronds from the tall palm trees. I was in heaven. Cairns was positively gorgeous, and I had a whole week to discover its treasures.
I stopped at the hotel restaurant for a quick bite to eat, and had the best grilled calamari with eggplant chutney I have ever had. It was perfection, kudos to the Mondo Restaurant. I went back one more time for that same dish, and would have done so again, but wanted to try other local places.
First evening in Cairns was memorable indeed, and once I made it to bed, yes, after I showered, I slept like the proverbial log.
Cheers,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris
A Hotel in Bath
A Hotel in Venice
Blood Art
A Fire Within
www.mjustes.com
Cairns is a small town, walking distance to everything. It’s quaint, accessible, beautiful, and the people are friendly. The only taxi we took was to and from the airport.
Restaurants were plentiful, we even paid homage to Crocodile Dundee, and ate at the place named after the movie. I loved the movie, and the restaurant was right on the boardwalk, facing the water, and a short hop from the hotel. Beautiful setting. The food was okay, nothing fantastic, but I didn’t expect more. In this case, location and name were the selling points. I heard the steaks were good, but I’m not a great meat eater, and honestly prefer a good meatball to steak.
The hotel room included breakfast, and it was quite a buffet spread, down to my daily dose of passion fruit. I mixed it with yogurt and prunes. I love prunes, must be the European background. As odd as it sounds, the mix was delicious. I continued with the concoction in Sydney as well.
In the center of town, there is a huge swimming pool that faces sand and water, and it is open year round. A sidewalk separates the pool from the sand, and the walk along the coast was mesmerizing, the beach on one side and Cairns on the other. Beautifully laid out for optimum pleasure for all.
There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, art galleries, souvenir shops, parks, and flora and fauna. In other words, it was perfection. From the day I arrived, I knew I was going to hate to leave. It was love at first sight.
The Cairns Regional Gallery introduced me to the works of Lloyd Rees. His drawings and paintings reflected lush landscapes, light, where man and nature interacted. His drawings of churches were amazing, almost architectural renditions but drawn with soul. I saw a drawing he did of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, and had to see the real thing. I actually visited the cathedral because of the drawing. He captured my imagination. I would see his work again in the Art Gallery New South Wales in Sydney.
The sunset harbor cruise is highly recommended, along with the harbor, there are glimpses of mangroves in the distance, a sublime sunset, and a beautiful skyline of the city.
There was so much more to see and do, but this was a good start. Would I go back? Absolutely.
More next week.
Cheers,
Margot Justes A Hotel in Paris A Hotel in Bath Hearts & Daggers Hot Crimes Cool Chicks coming end of September
Blood Art www.mjustes.com
Tjapukai is an Aboriginal Cultural Park. A short 15 minute ride from Cairns, puts you right in the old world culture brilliantly revived, and it seems to be alive and doing well.
It is a contained park with planned activities, and I thought it was a terrific introduction to the Aboriginal culture and folk art.
There was a didgeridoo concert, the haunting mellow sound resonated in the theatre, along with traditional dancing performed by the Tjapukai Dance Troupe. The didgeridoo requires a lot of air power, but the sound that comes out of the instrument resonates around you like an echo. Powerful, still and evocative.
The dance movements were mesmerizing, you quickly got caught up in the story they were telling. Tales of hunting, spiritualism, survival and pride; an insight into the culture through music and dance. The perfect introduction to a civilization
that was totally foreign to me. It was ideal, because it brought the past to life not just through a lecture, but through art, music and dance, and it was interactive
There were boomerang throwing lessons, along with spear throwing, it’s not as easy as it looks. If thrown correctly, the boomerang will return to you, but you must make the attempt to catch it. It will not magically appear in your hand, although the return flight was fascinating to watch.
There were lessons about hunting tools and weapons that were used some 40,000 years ago by the Aboriginal people. It was an amazing insight into an ancient society.
The park is intimate, well organized, and first and foremost educational. A rare glimpse of what once was, an inspiration to keep the old culture alive for future generation. A tiny spark that shows awareness of what once was.
More next week.
Cheers,
Margot Justes A Hotel in Paris A Hotel in Bath Hearts & Daggers Hot Crimes Cool Chicks coming end of September
Blood Art www.mjustes.com
Marvelous descriptions and photos, Margot!
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com
LOVE the picture of the sunset.
I'm going to have to keep all of your posts in case I ever decide to use Australia as the setting in a book. With your photos and descriptions, it's almost as good as being there myself!
Morgan and Debra,
Happy to know you're enjoying the posts. Thank you for reading them.
Margot
www.mjustes.com