Christmas Trip 2007: Cairns, Australia

So, I have not told you what I did in Cairns as yet, so here goes.

I ended up renting a car as that was better than hanging out in the airport for 12 hours or taking a shuttle into the city.

I headed for the SkyRail that takes you over the rain forest to the town of Karunda. As it turns out, I was just in time to then take the train back. I got a got price even securing a discount for the SkyRail portion, so my total cost was 77 AUD.

The rain forest is just huge and just goes on for miles! I made the two stops on the way up to enjoy the view. Once in Karunda, I walked through the city a bit and then headed back to the train station. If you are ever in Cairns, I highly recommending visiting this town.

I made my way back to the train station making it there with 7 minutes to spare. My seat was opposite four young Japanese girls who were in Cairns for a week. They spoke some English so we were able to interact on the way down. I switched my window seats with them from time to time so they could take pictures.

The ride takes about 1.5 hours and is well worth it as the views are spectacular.

Once back at SkyRail, I drove around for a bit looking for an Australian to U.S. plug since I did not have one. I eventually found one at a store called Tandy. It was great to interact with the Australians who are so friendly.

Next I went into the city of Cairns as after talking to a young man in one of the stores, I realized that Port Douglas was too far away and would take too much time to visit.

Once I arrived in Cairns, I had to go visit a street that bore my first name. That was a special moment. As it turns out, the street is also at the corner of another street that bears the name of a colleague of mine, so of course I took pictures.

I got a parking space eventually and walked around the Night Market, which was O.K., but not spectacular. I then went to an Internet cafe and spent 10 AUD for 2 hours of time. I could have paid 15 AUD for 24 hours, but I was leaving soon enough.

Once I was done, I passed back by the night market and then had a sandwich and Fries from McDonald's and then had it in the care before driving back to the airport in the rain. I did stop and topped up the car as well.