Farewell FNQ

Monday 24th June was spent recuperating and catching up on things, and Tuesday brought another meet up with Steve, this time for a drive a little way North up to Yorkey's Knob where the boat and I would be staying a while. I spent some time familiarising myself with the local area by walking along the beach and up Yorkey's Knob, a small hill with good views and expensive houses at the top! In the evening I stopped for refreshment in the bar, watched some Wimbledon replays and met Paul, originally from Bethnal Green but now living in Australia.

Yorkey's Knob Beach

On Wednesday I tried my luck using Cairns public transport again. I managed the first part ok but the second part took some time as the required bus stop was at the opposite end of long Smithfield Shopping Centre. Eventually I made it to Cairns Tropical Zoo where I passed a large portion of the day, looking around and watching various shows. Determined to master the buses I continued on to Palm Cove to check out the scenery at a different beach. I proceeded along beach and through rainforest to Clifton Beach where I caught the bus home, again via Smithfield Shopping Centre. It was past dark when I finally got back.

Crocodile taunting

I was in need of another easy day on Thursday so I returned to the local beach and spent time working on my tan!

On Friday I returned to action again, using the morning to take a walk around the local golf course. The afternoon saw me meeting some friends made in Cairns for a tour of the boat and a drive to nearby Kewarra Beach to test out their new car while also making full use of barbecue facilities. The barbie seemed to work rather slowly on this occasion, making the food taste all the better when it was eventually ready. Time was getting on and as my Geordie friends deemed it too cold to swim we walked along the beach for a while before I was dropped back at the boat.

The following morning I got up before sunrise to meet Paul for a rainforest walk. As he had mentioned he was training to climb Kilimanjaro I was sure to be in for a challenge over the following few hours. Other than a few scratches I made it through unscathed ready to meet up again with Steve and Tanya at the marina to hand over the keys to the boat and return once more to Cairns.

Cairns sunrise

The subsequent two days saw more relaxation by the lagoon, barbecues, live music and trips to local jazz bars, and some (drunken) shenanigans in celebration of Canada Day!

On Tuesday it was time to leave Cairns indefinitely :( Friends from Cairns came and bade me farewell at the car pick  up location; they hopefully still consider me their friend after apparently spending 2 hours in the midday sun waiting for all the paperwork to be completed! My new travel mates, Laura and Anaise, and I started off along the Bruce Highway heading south. After a quick food stop we continued on, through some familiar territory, until making a slight detour to Mission Beach. Here we made a stop for food and sunset watching! Not satisfied with the distance covered we proceeded on through Townsville and made our way off the beaten track to our campsite for the night. We saw many wallabies grazing on the roadside grass!

Mission Beach

We are Sailing

Monday 17th June: Over the following three days I spent more time planting trees and tested out a local swimming hole. Steve also taught me various skills including axe wielding, fire making and using a 'dingo' vehicle for digging and heavy lifting!

Very early on Thursday morning - before sunrise - we left Diwan to once again head south to Innisfail. After some cleaning and maintenance work Steve's new boat was launched in the Johnstone river. Rigging up was hard work and required putting the mast up and down a couple of times after noticing some jammed parts. Eventually we got the boat into the water and motored it along to a friend's mooring. A hard day's work called for a buffet dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

Boat on the water with ominous looking clouds

Next morning meant time to start the sailing trip for real! Final preparations were made and Steve, Tanya's son Beau and girlfriend Emily, and I started on our way out to sea. Our first destination, Russell Island, took several hours to reach, during which time we each took turns at the helm. We invaded the island and climbed a boulder for improved view before mooring overnight at nearby Normanby Island.

Skipper on course for Russell Island

We set off for our next target island, Fitzroy. A few hours later we jumped off and set up tents ready for the night before taking some time to have a drink and explore. 

Sunset seen from Fitzroy Island

The next stop, the following morning, was Green Island, a rather flat island, making it almost invisible as we left Fitzroy. We made it there without mishap and spent a while wandering around before setting off for final stop Cairns. This last leg was heading into wind and made for a more tumultuous trip. We returned freezing cold and soaking wet and I was ready to check back into the hostel for a warm shower and early night!

Leaving Green Island

Delights of the Cairns area

Tuesday 11th June was another day for taking it easy, strolling around a few places, soaking up some sun-rays and cooling in the pool.

On Wednesday, energy restored, I went on a trip to the Saxon and Hastings reefs. Again the weather decided not to be in my favour (despite having specially booked the day with the best forecast) and wet suit hire seemed a good idea for keeping warm for the hours I would be in the water. I had booked to go on a scuba dive and after a slow start, and neeeding to be given extra weight to stop floating back to the surface, I found it exciting to be swimming among the marine life. Enough so that after the barbecue lunch I signed up for another dive in the afternoon at the second reef!

On the sea floor

Thursday was a good opportunity to take a trip up to Kuranda on the 'Skyrail'. As with the trip on Tuesday this relied on public transport and again meant a long wait in spite of having done prior research on the timetables. My friends from the hostel and I couldn't have asked for better weather though and the views from the cable car, both over the rainforest and out to sea were phenomenal. We spent a while walking around the markets in Kuranda before we ran out of energy and could no longer stand the heat, returning by bus to Cairns for a refreshing swim.

Barron Falls, on the way to Kuranda

The next two days showed more perfect weather, and the best way to make use of it seemed to be by relaxing by the lagoon (public pool to make up for the unsuitability of the sea for swimming), which I had not swum in to date. We also stocked up on supplies to make the most of the free to use barbecuing areas. The poolside thermometer read 39C in the late afternoon although we were dubious...

Cairns lagoon, overlooking the sea

Sadly I had reached my last day in Cairns; I managed to get a lift up to Port Douglas with a couple of German backpackers where I visited the beach and walked round the Sunday markets before meeting up with Tanya for the drive back up to Cape Tribulation.