Cairns

We arrived a week ago to the Marlin marina right in the center of downtown Cairns ,a great location to be able to walk everywhere.On arrival we were greeted with a rainbow, and in this last week we have only had one perfect day! Again high wind and rain, in fact it is good to be floating in our 'ark' as there have been floods in Northern Queensland. Roger and Janice left us on thursday after sailing through the Whitsundays, a good time was had by all.They taught us a new pastime playing Canasta.Before they left we hired a car and drove up to 'Dougo' aka Port Douglas. This is a nice seaside town, we had an excellent lunch at the Tin Shed ,sitting on the water front overlooking the entrance to the marina. This is also a CSL, so is a local hangout ,just sign in as you enter, probably the best value for lunch and  drinks in town. Cairns is a tourist destination ,a step off for tours to the great barrier reef and the rain-forests. As there is no beach as such here they have built a lagoon swimming pool with lifeguards on the  Esplanade , it has the effect of an infinity pool with the ocean,this is where the tourists sunbathe and families picnic using the free barbies.This city has well covered walkways with trees and overhangs from the shops to keep that famed sun off us.There is supposed to be warmth and sunshine here when escaping the cold winters of Melbourne and the south,we have yet to experience this.This weekend there is an Iron Man competition which looks as though it will be a big event. I personally wouldn't fancy the swim course after looking at the notice( see photo) on our marina gate! This will be our last Marina and town for that matter before Darwin,( possibly Gove on route) so repairs,maintenance ,cleaning ,refueling and planning are in order. We will not be back on the mainland for the next 3-4 weeks once we leave here on Sunday,only reefs and remote islands :) ,but there is a price to pay for remote beauty , no food ,no wifi :( So planning our provisioning for the next 3 or so weeks is my most important job . There is an excellent market called Rusty's on Grafton street,about 4 blocks from the esplanade  (fri, sat and sunday mornings only) which is excellent for very reasonable fresh fruit and veg produce,Woollies and Coles are positively expensive in comparison and with less selection.The usual supermarkets have all our other needs mind you. Another deal for our fellow cruisers if you come here , pick up a 'time out' free newspaper ( they have them at the Coffee Bean near by) they have had the last few weeks a coupon for 50% of your entire menu at a close-by restaurant called 'Sauce' , and yes that includes all your drinks also.Food is good also.Best bargain in town  .  On Saturday mornings there is another market on the esplanade with many arts and crafty stalls, with an excellent opal stand,the items here are mainly made in Au,which the (daily )night markets just off the esplanade tend not to have, they are mostly 'Australian' goods made in China! A colleague and friend (dating back to the Captain's Cleveland clinic days,1982-83 ) John joined us today for some supposed R&R  before we set sail on the weekend.You can see how R&R sometimes works around here in one of the photos ! Young Ron our faithful crew member  is flying in this week to sail with us for the next month to Darwin, so it's  all go on Callisto.

Rainbow over Cairns on our arrival

The Lagoon, an artificial beach on the Esplanade Cairns



Notice on the marina entrance. There is an ironman competition starting tomorrow. No doubt they will swim faster



The Lagoon, Cairns

The Esplanade, Cairns

Roger and Janice our resident super heroes

John and I repairing the jib furler motor. Everybody gets put to work

the pier at Nellie Bay, Magnetic Island

the pier again from underneath