Cairns – The Australian Armour & Artillery Museum, Crystal Cascades & Muddy’s Playground (Day 6)
On our final day today, we were out and about by 10 am. The first stop was the Australian Armour & Artillery Museum. The museum was in a huge purpose built hangar with lots of army vehicles from all over the world.
As we read the signs there were Australia, the UK, Germany, and Italy and each plaque gave the back story about how it came into the museum. Some through donations from overseas army’s and some had been salvaged and lovingly restored to their former glory.
There was everything from tanks, people carriers, missile launchers, and much more. You could look inside most of the vehicles but you couldn’t climb in or on them.
We read that most of the vehicles were still serviceable and ran with a bit of TLC, and this was confirmed as there were 3 or 4 holes with oil marks on the floor and a team of volunteer engineers working on a couple more machines.
At different points of the day and usually at weekends you could have a ride in a vehicle around a track at the back of the building but unfortunately not today also if you are over 12 you could have fired a riffle on the range but we were all under that age.
There was also a soft play area for youngsters if a parent or guardian needed to grab a drink whilst there, and also a great plastic war game area, which proved a lot of fun too.
There was also a prop from the 2014 film; Fury in which the film’s makers recreated the inside of a tank but actually made it 30% bigger than the real measurements as it would have just been too small to get film crews in and make use of it in the film.
About a 15 minute ride from here was the Crystal Cascades which was a 1.5km hike passing the final destination of the waters that came down from the rainforest that we had seen the day before yesterday.
Whilst we had a picnic of leftovers, Adam unleashed his inner Tarzan and swung from a vine that we had been seeing all holiday but had never got up close to. It was great fun though after a while it did hurt your fingers.
As we climbed up the trail there were 6 places that were lovely for a swim, with no signs of crocodiles either in the water or signage on the banks. But we waited until we got to the top, there must have been 20 people basking in the sun and a few more brave enough to swim. A really nice walk and excellent use of a couple of hours of our final day.
From here we drove back into Cairns for a bite to eat and to have a final walk across the boulevard, the tide was out which we hadn’t seen before, and it left a rather mucky wet sand beach behind. We did however see some pelicans in the shallows as well as some lizard/ water creatures in the pools of water left behind, which we were not sure what they were. We then walked past some more art installed, which really was a good use of the space. We finally walked all the way up to Muddy’s playground which had a water splash play area, a playground and also toilets, BBQ’s and a cafe. The playground was aimed at 0 – 10 year olds really, but we had a good play in all areas of it too, If only we’d have found it sooner.
Finally a quick change into our flying clothes but just before this we spotted another art installation based on jellyfish, and we also saw the fruit bats (aka flying foxes) we had been told about by Mum, there were lots of them and we weren’t sure how big they really were, but at least we had seen them.
Cairns – The Great Barrier Reef Green Island (Day 5)
Today we were all excited as we were told our destination was the Great Barrier Reef, Green Island with the company Great Adventures. We older 3 had all been before to this island but due to our age, we had been restricted in what we could do.
We checked in and found our ship and then took our seats. The sailing time was 50 minutes and they warned us at check-in that due to the wind the sailing would be choppy, but anti-motion tablets and sick bags were available. Luckily Mum has a constant supply of anti-sickness in her bag with all the traveling we have been doing, so we were all fine.
We definitely felt the ship move on the trip but luckily most people seemed to be ok with only one casualty on our deck.
When we got off the boat on the pontoon the wind hit us straight away and we were warned to hold onto our hats. We saw two fly past us into the sea.
When we got onto the island the wind subsided and we had an exploration, there was a hotel, cafes, snorkel, and dive hire shop, changing area, toilets, crocodile enclosure (on the island but not in the centre), and a swimming pool.
Mum and Dad wanted to do the walk, but we persuaded them to go to the beach instead. We then had a stroll on the beach to get our barrings. The beach had beautiful views out over the ocean and a cordoned-off area for snorkeling which was lifeguard patrolled.
As we had booked a tour we then went on a glass bottom boat, that our boat captain due to the wind was struggling a little to show us what he normally wouuld. But when he did, wow, such lovely sights came into view, we found Nemo along with at least another dozen species of fish, and someone (not our family) saw a turtle on the boat by the time the captain had positioned the boat, it couldn’t be found.
We then stopped to throw some food in for the fish, who all came to the top to feed. There was several fish that due to their mouths being on the bottom third of their face had to almost jump out of the water to get the food, a wonderful sight.
Here’s a video from the bottomless boat and the fish feeding.
After this, we then bought some lunch in the center and set about collecting our snorkel gear (snorkel, mask, flippers) which was included in our ticket. We did hire a life jacket each just to make floating easier as we had seen people with them earlier ($10 for adults and $5 for children).
What a time we had, after putting on the equipment, especially the flippers which were not the easiest things to walk in, until Dad told us to walk backward, which made it so much easier. Even Alexander and Dad had a go – they both don’t really like sand or the sea.
We had a great two hours floating around and exploring the reef that forms the island. We saw so many fish that were more than happy to swim by. We didn’t have an underwater camera which is a shame as we do justice by using words that we saw, but it was one of the most special family experiences we have had together.
Cairns – Kuranda & Skyrail & The Butterfly Sanctuary (Day 4)
Today we went up to Kuranda with our Australian friends to explore the town that is built in the rainforest, but you can visit by road, train, and cable car. We choose to drive up and stop off at a couple of locations before reaching the town. We then had some lunch before visiting the butterfly sanctuary and coming down the mountain in the Skyrail.
On our way up we stopped at the lookout to look over Cairns below, it really was a special view. We also had a perfect view of planes coming into land, it was strange seeing them look like they weren’t moving at some points.
We then continued up the mountain, with its twists and turns we never really went very fast due to the height we climbed but we did see lots of caravans and lorries doing the reverse journey, which we imagined would be interesting!
When we got to the top we continued to Barron Falls where we walked into the rainforest on a walkway for about 10 minutes. Finally, we stood looking at the waterfall in the distance that was also the site for the train to stop for photos if we had taken that up the mountain. Although it was a dry season our friends showed us a picture of the same waterfall in the rainy season in 2020, there was a massive contrast with so much water being forced down the same channel.
We learned here the tale of how the canyon was formed as a giant snake making its way up from the bottom of the mountain, climbing and making the dents in the mountain as it progressed up to the top.
We then arrived in Kuranda, a place that exists through tourism at the top of the mountain. It had a lovely feel as we wandered around, with lots of shops and market-type stalls and loads of eating places.
Once fed and watered we choose the Australian Butterfly sanctuary to spend a couple of hours in. At home, we had nurtured some caterpillar lava through to releasing 5 butterflies in our garden but this was something else.
On entering the main butterfly enclosure there were hundreds of butterflies flying, landing on people, and feeding all over the place. It was so nice to be in the presence of these beautifully small creatures in their playground.
We all got to be part of their surroundings and it seemed to be the brighter the colour of clothing the better. Also in the sanctuary was an area where they were helping species continue to survive, in fact, we watched one of the team collect eggs off a leaf to take away and hatch. She let us feel them, they were tiny and hard.
We also saw huge chrysalises that had been made by moths, a fairy garden that held tiny yellow butterflies within a lovely fairy garden. On our way out we went through a display of the native butterflies and moths from Australia, they were such lovely in colours.
After this, it was our time to hop onto the Skyrail (you select a preferred time to go up or down) and make our way across the forest canvas from Kuranda to the bottom to be collected by our friends in the car.
When we set off, the views across the rainforest were simply breathtaking, it is lush green for as far as the eyes could see. We stopped off twice on the way down and both stops allowed for tree top walks with views. Strangely we got to see the waterfall but from the opposite side, and from this view you could really see how big and vast it is. Imagining the water that pours down there in the rainy season like the video we watch was far easier to imagine from this side.
After an hour and a half from top to bottom including the 2 stops and a brief walkabout, we met our friends, this is only about a 15-minute ride out of Cairns, well worth it.
When we dropped our friends off at their accommodation (the campervan) all of us wanted to see what it was like. From lots of room inside to the large awning that attached to the side of the van, it felt very spacious and luxurious, and whilst Mum and Dad started to say their goodbyes we went into the park’s pool. We thought that the van was better than a couple of the places Dad had booked for our stays on this trip.
All dry we sadly said our goodbyes to Glen and Noelene, they were amazing company over the last 4 days and as Mum and Dad said, to adjust their tour of Australia just to catch up with us was brilliant and we heard them say a few times it was like they had never been apart, which is a sign of good friendship and credit to Facebook. They knew so much about Cairns having spent a lot of time here in the past allowed us to see things we may never have seen with Dad’s Tripadvisor addiction.
We also found out about an amazing charity that they are both involved in Tour De Cure – curing cancer and changing lives with a real passion and commitment. It aims to provide funding to a range of cancer research schemes to hopefully make steps in curing this disease. They have both raised thousands of dollars for the charity and cycled many thousands of kilometers and also provided support to the cyclists too. Well done. We look forward to welcoming them to the UK shortly after they have spent another 3 years on the road driving around Australia.
Cairns – The Hotel Pool & Cairns Promenade (Day 3)
Today we finally got to go into our Motel’s pool this morning and, what a good time we had. We were only going to have an hour there…..3 hours later (even though the water was cold) we reluctantly stopped for lunch!
In the afternoon we made our way to the Cairns promenade and to their lagoon which was really good. The pool is split in 2, one area for smaller children that is not deep and the other a lot deeper with the fountains and the pool which was long enough for people to do laps in.
The fountain we enjoyed playing in was very good and although the pool wasn’t heated it was cool enough to spend a couple of hours in whilst the adults talked and drank coffee.
This pool is open from 9 am until 9 pm with multiple lifeguards on duty, so we all felt very safe. There are also numerous BBQs to use but today we choose to eat out again. A bit posher than normal but it tasted very nice and was followed by an ice cream which was delicious, thanks Noleen.
Cairns – Port Douglas & Cape Tribulation (Day 2)
To start we picked up our Australian friends from their motor home park so we could all travel together up the coast to Cape Tribulation. We were told we were going to have a couple of stops along the way and lunch at the furthest point North before you needed a proper 4×4 to continue the journey.
On picking them up we spotted a covered sporting venue, as we got closer it was covered netball pitches with open pitches on either side of the covered ones…….first time we have ever seen this. As Mum and Dad say they are very set up for sport here.
We then set off on our journey and our first stop was at the Rex lookout which gave us a lovely look along the coast. Here there were 2 paragliders setting up their machines and although it would have been a great sight to see even after 30 minutes they weren’t ready to fly.
Our next stop was Port Douglas which looked like a very nice town which beautiful houses on the way in and out and a lovely high street. Here we stopped for a milkshake and also the biggest cookie we have ever seen, before purchasing the ingredients for lunch.
From here we drove on up the coast on a winding road that gave lovely views of the ocean. Our next stop was the Daintree River crossing which was a tow bridge and something that none of us had experienced before. The journey across only took 5 minutes but as our friends said if you could see what was in the water you would realise why this is the safest option….we didn’t really understand.
Shortly after we got off the floating bridge we stopped at Alexandra lookout in the Daintree National Park. Again such lovely views as we were stood in the rain forest looking out into the bay. A good photo opportunity not to be missed.
Our final stop was Cape Tribulation the Northest point you can get to by road before needing a 4×4.
We also found out why comments are being made about the water up here. There are Crocodiles and jelly fish that either take chuncks out of you are wrap there tenticles around you and then you use the vinager provided to poor onto the jelly fish so that it lets go and falls off before you seek medical attention.
We were just happy to take a picture of the beach, play with our football and have some lunch. Sometimes as inviting as it is it is not worth the risk entering the water.
We also found out that an anchor off Captain Cooks ships was found in the sea off the coast here on one of his discovery voages.
We then started our trip back taking in some more of the rain forest and bridge shots from the car as we returned.
We did get caught up waiting for our turn for the tow bridge as it was nearing the end of the day and the queue to back across the overside of the river was quite long. Thank you to Glen and Noleen for a great day out and for showing us the sights.
In the evening we went out to celebrate Mum and Dads 13th wedding anniversary which was a nice Vietnamese dinner followed by an ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s and then we wandered down the Cairns promenade. There was a lovely water area where you can swim and play that is lifeguard manned between 9am and 9pm each day. We will try and visit that tomorrow.
Then finally we saw this lovely tree lined walkway, that seemed to have alive branches, on closer inspection this is where the fruit bats were hanging from……..they were hard to see but we did see some take off and land, we are told dusk is the best time to see them, maybe tomorrow.
Cairns – Our Arrival (Day 1)
After getting up at 5 am and leaving Kings Beach at 6 am for the flight at 10.40 am, we flew into Cairns in the early afternoon, and when we picked up our car and another Kia Carnival we then made our way to our accommodation. Dad informed us that car hire for the next 5 days was more than the accommodation so we all didn’t know what to expect.
We are staying in the Hotel Tropiq which is about a 3 minute car journey into the town centre and about a 5 minute walk to the shore. As we unpacked there was a knock at the door and Mum and Dads friends from Brisbane arrived. When we stayed in Brisbane 8 years ago they were our neighbours in our complex and helped us so much during our stay there.
They are currently touring Australia in month 17 in a campervan and actually changed their plans just to catch up with us all. Mum and Dad said that using the power of Facebook over the previous years we have kept in touch lots.
So we headed off into the town for a look around and some dinner and drinks and to catch up on the last 8 years. We ate in a German eatery, but to be honest, we were so tired, so we were all in bed by 8 pm! – We apologise for the lack of photos our big cameras are still in the case.
