Cairns

It was another easy day in Cairns as we wandered down the sunny streets to the Lagoon, a man-made waterfront swimming pool (the city has no natural beaches). We past great fig trees that hung not with figs but with hundreds of bats, some patrolling around the nest whilst many others screeched in the morning heat. Opposite, tied to a chain-link fence, a small handwritten sign notified that Novotel had killed many of the bats by cutting down the trees on the land where their hotel and its grounds now sat. Contemplating this we walked on toward the esplanade and its shops. Outside a souvenir shop, a black office chair propped open the glass door, a sign on its seat proclaiming it as a ‘Man Chair’ for those men requiring respite from a shopping trip with their wives/girlfriends. This brought a smirk to Alex’s face and a wish that every shop had such provision.

Hillsides of dark green rainforest cupped the bay, where the tide was out, leaving caramel wet sands dotted with the white of pelicans and gulls to stretch out to a distant sea. Along the promenade we quickly found the Lagoon by the noise of families playing in its shallow waters. Steel sculptures of tropical fish were renovated by workmen whilst lifeguards in yellow and red patrolled mahogany decking littered with sunbathers. We spent the best part of the day lazing in the tropical heat, only leaving as the shadows grew across the park. Back along the promenade uniformed school children made their way home as street art decorated our own path back.Read more