Whilst housesitting in Ravenshoe we did a night in Cairns. We had to feed all the animals in the afternoon and we head off for the night. The ride was amazing down the Gillies. An iconic ride for many bikers through the rain forest down the windy bends exiting the Tabelands. We notice the huge difference in temperature change due to the alitude drop as we come down the Gillies to a much warmer, more tropical climate. We arrive in Cairns and head to a caravan park where we booked a cabin for the night. We have a swim in the pool surrounded by young teenage boys ready to jump off anything they can to make a splash, get dressed and ready to see what Cairns has instore for us.
As we walk down the small service street out front of the caravan park awaiting the arrival of our Uber, we turn the bend and notice a man laying in the middle of the road. We also notice a car driver looking sheepish for driving around the guy on the road pretending to slow down as if he now cared. Who does that!!?
We walk over to the man laying down and realise he is a bit drunk. We assume he has fallen as one thong is still on the curb. As he slowly regains consciousness we evaluate the damage. He has a broken knee cap and its now a quarter of a way up his thigh. Ekk He has blood coming from a spot on his head and he has hit and scraped his toe pretty hard on the road. I want to take pictures, especially of the knee as it looks disgusting but feel like its innopropriate to keep a slice of his pain as future entertainment.
As we arrived so did 4 Mauri looking guys. We talked to them briefly and all decided we should indeed call the ambulance. As im on the phone the Mauris talked to Rob and apparently they had seen some young guys ruffing up the man as they drove past. They then turned around but by that time the young guys had gone. What the hell!!?
Our Uber arrived and we left the injured man in the capable hands of the Mauri guys as the ambulance wasnt far. On our 10 minute journey into town we also spotted a guy who had come off his scooter, and had blood all over his knee and elbow. Its not a lucky day.
We finally reach the esplanade after our injury filled 20 minutes and are amazed at how beautiful the man made lagoon looks as the sun sets over it. We walked along the path which had a vibrant feel about it as the trees were covered in colourful fairylights, ending up in a cool bar on the water that had happy hour. After a few drinks there we head over to Gilligans a very busy large club/pub with mulitple rooms and live music. We sat next to 3 hilarious Irish people, Yvonne, Molly and Paddy. They were travelling and bought us a round of jello shots to start the party off, and that it did.
We talked about our adventures around the Tablelands as they were venturing there the next day. We told them about the beautiful Milla Milla falls, it had never been quite warm enough for us to swim in but beautiful to look at. About the crater walk formed from volcanic air cracking the earth’s surface. We discussed the nature skywalk which informed us about the wilderness that we were surrounded by, how we had a delicious cheese platter at a local dairy and saw the incredible Paranella Park, a must see.
Rob chatted to Yvonne for about 40 minutes and said to me the next morning ‘Im so glad she didnt ask me any questions when she was talking because i couldnt understand her Irish accent!’ I said ‘she chatted to you for ages though’ he said ‘i didnt understand anything, i just nodded’ haha what!
I wonder how many times he has just nodded to me? Plenty im sure!
We danced with them for a while until we all retired to our temporary accommodation for the night.
We stayed in Cairns another 2 nights once we had left our house sit for the last time. On our way there we did a 2 day dirt trek past the stunning Blancoe falls, on the Cashmere Karrama Range Road through multiple National Parks. It was incredible. We met an awesome couple, Steve and Kazza who after chatting invited us to use there outdoor shower and made us toast and coffee in the morning. They were amazing with a great setup to travel as long as they wanted. The 2 day dirt track to the highway was rough and challenging. Rob was in his element, i was struggling.
Once finally arriving in Cairns exhausted we stayed at an fabulous hostel called Tropical Days. Very quirky, clean with a great vibe. It had a bean bag and cushion seating area with hammock chairs around the backyard with a pool. It looked really cool and constantly played relaxing music. We got chatting to the owner Gabe, a enthusiastic person about life! He was also heading up to the tip of the Cape in the next few days. Thankfully he had mates who are avid riders who had just been. He gave one a call to check if the telegraph track (a very tough off road track) was ok to ride on. They didnt advise the first section called gunshot but said there was a way around it and join back on further up the track.
Very handy info for us indeed as the tip can often get up to 7 metres of rain during the wet season making it actually impossible to cross.
We went out once again exploring Cairns on a Saturday night and met a group of locals. One who particularly stood out was a guy named Colin. Colin was hilarious! Everything that come out of his mouth was just fast, witty and kept Rob and I in hysterics. We left the place with sore bellies and smiles.
The next morning we were lucky enough to be present for the iron man/woman triathlons in Cairns. We sat and ate lunch at an RSL looking out onto the the water watching all the competitors pass us by. How lucky are we!
2souls2wheels 