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Cairns (pronounced “cans”) is on the tropical northeast coast of Far North Queensland. On our world cruise, Cairns is the main departure point for a number of excursions to the Great Barrier Reef. We have explored the GBR on previous trips, and the weather today was not ideal, so we opted for other activities.
Gail was assigned to escort the 7.5-hour “Jungle Train, Wildlife & Skyrail” excursion. However, the train portion was cancelled due to recent storm damage. And Gail is still trying to rest her feet after too much previous walking. So she opted to stay aboard ship for the day.
Russell was assigned to escort the 6.5-hour “Crocodile Country” excursion. A bus took the group out to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventure Park. This is one of Cairn’s oldest attractions – it was the first place in Australia to perform crocodile shows for the public. Today, the 25-acre site is a combination wildlife sanctuary and commercial crocodile farm.
After a morning tea, the adventure began with a private guided tour that took guests into some exclusive areas of the park. The group was able to pet kangaroos and koalas, as well as hold a baby crocodile and a black-headed python. Best of all, Russell was finally able to see – and pet – a wombat.
From there, guests boarded a jungle boat for a half-hour cruise into the park’s lagoon. Here, there are dozens of wild crocodiles hanging out on the shores and in the water. Finally, everyone had two hours to explore the park on their own.
By the time Russell returned to the ship, it was 4:30 pm. We would be here until 8:00 pm, so Russell wanted to visit downtown Cairns with Gail. Unfortunately, stores were due to close at 5:00 pm. Fortunately, Russell discovered a night market that opened at 5:00 pm. So both of us ventured out.
The night market was a warehouse site filled with individual market stalls. We discovered a clothing vendor we both liked – so much that we each bought several items, including a matching shirt and blouse to show off aboard ship. (This is the first clothing Russell has purchased any time on the cruise.)
We also found a Woolworth’s grocery store that was open in the evening. Here, Gail was able to pick up something she has been craving for almost two months… peanut butter!
