Finally getting a chance to travel out of the Asia region! This time we were going to Cairns in Queensland, mainly to visit the famous Great Barrier Reef, before driving southwards to a small town named Mackay where we would board a plane bound for Brisbane. Australia welcomes winter in June, but we weren't too worried because Cairns being north and nearer to the Equator receives warmer winters (say about 19 degrees?) than the southern states.
Boarded the evening Jetstar flight (nearly missed it because had not realised that we had to apply for visas and therefore wasted 15 minutes doing so, but Changi Airport's staff were just so generous and forgiving to let us in). It was a great choice because it was peacefully silent throughout on board and the star-gazing was fantastic. Transited at Darwin at 2.30am where we grabbed some sandwiches (AUD$9, gulp, our initial shocking exposure to the high cost of living), and then touched down finally at Cairns in the early morning.
Went through an extremely rude interrogation and thorough luggage check by the airport officers, which took nearly 1 hour and immobilised 3 officers. We were asked many irrelevant questions including our occupations and the subjects that I teach, to which I replied Geography. The officer then smiled and said I could go and tell my students how beautiful Australia is, and I just gave him a wry smile. The officer checking our luggage dug out and laid out all my makeup and toiletries and messing them all up, which greatly upsetted me. He even huffed sternly, "Do you have a problem?" when he saw how displeased I looked. There was also an Indian family who also encountered the same treatment as us, and we could not believe we were already racially discriminated against even before stepping out of the airport.
Picked up the car (a near-brand new Hyundai Getz with clean and speckless seats and carpetry and a mileage of only 77km!) that I rented from Hertz, and made our way to our motel. Driving in Cairns town is quite easy - just a neat grid of well-signposted roads and streets with few traffic. However, locating a place can be quite a perplexing experience - not all places are shown on the map especially the lesser-known budget motels.
Along Sheridan Street
Came to the seaside
Had fun chasing tiny crabs at low tide
When we finally located Aspect Central along Sheridan Street and Grove Street, the motel we were to stay at for the next few nights, it was still too early for check-in so we had brunch at Pizza Hut next door. My favourite Coke sells for AUD$2.50 (about SGD$3.10) for a 350-ml can (20ml more than our local can). We were starting to worry about our pockets. After that we checked in and were very pleased with the clean and comfortable room on the second floor that even came with a kitchenette.
Our room
Napped till evening (already nightfall at 6pm) where we drove to Woolworths to get some grocceries. Decided to scrimp and save by cooking our own meals, but were also dismayed because the easiest food to cook would probably be pasta given our limited kitchen facilities. We loved the amazing variety of milk and fruit juices at the supermarket, and could not believe milk sells cheaper than water here.
Parking outside Woolworths
Slug cooking pasta
Dinner ruined by the disgusting pasta sauce but saved by the mango and pineapple juice
Cairns does not have a happening nightlife. Most facilities are closed by evening. There were some chilling-out bars and shops by the seaside, so decided to check them out the next day. Wanted to get some booze for the night but could not believe 1) their bars do not sell alcohol, 2) their petrol stations do not sell alcohol, and 3) when we finally got to know that alcohol is sold at specialized liquor stores, we rushed there just to realize that they close at 10pm. What a bummer to go through a peaceful night sober!
Looking forward to the Great Barrier Reef trip the next day!
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