Dave and his Bike

Days 122, 123 & 124.

Day 122.

The holiday off the bike continues.

The flight with Air Asia was about as comfortable as I thought it was going to be. No legroom, full plane, small baby on the row in front of us. I didn’t sleep much.

Time dragged a bit to start with, but seeing the Southern Cross constellation and watching lightening storms in the clouds in the distance were welcome sights which made it slightly easier. Very slightly. Not much at all in fact.

The bit of sleep I did get was just before we landed. It was already light (0600hrs local time), so seeing the countryside around Cairns from the air was fantastic; green, lush, hilly and appearing unspoiled. The disembarkation process was easier than we thought (no grilling by Border Force), but sadly another country which doesn’t stamp your passport. What’s the point of paying for extra pages in your passport when no one uses them? Oh well.

The short taxi ride to the hotel was easily sorted, and the kind receptionist let us have our room even though it wasn’t even 0800hrs. A bit of breakfast and a tactical three hour sleep then saw us through until lunchtime.

The hotel is simple, clean and functional, but also has the benefit of a nice little pool and breakfast facilities if required. It’s also a great location; walkable to the shops, restaurants and marina. We made the most of that by taking an afternoon walk to the sea, and along to the marina for a bit of research. Cairns is beautiful. The (mainly) low rise buildings and wide roads give a feeling of space and calmness. To say there are around 170000 inhabitants of Cairns, you wouldn’t know it. I assume that includes the surrounding countryside as the town itself is peaceful and orderly and has the feel of somewhere much smaller. It’s a bit weird being somewhere where there is such a large beachfront but no real beach and no-one swimming. The conservation area and crocodiles are to blame. It also keeps the natural beauty. We watched the large numbers of fiddler crabs chasing each other across the mudflats, which was quite amusing.

We stopped on the seafront for a coffee/coke and to soak up the atmosphere, then walked past the great big (and popular) lido with a beach where loads of people were swimming and cooling off. At the marina itself we found the jetty where we need to be tomorrow, and spoke with a lady in the office to confirm timings and locations. A steady walk back and then past the hotel took us to a small supermarket where we bought a bag of nibbles, some plums, and a bottle of water. The hotel supplied a bottle of rosé, perfect for us to sit outside for an aperitif. It was the first glass of wine I’d had since Ljubljana. I enjoyed it very much. We were accompanied by fruit bats (flying foxes) by the dozen. They are massive – about the size of a crow. They put the pipistrelle bats at home to shame.

A walk back out later for a lazy takeaway pizza – also consumed at the hotel, and we were ready for an early night. Hopefully we will sleep well enough to recover from last night’s flight, and still be up in time in the morning.

Day 123.

The Great Barrier Reef.

We were both up before the alarm went off this morning. I felt fully recovered, and I think Jane did too. We set off walking early enough to be able to stop for a bit of breakfast en-route, which we did right next to the marina. Bacon and egg sandwich and a coffee. Jane skipped the sandwich. A good start to the day.

We joined our boat along with about fifty other people, were fully briefed and under way before 0900hrs on calm waters under a beautiful blue sky. Perfect conditions. The ride out to the reef took about 90 minutes. Enough time for a coffee and homemade biscuits, and also to burn in the sun, so factor 50+ was applied liberally.

Whilst sailing out, we were given an interesting lecture on the structure of the reef, the lives of the corals and fish, and the conservation areas and how they are policed.

The first of two dive sites was stunning. A bit of current meant having to monitor where you had drifted to, but the water was clear, the coral beautifully colourful and very varied, the fish amazing. I swam with a green turtle for the first time, albeit briefly. I missed the reef shark which some people saw. In a similar way to the snorkelling in Thailand, I lost count of the number of different species of fish that I saw.

A tasty buffet lunch of meats, salads and fresh fruit kept us refuelled as we moved to a second site in the afternoon. The coral wasn’t as brightly coloured there, and the sea swelling slightly more, but it was excellent all the same. I don’t have the ability to be able to take photographs under water, so pictures from the day are pretty much non-existent. On the return leg, we were treated to more cultural talks, including about the history of indigenous musical instruments (and a demonstration).

On the downside, the coffee Jane had (either before we set off or on the boat), mixed with a bit of travel sickness, meant that she was a bit poorly between the two sites and suffered from really bad acid reflux for the rest of the day. Once back on dry land we made a dash for a pharmacy then went straight back to the hotel.

What an experience today was. It was another one of those things that other people do. Something you see in a school textbook. I feel very lucky and privileged to have been able not only to snorkel, and see the fish and coral, but to do it on the Great Barrier Reef.

Day 124.

Hotel breakfast this morning, courtesy of the receptionist who liked my sense of humour. Cereal, toast, coffee. It’s like being at home. Very shortly afterwards it was time to get a taxi to Camperman to collect our accommodation (and Jane’s transport) for the next few weeks. The vans they supply are quite old, but therefore more affordable (cheap). Ours is a bit battered and bruised and has covered 627,000km in its lifetime. It runs and drives well though. The process was smooth enough – a few forms to complete and some photos and videos to take – and we were on our way. All the way to the supermarket.

Having stocked up on the essentials (red wine, bin bags) we trundled gently back to the hotel for a bit of lunch and an afternoon swim in the pool. I also nipped to the bike shop for some water bottles and to use their track pump. My tyres haven’t had this much air in since Europe. A laundry visit also slotted in somewhere.

We had a long chat with Bec, our afternoon receptionist. She is well travelled around Australia (and other parts of the world) and has given us some recommendations down the east coast if we get the time. Local knowledge is usually well worth listening to. She also paid for our beers from the reception fridge and gave us vouchers for a full cooked breakfast tomorrow morning. Some people are really lovely.

Once the washing was dry (at the second attempt), we walked the 2km to the sea front and marina area. We found a tree there which we had been told about, where the flying foxes descend in the evening. There were lots of them being very noisy, and very messy. I still couldn’t get a decent photo though.

We had another beer, some tacos and some tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole in a restaurant nearby. The food scene here is very international. The guy on the next table was a tattoo artist, travelling around Australia in a van tattooing people on his YouTube channel. Jane was almost tempted on my behalf. I wasn’t.

Back on the bike tomorrow. I can’t wait to get riding again.