I had to get out early to get to Suncity to drop off the car
for an 8 a.m. start. They were going to replace the rear diff support bracket,
and it was going to take them about 1 and a half hours to do it. Hopefully this
preventative maintenance was going to avert problems with the diff for the rest
of the trip. Shirley dropped me off in town as Danny got stuck into the repair.
I wandered through Cairns in the early morning, starting off at Rusty’s Market,
wandering through the streets to the Esplanade where I joined the early joggers
for a brisk walk along the seafront. After some time I went back past where
they were setting up for a NAIDOC fair to celebrate NAIDOC week. There were
lots of folk there already, and I was struck by the physical differences
between aboriginal and islander folk. The atmosphere was very light and
friendly. So too, back in town, was the mood among the folks demonstrating
for... what, exactly??? “What do we want?”, “GROAARGH!!”, “When do we want
it?”, “NOW!!”. They were on their way to the NAIDOC fair, accompanied by police
and watched by somewhat bemused bystanders.
Almost back at Suncity Repairs, my feet let me know that I
had blundered this morning by putting on sandals instead of walking shoes. I
hobbled the last bit, retrieved the car, and went round the corner to line up a
couple of tyres for the X-Trail. Will be done on Monday.
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| Joke buying fruit at Rusty's Market |
In the afternoon we went into town and retraced my steps of
the morning. I wore proper shoes this time....
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| Cairns Esplanade - the refurbished pool |
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| I'm watching you! |
At the NAIDOC fair most of the
stall-holders had packed up, but the entertainment was still going strong. Just
as we walked past, a group of dancers came on from Boigu Island, just under the
coast of Papua New Guinea. Their dance was a mix of aboriginal and PNG styles,
and fascinating to watch.
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| Dancers from Boigu Island |
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| Bows and arrows were part of the dance |
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| After a quick costume change they were back in feathers. |
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| Dancing to an appreciative audience |
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