Day 35: A stitch in time saves nine (06/07/12)

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.

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....

Cairns Esplanade - the refurbished pool

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.

Dancers from Boigu Island

Bows and arrows were part of the dance

After a quick costume change they were back in feathers.

Dancing to an appreciative audience

Day 34: Down the pass to Cairns (05/07/12)

An even colder morning greeted us in Walkamin. We had now repented from our earlier flight from the more excessive warmth of Cooktown, and were yearning for the less excessive warmth of Cairns. All against a background of reports of Launceston temperatures daily in the minus Centigrade. Were we spoilt or what?

A group of about 40 birds flew overhead as we packed at Walkamin. We think they are eagles, but we might well be described as ornithologically challenged.

Not thinking too deeply on these things, we packed at leisure as we thawed out, had a chat with the manager, and moved off to Mareeba with the trusty caravan in tow. There we picked up our new side screen for the awning, did a quick tour of the town and headed for Cairns.

Kuranda, at the top of the pass, billed itself as an RV-friendly town, but there was no place to park the caravan. So we drove round the town without stopping (chickens flying, old ladies scurrying...) and headed down the pass. It was a bit of an anti-climax, really.

Qantas heading south for landing at Cairns International, brahminy kite (?) heading north for lunch date with field mouse.

Down in Cairns we headed for the Crystal Cascades Caravan Park. Back in familiar territory we set up and sat back to enjoy our well-earned rest after our 70km trip for the day!