Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019

Sunday, 9/15/2019 - Port Douglas Sunday Market, James Cook University Research Aquarium, Cairns Esplanade

The hotel restaurant was crowded again this morning. We couldn't find a vacant table. However, Forrest was just finishing up. When he saw us, he called us over and relinquished the table to us, which was quite kind. It was an outdoor table, but it was in the shade. We went to the buffet to get coffee and then food. Gail and Pam joined us at our table. As we ate, the sun crested above the trees, and we were suddenly bathed in hot sun. This had been a mistake yesterday that Craig didn't want to repeat; he couldn't risk getting overheated. An indoor table had opened up, and though we felt terrible doing it, we apologized to Pam and Gail, explaining that we needed to sit where it was cooler.

Once inside, we saw that Allison and Eric were sitting at a nearby table. I went to the automatic pancake machine to make myself a pancake. Eric, ever interested in optimization of processes, wanted to QA how consistent the pancake machine was. He timed my pancake, from button push to when it hit the plate. One minute. He was sure that Allison's had taken longer. Maybe the machine plays favorites? We all got a good laugh over Eric's pancake timing obsession.

After breakfast, we got into the bus. Britney drove us the short distance "downtown" to the weekly Port Douglas Sunday Market at Rex Smeal Park. It is located right on the Coral Sea. The market had a laid-back hipster bohemian vibe. Vendors sold their wares out of tents, vans, and food trucks. Buskers played a variety of music: there were Aboriginal artists playing didgeridoos and clapsticks, there was a young man playing avant-garde electric cello, there was a guy playing some great slide blues on an acoustic guitar, and there were a pair of guys playing alt country tunes.

We wandered among the vendors stalls, looking at all manner of goods for sale: leather, jewelry, local foodstuffs, wood carvings, musical instruments, clothing, hats, bags, etc. We bought some hibiscus tea as well as a laser-cut pop-up greeting card.

Busker playing the cello

We visited the tiny and adorable St. Mary's by the Sea, a formerly Roman Catholic but now non-denominational chapel dating back to 1914. It is a Gothic style timber church, which replaced a church which was levelled by a cyclone in 1911. Behind the altar is a huge window overlooking the Coral Sea. Small stained glass windows decorate the interior. We always enjoy visiting places of worship while traveling, though we aren't extremely religious ourselves. The buildings say a lot about their respective communities. This quaint church gave off the vibe of a seaside cottage, and belied the laid-back atmosphere of the area.

After wandering around the market for a while, we were quite hot and thirsty. There were many options for refreshing drinks and snacks, including the "coconut guy," who will open a green coconut with a machete so that you can drink the coconut water. We have tried this before and quite like it, but honestly carrying a coconut around seemed like a bit of an inconvenience today.

One vendor, "Fruit Pooh", was giving out free samples. We tasted a sample of their frozen fruit puree. It was delicious, refreshing, and natural. You choose two fruits from the menu, and they place the frozen fruit into their puree machine. That's it; 100% fruit, with a consistency softer than sorbet, made to order.

The sample strategy had worked, resulting in a sale. And not only for us. Whenever business slowed down, they gave out more samples, and many people liked it enough to buy a cup of Fruit Pooh!

We still had a little bit more time before we needed to meet the group to depart for Cairns, so we walked down the "main drag" of Port Douglas. We were in search of a public restroom in advance of the bus ride. We found a stainless steel, fully automated freestanding toilet building. We remembered having encountered similar ones in New Zealand 15 years ago.

The bathroom accommodates one person at a time. A disembodied voice gives you instructions. Music plays. Washing your hands under the automated tap also initiates flushing. And you have 10 minutes before the door automatically opens.

Craig went first while I took some photos of a beautiful flower. Restrooms are a bit few and far between around here, and a family of four arrived in search of the bathroom. I explained that I was waiting and my husband was currently in there. Just then, the automatic door whooshed open and there was Craig, looking like he'd just gotten off a turbo lift on the Starship Enterprise, singing the praises of the technology.

We walked back to meet the group at the bus, right on time.

As we drove south down the Captain Cook Highway towards Cairns, Britney stopped so that we could get photos of "Cairns at Cairns." This was a beach on which people had constructed hundreds of black stone cairns on the white sand beach. It was quite picturesque.

We were listening to music in the bus and all got a big kick out of the fact that the song "At the Carwash" came on just as we passed a car wash. Bus rides make us all punchy, I guess.

Our next stop was the James Cook University research aquarium for a tour of National Geographic grant recipient Dr. Jamie Seymour's facilities where they research some of the most deadly marine life in Australia.

We drove through the university campus and parked near the aquarium facilities. We got out of the bus and walked past a small research vessel on a trailer. We entered a fenced area which was posted with a yellow caution shark sign.

We were greeted by PhD student Libby, who gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of this facility which is not open to the public. Outdoors, there were many large tanks. Some were large round fiberglass tanks, whereas others were full on above ground swimming pools. We had to carefully step over filtration and aeration hoses snaked across the groundas we peeked down into the tanks.

In one tank, we saw Australian lungfish, which are one of only 6 species of fish alive today which, throughout their evolution, have retained a pair of lungs in addition to gills. This allows them to survive even in times of drought. They live in fresh water.

In another tank, we saw Layla the 2.5 year old green sea turtle. She came here from a turtle rehabilitation center on Fitzroy Island. There were two other tanks which each contained a turtle. We got to see one turtle resting with its front flippers folded back onto its shell.

In a glass tank which was specially built for a David Attenborough BBC series, we watched Gucci, a small saltwater crocodile, enjoy a snack. Libby put some meat onto the end of a stick and poked it in through the top of the tank. Gucci did not disappoint; he jumped at the food with dutiful violence.

We also saw "Ray Charles" the bluespotted ribbontail ray. He was quite elegant. We love the punny names that they have given to some of the animals.

We saw fascinating cassiopea jellyfish (upside-down jellyfish). These don't really sting, and Libby demonstrated that she could hold one in her hand. There were different sizes, and they seemed to pulsate as we watched them.

We then visited the indoor lab to observe the poisonous residents of the aquarium. This is obviously a working lab, and is not designed to accommodate a group as large as ours. We took turns going into a narrow room lined with glass aquarium tanks.

Libby told us that when it comes to Australian marine life, a good mantra is "if it's shaped like a cone, leave it alone!" We saw cone snails for which there is no antivenom. Being stung by one will cause rigor mortis. But, like most things in nature, there is good along with the bad. Part of the venom, when isolated, can be more effective than morphine and is not addictive.

We saw the peacock mantis shrimp, which was pink, blue, and seafoam green, and had incredibly well-developed eyes. As we watched it, it winked one eye. We also saw a seahorse.

Libby directed our attention to the world's most poisonous fish: the stonefish. At first I didn't even see them in their tank, they were so well camouflaged! They looked just like lava rock! I can only imagine how dangerous they are in the wild, as they half-bury themselves in the sand at the bottom of the ocean, waiting for unsuspecting swimmers to step on them thinking they are an innocuous rock.

On a desk were lots of samples in jars, as well as some skeletons. Libby directed our attention to a stonefish skeleton.

We exited the claustrophobic little room into a hangar-like space. We looked at the various critters in the tanks in this area:

We saw the tasselled wobbegong carpet shark in a small tank. His fringe resembles coral and is used to lure in unsuspecting prey. His underside was pressed up against the glass on one corner of the tank. We got a good view of him by going to the other side of the tank.

We saw a clownfish in a tank of anemones. These two species have a symbiotic relationship. The stinging anemone keeps the clownfish safe from predators, and the clownfish cleans the anemone by eating algae off if it.

Moon jellyfish performed a ballet in a large tank. They are fasinating to watch.

Libby showed us a specimen of box jellyfish in a jar. Severe stings can cause victims to stop breathing and can cause cardiac arrest.

She showed us an Irukandji jellyfish in a small vial. At only one cubic centimeter in size, it is the smallest and one of the most venomous jellyfish in the world. Most jellyfish only have stingers on their tentacles, but for a reason as yet unknown to science, the Irukandji also has stingers on its bell. Their stings can cause fatal brain hemorrhages in humans.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, our tour was complete. It was really interesting and informative to get this behind-the-scenes tour of the research aquarium, and we learned a lot about Australian marine life.

James Cook University Research Aquarium, Smithfield

We got back into the bus and Britney drove us the rest of the way to Cairns. When we arrived, she did a drive-by of the hotel and then continued around the block so that we could get our bearings. We would have free time for the rest of the afternoon / evening, so she wanted to point out potential places for dining and shopping.

She then drove us back to the Pacific Hotel Cairns at 3 o'clock. We checked into room #609 and turned on the air conditioning. We had a lovely deck and westward view, but the afternoon sun was beaming into the room, so we shut the shades. It had been a long day already, so we took a siesta before exploring town. Craig took a nap, and I posted to Facebook and Instagram.

By 4:45, we were refreshed and ready to explore Cairns on foot. Britney had recommended Doongal Aboriginal Art, a gallery right around the corner from the hotel, as a good place to buy boomerangs. She told us that we could get quality Aboriginal products here for better prices than at Uluru. We decided to check it out, as a boomerang would be a nice souvenir.

When we entered the gallery, whom did we meet but Allison and Eric! They had also taken a short siesta, and this had also been their first stop. We are so similar!

The gallery had many boomerangs with beautiful paintings by Aboriginal artists at different price points. Allison and Eric had already picked out theirs as we looked at the various options. We eventually decided on one depicting a platypus motif. The painting was exquisite. It came with a printout of the Dreamtime story which inspired the art:

The Platypus Dreamtime Story
When the old people sat around their campfire, they would tell the story of the platypus. Bilagrun the Water Rat was out hunting and saw Daroo the Duck and decided he wanted her for his wife. He silently swam underneath the water and grabbed her legs and guided her back to his home, which was nestled within the riverbed. He made her very comfortable and brought her food daily. They were very happy. Bilargun told Daroo that if she was ever in danger to hit her tail feathers aginst the surface of the water as a warning signal for him to hear. After some time, Daroo the Duck had some babies and, do you know? They had Daroo the Duck's bill and webbed feet, and Bilargun the Water Rat's fur coat and flat tail. To this day their ancestors can still be seen in creeks and rivers and they still use the same warning signal but they are now called the Platypus.

- Doongal Aboriginal Art

The gallery also had gorgeous didgeridoos made out of beautiful wood. The wood was a stunning shade of red, and at the bottom, there was still bark attached. As we both have talented woodworkers for fathers, we really appreciate quality woodwork. The shafts of the didgeridoos were painted with various Aboriginal motifs. Craig was coveting the didgeridoos, but since neither of us are musically talented, we immediately dismissed the idea of buying one. Plus, can you think of a more unwieldy souvenir?

We wandered through the rest of the gallery, looking at the large format paintings on the walls. Some of the dot designs gave Craig vertigo at such a large scale due to his MS, so he had to avoid looking directly at them.

Eric and Allison were very enthralled by some of the paintings, and seriously considered buying one.

Craig kept coming back to the didgeridoos. The staff were quite helpful and not pushy at all. They asked which designs we liked, and brought out additional similar ones from a back room. They explained that the wood that these were made of is now protected, so these particular didgeridoos are now a rarity.

I knew that Craig would regret it if we didn't buy one. He loved them so much. Obviously it was not something that we could carry with us for the rest of the trip, so that meant shipping. The staff explained that they package them up and ship them via FedEx, and that it would be at our home within 10-14 days.

They also explained that if you ship a purchase internationally, you don't have to pay the 10% VAT (Value Added Tax) on it. It turned out that the VAT savings for a didgeridoo was almost identical to the shipping cost.

We decided to take the plunge and purchase one. I didn't want Craig to have regrets. Even though we can't play, it would make a beautiful piece of art. We looked at the various paintings in detail and decided on one with a light blue background which depicted the Dreamtime story of the Rainbow Serpent. This was the didgeroo Craig had his eye on from the beginning, and though I had been looking at some different designs, I ultimately preferred this one.

Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime Story
A long time ago in the Dreamtime, when the night came down like a black cloud and veiled the world in darkness, letting neither moon or stars to be seen, there were stories told by the elders by the campfires throughout the land - how the Great Serpent travelled through the land creating great hills and mountains and eating everything in his path. One day while the Great Serpent was asleep, two young boys were hunting and came upon the Great Serpent. They decided to kill the serpent with their spears. But the serpent awoke and swallowed the two boys. When the elders heard what had happened, they asked all the animals of the land to hunt for this Great Serpent. When they caught up with the serpent they killed him and cut him open to look for the two boys but only found two Rainbow Lorikeets. The two birds flew out of the serpent's stomach. Even today, stories have been told around the campfires of how the Rainbow Lorikeet was created.

- Doongal Aboriginal Art

As we were getting our photo taken with our purchase, who should walk by but Alison! She saw us through the window and came in. "Are you buying that?" she asked. We said that we were, and she asked if she could observe the process. She had already been in here and had been tempted to buy one as well, but she wanted to hear all of the details and cost of shipping, etc.

We filled out the FedEx paperwork and paid for our purchases. The staff told us that, completely coincidentally, the artist who painted this didgeridoo was the same artist who painted our boomerang! I guess that proves that we really like his art. We weren't paying attention to the artists' names; we just chose what we liked best. His name is Billawarra (which means pelican), and he is a Torres Strait Islander. They gave us a printout of information about him, including his photograph.

I feel it is important to paint stories from the dreamtime in the hope that people from all over the world will understand that Aboriginals have a vcery strong culture that continues today. My children are in a good position because they are brought up in a multicultural world where they are learning about Torres Strait Islander, Djugun [Billawarra's wife Yirrmbee's tribe] and white man's culture. My artwork demonstrates the important relationship between the environment, animals, and human interaction with the land.

- Billawarra

Satisfied with our purchases, we said goodbye to Alison and continued on our way to explore Cairns. We started at the Lagoon. The Lagoon is a 4800 square meter salt water swimming pool, surrounded by sand, and ranging in depth from 32 inches to 5 feet. There are lifeguards on duty and the pool can accommodate 1000 swimmers at one time. Given that it is still spring here, there were only a handful of people swimming in this picturesque location today. Twelve barbecue areas surround the lagoon, and we saw many families picnicing, celebrating birthdays, etc.

Five stylized stainless steel fish sculptures act as fountains. They look like origami, and were designed by Torres Strait Islander Brian Robinson. Robinson also designed the Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. This is a large arch-shaped sculpture made up of mirror-polished stainless steel in the shape of creatures of the Great Barrier Reef.

A Ferris wheel, visible from our hotel room balcony, towers over the Esplanade. We walked along the boardwalk. It was low tide and there were migratory birds roosting and eating in the flats. People and pets need to keep off the flats so as not to disturb the birds as they rest and refuel before a 25,000 km journey to their breeding locations.

This explains the presence of the man-made Lagoon. Cairns is right on the water, but you can't swim there. The Lagoon fills that need, and with its imported white sand, is much more inviting than the mud flats. The sky took on a slight pink glow as the sun descended in the sky.

We saw a monument to the Olympic torch relay of 1956. The torch was flown to Cairns and then run to Melbourne, the site of the games.

War memorials seem ubiquitous in Australia, and the Esplanade in Cairns ws no exception. Memorial gardens and a stainless steel "memorial flame" illuminated red pay tribute to military personnel and first responders who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Also on display are a WWII 1940 25 Pounder Artillery Gun and an 1887 naval gun with gun shield.

We weren't sure what we wanted for dinner, so we crossed the street and walked the loop that Britney had driven, in search of a restaurant. Britney had called our attention to a place called Outback Jack's. It seemed like a good option, but when we walked by, it looked permanently closed. We continued walking. There were some Thai places that were absolutely packed...a good sign as far as food goes, but it looked too cramped to be comfortable.

We ran into Brad and Mary, walking in the other direction, also looking for dinner. They said they were on the way to Outback Jack's, and we told them that was our idea too, unfortunately it was closed. We wished each other luck in finding another alternative, and said we'd see them in the morning.

We went into the Night Market to see if the food court had anything that looked good. Memories of the QVB food court in Sydney danced in our heads. But this was much different, and was mainly buffet-style fast food. Not sure what we were in the mood for, but this wasn't it. While in the market we looked at some of the souvenirs for sale, but found most of them to be cheap and made in China.

We continued our quest. Restaurants were either packed or totally empty, neither of which was tempting. There was a restaurant in our hotel called the Bushfire Flame Grill. But this was a Brazilian all-you-can-eat barbecue. We were hungry, but not expensive all-the-meat-you-can-stand hungry.

We passed the Doongal Aboriginal Art Gallery again, and waved at our salesperson. He waved us in to show us that he was in the process of packaging up our didgeridoo! He was carefully wrapping bubble wrap around it so that it would fit perfectly within the long narrow FedEx box.

We eventually came across Spicy Bite, an Indian restaurant with a spacious outdoor eating area. There were actual Indians eating here, always a good sign. And the food smelled delicious! We saw a menu posted on the wall, and it seemed to be all take-out combination plates. We were a bit confused but soon realized that they had a separate menu for dining here.

Although the tables were technically on the sidewalk next to a busy street, the sidewalk was quite wide. A mesh tarp between the tables and the street gave a sense of being protected from the elements and the traffic. There was enough room between tables that it didn't seem claustrophobic.

We sat at a table and perused the extensive menu. What to get? Craig is always a fan of tikka masala, and decided he would get chicken tikka masala...until I saw that they also served kangaroo tikka masala! Where else in the world can you get that? Talk about a local spin on Indian cuisine! He ordered that with garlic naan, along with a Victoria Bitters beer. He said he wanted his food as spicy as they would make it for Indians. The server seemed a bit skeptical, but we reassured her that he knows what he is getting into. I opted for the chilli paneer with garlic cheese naan and a peach iced tea.

Everything was so delicious. We were quite happy that we had persevered in our quest for the right restaurant rather than just settling for something functional. This place was perfect! When I went up to pay the bill, our server asked if Craig was ok; had the food been too spicy? I assured her that Craig was fine and that he had really enjoyed that level of spice. She seemed relieved.

We walked back to the hotel, enjoying the view of the full moon over the Esplanade. When we got back to the room, we went out onto the balcony to look at the lit up Ferris wheel in the distance.

Port Douglas Sunday Market

James Cook University Research Aquarium, Smithfield

Cairns Esplanade

Port Douglas Sunday Market

Sugar Wharf on the Coral Sea

St. Mary's by the Sea

Fruit Pooh

James Cook University Research Aquarium:
Layla the green sea turtle, Ray Charles the bluespotted ribbontail ray, stonefish,
peacock mantis shrimp, tasselled wobbegong carpet shark