This day originally was supposed to be meetings. Then Olivia thought she could condense all the meetings into the afternoon of our return from Cooktown, and we could go out to the Great Barrier Reef this day. As you can imagine, I really liked this plan. But it was not to be. Our fabulous side excursion to Laura was added to the return trip, making a late return to Cairns. Olivia then had a family funeral to attend, meaning she had to leave Cairns on this afternoon. And, it turned out to be a public holiday in Cairns on this Friday, so no one would be in the office anyway. S-t-r-i-k-e three!
The public holiday was for the show. This sounds something like 4-H fairs or county fairs. It tours Queensland, and whenever it's in your town, it's a public holiday for everyone to go. Animals, games, food, etc. Terena always gets sick at the show, so she opted to take me out for the day, especially since she had another meeting that evening that she could not arrange for another time. So lucky me!
First, Olivia, Terena and I had breakfast at a wonderful little local spot attached to the museum, called Perotta's. We of course had to share everything, and it was all terrific. Certainly a place that I would love to explore again. Then, we headed out on a bit of a drive. Our destination was James's house out near Yungabarra. This meant driving the Gillies Highway through the Wet Tropics Area, across the Atherton Tablelands, for more than an hour.
As you can see, it's beautiful! These are the Atherton Tablelands. Just lovely country.
We made a quick stop in the Daintree Rainforest, outside the town of Yungabarra, to see one of the giant curtain fig trees. Another in Australia blew over in a recent hurricane, but this one was still standing.
It is HUGE! Ginormous, even. And remarkable. Strangler figs, in case you don't know, really are vines. They grow up a fallen tree, then send down roots, eventually blocking the nutrients that the tree needs to survive. This one is more than a hundred years old, and a very popular attraction in Queensland.
We also spied this traditional Queenslander house. These houses were the original smart houses of the region. They were square and short, with hallways on the axes, designed to make the most of the region's cross breezes. A veranda around the outside kept the sun out, but provided comfortable sitting places.
After visiting James's amazing house, we realized that it was going to be tough for Olivia to make her flight back to Brisbane. But Terena is a marvel. And thankfully, Australian rules are not U.S. rules, and Olivia had checked in online. I got sent in with her, and she ended up off-loading half her bag to me to bring back the following day, so that she could make the carry-on limit. They sent her running and called the gate to hold the plane for her. It was the last flight of the day, and so I spent several minutes thanking the agent as she took off.
That left me and Terena to find a late lunch. We headed to the Botanic Gardens, only to find out that the kitchen had closed! Oh well. So we wandered. It was a lovely spot!
Yes! Squid orchids. You can only imagine how excited I was!
Lots of beautiful ferns.
I have no idea what these were, but they were lovely. Pea-like, hanging in long vines from a terraced roof.
Back into town, Terena had to prepare for her meeting, and I couldn't imagine impinging on any more of her time. I was also given a mission: there is a fantastic fish sculpture in the Esplanade pool, and Olivia and Terena were arguing about the artist, so it was my job to settle it. Also, I needed to go to the Aboriginal art gallery to do some shopping. So off I went!
Because the water is the ocean, it's not always safe to swim (currents, jellyfish, etc.). So the city has built a pool at the water's edge. Yes, it sounds weird, but it works. And it's a really lovely area, with walking paths, etc.
Olivia was right. The sculptor is Aboriginal artist Brian Robinson. I love these fish! They are modeled on the palm-frond woven fish that aunties and uncles across the Pacific make. (I have one from an uncle in Hawaii, and I saw an auntie weaving them for little kids in Brisbane.)
These pelicans were settling in on the mud flats as the sun went down.
The mural on the side of the art gallery.
This was about the mid-point of my trip, and my only alone time. The next morning, I'd fly back to Brisbane, and I had the weekend to finish my presentations and prepare for my meetings. Greg would arrive on Tuesday afternoon. Vacation would start Wednesday evening.
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