Road Trip: Australia (Brisbane to Cairns) Part 4
We finally made it, the last leg of our trip. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that we were able to travel through Queensland but the fact that we were on our final leg gave us more energy and got us ready!
What a beautiful way to start the day!
As we drove closer to Cairns, we watched as the scenery changed again. The further North we went, the more tropical the foliage and welcoming the sea breeze became. It was nice to be able to put the windows and in the middle of July (AU winter) without any worry about getting chilly. Along with the lush grasses, pineapple trees, and vivid green mountains, we were greeted by the sweet smells of the sugar cane harvest. It basically smells like warm syrup and it made us want pancakes like you wouldn’t believe!
As we neared our destination, we came uponWalshs Pyramid, the highest freestanding natural pyramid in the world. It was very impressive to see from a distance but we stayed true to our path and resisted yet another deviation of our wandering attention.
And just like that, we made it to Cairns
Cairns is a beautiful city filled with backpackers, tourists, and thrill seekers alike. This tiny cove city is Australia’s gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and everywhere we went there were signs for tours, charters, and other attractions. Luckily, we had already booked our tour and we were able to simply explore the city for the remainder of the day.
Since we had an early day on the reef, we went back to our hotel and got prepared for the next morning. There were many places to stay in Cairns, however, many of them were pretty expensive. We did happen to find the Rydges Hotel which charged us $93 AU dollars for the night (pool and breakfast included). Before we called it a night, we had to sample the local cuisine. We landed at the Splash Restaurant right on the boardwalk with a beautiful view of the bay. Needless to say, we got a bit adventurous here and ordered the kangaroo/crocodile combo plate. It was fantastic! The kangaroo was very similar to a beef steak (a bit more gamey) and the crocodile tasted just like, you guessed it, chicken! After a beautiful moonlit walk on the boardwalk back to our hotel, we turned in, brimming with excitement for the following day.
