Monday - Cairns

Monday - Cairns We had the best night's sleep ever and didn't wake till 8.30! We showered and went down to reception to check on. The man, Andrew, was very helpful and we got lots of information from him before setting off to walk into the centre to have breakfast and get the hire car.

It didn't take long before we found a nice cafe for breakfast before continuing into the CBD to pick up the car. We then drove to 'Central Cairns' which is a huge shopping mall with AC and you do need it here! We had a look around the shops and I could have spent all day here but there are better things to do! We had a coffee and a cookie!

 We then hit the supermarket and bought pretty much all we will need for the next five days. We have had enough of dinning out and with our lovely peaceful balcony we are happy to sit in at night. There are also lots of easy options for meals, something we don't have in NZ. We also have a BBQ by the pool which we intend to use.

 Shopping done we left the mall in search of the bottle shop, they don't sell booze in the supermarkets here. All stocked up we headed back to the apartment for lunch. Life is very laid back here and I love it. I have done a couple of loads of washing since we arrived and we are all clean now.

 We went out for a walk along the Esplanade and saw so many people running, jogging etc all very healthy. It is such a shame the beaches cannot be used here due to crocs and jellyfish as they are lovely, the beaches that is, not the crocs!

We came back to the apartments and reception and booked the two tours we think we should go on even though they are very expensive but we won't be here again! The Great Barrier Reef  which is a full day and I was worried what Jon would do while I am snorkelling but it looks like there is plenty to keep him busy.

The second trip is to Kuranda on the scenic railway and back on the 7.5km chairlift over the rainforest which we will do on my birthday - how lucky am I?

We got back to the apartment and had a glass of wine or two and I cooked our roast dinner that was freshly prepared in a tray and you just pop in the oven and the lamb was delicious.

Now it is time for bed ready for our day on the reef!