More Souvenirs

After my previous post, I realised that I had, in fact bought more things while I was away than I had thought. I love these travel memoirs by Eric Newby - his dry style is very entertaining and the sheer breadth of his travels from climbing Mount Olympus to visiting Troy or a burial chamber in a pyramid makes me want to pack up and go right now:

This is a cute little sheer cotton voile cami from Lazybones Emporium at Bangalow http://www.lazybones.com.au

And this is one of their dress/nighties:

Nothing like a souvenir that you can wear or read.

Cairns - More Food and Markets

One thing I haven't mentioned previously is that a few months ago I became a member of Accor Advantage Plus for an annual fee of under $300. As a member I receive a free nights' accommodation at any Accor resort in Australia, Asia or the Pacific (this more than pays for the annual fee). In addition, I can access red hot deals on the website, so all the accommodation on this trip at Ibis, All Seasons, Novotel and Mercure hotels has been booked this way. But I think the best part of all is that two people can dine for the price of one. For example at the Novotel in Cairns we had a beautiful buffet of seafood, steaks, salads, chicken and desert for $49.00 for two, or $24.50 each:

On another night, we went to the Night Markets which are open 7 days a week:

There are a lot of stalls selling all sorts of Australiana:

Even didgeridoos:

And a big plate of Asian food is only around $12.00:

Fabulous Food

One of the mysteries of Cairns is why this weekend I've seen so many people sitting in fast food establishments on the Esplanade when only a few blocks away, they could be experiencing some fantastic, healthy and yummy food. Rusty's undercover markets, open from Friday to Sunday, have excellent local and organic produce:

You can also find some new age touches:

But what I love most is the great range of prepared food which is generally sold by the people who've made it, and at very reasonable prices. For $2.50 you can have a cup of delicious sugar cane juice:

It is made by feeding the cane through a juicer with the juice of a tamarind. The taste is unbelievably good:

You can also find stalls which sell handmade spring rolls, dim sims, samosas or empanadas for only a dollar or two:

There are many foods from Asian and Pacific countries such as Samoa, the Philippines and Thailand. One thing I really enjoyed was sticky rice with banana or taro, wrapped in a banana leaf. Gorgeous!:

These fresh prawn rice paper rolls had little plastic bags with sauce and peanuts to go with them:

This sundried tomato tapenade went well with the pesto bread, but the bread tasted great on its own too:

Cairns - Part 2

When the rates at our Cairns hotel went up substantially for the weekend, we sought better value at the more centrally-located Novotel Cairns Oasis. This hotel is only two blocks from the shops and waterfront, and is a great place for just $111.00 per night. I don't mind not having breakfast included - I've had a hot breakfast for the last four mornings. The room, pool and deck area are lovely:

From the hotel we walked to the Cotter's markets at the waterfront which have lots of arts and crafts if you like that sort of thing:

There is a tree near the hotel which contains waht seems to be hundreds of massive bats. There are two hanging next to each other in the upper right of the picture:

Port Douglas

From Cairns, it's only a short drive to Port Douglas, with a stop along the way at Mossman Gorge. This is a truly gorge-ous place:

The township of Port Douglas has many beautiful old white timber buildings. This is the Court House pub on the corner, which has a great atmosphere:

Across the road from the pub is a park with this stunning view:

From a lookout in town we looked south over the surf beach and the Mirage and other resorts:

On the way back to Cairns we stopped to make a cup of tea just north of Ellis Beach:

Kuranda

No visit to Cairns is complete without a visit to the town of Kuranda. Apparently, the best way to do it is to go up on the Skyrail:

From there, you have a bird's-eye view of the beautiful tropical rainforest below:

The town of Kuranda is very tropical and picturesque:

Kuranda has three markets: the original, the new and the heritage. My favourite are the original, which have a very Balinese feel:

The station where you board the Scenic Railway for the trip home is very lush and green:

This is the view of Cairns and surrounds from the Scenic Railway on the way back down:

Cairns

Driving north to Cairns, we turned off to Etty Bay (another recommendation by our friends Lara and Geoff). It's a great little place to stop for lunch or a cup of tea:

No swimming though:

At Cairns we're staying for four nights at the All Seasons Cairns Gateway. It's only $73 per night with breakfast. It has a full kitchen and is very comfortable:

It's a few kilometres south of the city on the main road, but it's like a little oasis. With temperatures of 28 degrees, it has a nice tropical feel. Because it's winter, there's hardly anyone staying here. Every morning we're just about the only ones having breakfast by the pool:

At night we cook up stir-fried vegetables and chicken on the poolside barbecue and eat like kings. While not a luxurious resort, we've found it great value for money with a really friendly and accommodating staff.