3192. Cairns and around, Australia. First two days here.

[lenaswan]

These are the nearest surroundings of Cairns - drove ca. 300 km in total today.





All four of us feel quite recovered from 2-days flight & jet lag now, but still we think we dwell around in the city 2morrow and go to GBR only the day after.

22 March 2012

Landed ca. 9.00, plane to fly further to Brisbane but major customs check-up here for all; long cue to passport & customs; cute customs sniffing dog (for drugs & chinese stuff first, but also for food items totally forbidden to be brought to AU). Car rental is not in the international – but in the national airport (1 km walk for the two men in +30 C is smth). Short drive to Koala Court at McLeod Street in Cairns (stay here for 8 days in rented 2-bedroom apt). Self-service – thus first shopping. Great birding at Cairns Esplanade (coastal walk) at sunset. Cook & Bull Pub with local fish & salad. Rather exhausted from jet lag & 11 hours time difference.

Few photo's:

Rather small but cosy & customer-friendly Cairns airport:

Here we stay.


Cairns coastal walk (normal people jogging etc., birders find each other ;-)


Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles..
OK, let's make it the bird of 23rd, they are really same as European Lapwings - everywhere along the roads.


while for 22nd this could be remarkable - Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus:


and local meditation guy yesterday.


Great pub Cook & Bull


and great food (have to ask JJ again, but as long as I remember it was so called "Spanish Makerel", local species.




23 March 2014

Started at 9 (sunrise at ca.5-30), two failed attempts for birding at Croc Farms (made a saying “have you asked Andy?”). Cairns CF closed for public completely, Innisfail in 1 hour drive – just recently as low-flow tourism isn't profitable. And we are deliberately in the non-tourist season. Fly-Fish-Point... Offroad from Innisfail along N25 towards Tableland – ca. 27 km – Mamu Tropical Forest Canopy Walk (1 km; former aboriginal lands, some good plant hints).

Cairns croc farm ;-(


As long as the other photo's are very slowly uploading - this is one of the many super ferns here, three Dutch were assessing what would be the cost of this particular fern (very popular in NL and very expensive in the shops)...


OK, the photo's really do not want to be uploaded right now ;-( and with your GMT of 13-59 -  I have to go to bed ;-)
CU tomorrow.