24th February 2010 We had always planned to do at least part of the train journey between Cairns and Brisbane and had booked this thinking we were on the famous Sunlander train. However, when we arrived at the station today it turns out we are on something called the Tilt Train. None of the lovely lounges and bars that feature on the Sunlander which was something I was particularly looking forward to. ...
20th & 21st February 2010 With yesterday’s very early flight, most of the day was spent just relaxing, catching up on emails and blogs and sleep. We didn’t venture too far from the hostel due to the varying quantities of rain falling from the sky during the day, ranging from light to torrential. Cairns is very much a base for exploring the Great Barrier Reef and areas of far north Queensland such as Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas, and the inland rainforests of the Atherton Tablelands. Tourism is its main industry and it is very much a city about doing, rather than seeing with few monuments, natural or otherwise. ...
23rd February 2010 We awoke this morning to more rain, but were determined to take the bus to the Botanical Gardens regardless, after all, as the guy in the hostel said to us, when better to witness a rainforest, than during the rain. The gardens consist of a collection of tropical plants of both native and exotic origins. Among the attractions are a fernery and orchard house along with palms, bamboo, tropical fruits and flowering trees shrubs and vines. These presented a fantastic display, lush green, dripping with water and quite different from the other botanic gardens we have visited on this trip. We were surrounded by plants which quite often we have seen in greenhouses in other gardens, or houseplants back home. ...
19th February 2010 Every year on 19th February the city of Darwin pauses to mark one of the most significant moments in Australia’s history, the Bombing of Darwin by Japanese Imperial Forces on 19th February 1942. It was on this day that the first of at least 64 air raids on Darwin and the Top End commenced. Sadly, many perished during these attacks. This morning we attended the commemoration service which started at 9.58am with the sounding of the air-raid sirens as they did 68 years ago. This was followed by a re-enactment by Defence Force Personnel along with a fly past of FA 18 Hornets. Anyone who didn’t know what was going on would have had quite a fright what with the sirens, then the gun fire, then the planes flying over! ...