Cairns "Rest Day"

After our push the first two days, this "transit" day also ended up being a little bit of an unintended “recovery” day. We got up early in the morning to fly from Sydney to Cairns. We pounded the last of the breakfast food around 5:30 AM and set off for the airport. Tanner was in a hurry because he still needed to check in for the flight, and, despite leaving at the exact same time, he made it to the rental car drop off with his group and was gone before we got there in Joe’s car. The shuttle bus driver didn’t lose any time getting us dropped off, pulling illegal U-turns and dodging cross traffic. I was glad he was driving, rather than Tanner or Joe.

Departing Sydney

We finally arrived at the airport, and found Utah munching on a breakfast burrito. We breezed through security pretty easily (no shoes or unpacking bags for domestic flights in Australia), except for Gabby’s surgical scissors, which the Australian TSA guy didn’t like. Sam told me to go make a scene, but I thought the better of it, and we left the scissors behind.

One thing Gabby noted after a few days was the regular acknowledgement (at the opera, on the planes, etc.) of the ancestral lands and elders past and present (and sometimes, emerging) of the Aboriginal history of Australia. This appears to be a somewhat recent development in Australia's culture to address its past.

We arrived a couple of hours later in misty, rainy Cairns (fitting for a tropical destination), which was also a surprising 20F warmer than Sydney. Gabby took in the display about the Carins Ironman while Joe and Tanner acquired the rentals and the rest of us waited for the rain to lighten up. After a few minutes, it dissipated, and, as it turned out, that was the only rain we had the whole trip. Just enough to get us in the mood for the rainforest.

Gabby wants to come back to race

Our first order of business was finding lunch in Cairns, and we decided to try PJ OBriens’ pub, which was recommended to us by a colleague of Gabby’s who had spent some time in Australia. When we arrived (around 11:00 AM), however, they told us that the kitchen wasn’t opening until noon. Apparently you can have a beer as early as you want in Australia, but not a sandwich. We investigated a few other options, but, after discovering this was a common theme, decided to wait it out. We all wandered off in different directions, and Gabby and I walked by James Cook University before visiting the bookstore at the Cairns Central Shopping Center.

At the pub we enjoyed an assortment of (very affordable) lunch specials, including fish and chips, and steak (which Joe complained was a little small). Justin got the quesadilla. To quote, “There’s nothing like a quesadilla at an Irish pub in Australia.” On the way back to the car, Sam and I observed a few officers having a cordial interaction with one of the locals.

At this point, realizing we weren’t going to make it to the Mossman Gorge by the end of the day, and taking into account the energy level of the group, I made the decision to slow us down a little bit and write the rest of the day off as a travel and rest day, meaning we would take our time getting the rest of the way to Port Douglas.

The main diversion on our path north was the Rainforestation, an animal rescue park. According to my cross referenced spreadsheet comparison, this was our best option for a zoo where we could see kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, koalas, cassowaries, and crocodiles up close and for the best price. The lady issuing our admission asked if we wanted any food to feed the kangaroos, and, as I was about to say no, Lydia jumped in to say, yes, of course we wanted to feed the kangaroos. I think the lady could see that this was a once in a lifetime adventure and we "weren’t from round here," so she gave us two extra bags for free.

There were indeed free ranging kangaroos in the park, and Lydia quickly became best friends with the hungry one. It wasn’t sure what to think of Sam, though. We somehow picked an afternoon where lots of exciting things were happening at the park. We got to see crocodile/alligator feedings, koala feedings, and, perhaps the highlight, a snake feeding, which we were told only happens about once a month.

This wasn’t a typical zoo feeding where someone tosses a couple of mice through a door or over a wall. Instead, they popped open the glass on the front of the enclosure and wiggled a mouse on the end of a stick in front of the snake to get it to strike and simulated a struggle. Right before they opened the door, one of the keepers asked if there was a hook nearby. Someone went to fetch one as we realized this was the contingency if the snake escaped. After the feeding, we discussed the methodology with the zookeeper, who told us that they feed dead mice to the snake instead of live ones because it’s considered inhumane for both the snake and the mouse. The United States is one of the few countries that still allows live feedings. Emily and Joe disagreed with this assessment. At some point, the zookeeper (who sounded Scottish or Irish) asked where we were from and, when we said "the United States," looked a little surprised. “You’re the quietest group of Americans I’ve ever seen.” I'll take that as a compliment.

We made a couple of other stops on the way to Mossman, outside of Hartley’s Crocodile Farm (for one of Adam's distant cousins) and at the Rex Lookout on the side of the road, and arrived at our AirBnB late in the afternoon. This was an incredible open floor (and wall) plan house with a saltwater pool, surrounded by rainforest, which may have been one of the coolest places we have ever stayed. We were warned that leaving the large retractable doors and windows open would encourage the “the nature” to join us inside. This was the moment Emily had been waiting for the whole trip and promptly absconded herself to the pool. We had to do a small amount of reorganization, moving one of the beds from the garage bedroom to the office so that everyone (Adam included) could sleep in the air conditioning, but, otherwise, the house was a perfect fit.

Our Mossman AirBnB

Next, we put together a shopping list, and Joe, Tanner, Gabby, and I went down the road to the grocery store (Woolworths). Mossman definitely felt like a beach town, and one of the things that made us stand out was the fact that we were some of the only people wearing shoes. We gathered our groceries, but, much to Joe’s disappointment, there were no eggs (some things, including the avian flu, are global, apparently). As we were checking out, the cashier the next lane over asked where we were from and, when asked, guessed Switzerland. I said the United States, and (before realizing that it only had the logo, not the full university name), pointed to Joe’s Virginia Tech shirt. He looked confused when I asked if that gave it away, but said that the group of us together, the amount of food we were buying, and the fact that we were all sunburnt were key indicators.

After we made it back home, Joe grilled steak and chicken for dinner using the outdoor grill on the cabana, and we relaxed, playing some Hearts, capping off a pretty successful “decompression day.”