Day 46- (First) Descent Into Cairns

June 12, 2011- Day 46

Where: Kuranda to Cairns

Dinner: Noodles and toast

        We spent this morning in the small town of Kuranda up in the mountains a bit north of Cairns. It is covered in dense rainforest and is known for the markets that go on there every day of the week. It started with a small rainforest market and has expanded into three different permanent markets. They sell all sorts of things, some really neat locally made stuff like jewelry and clothing and some not so locally made items like tacky Australian souvenirs (made in China). Since we stayed the night there we got into town before the buses, trains, and gondolas started bringing people in. We made oatmeal and coffee at the little park and then walked around before many of the shops had even opened. The town started out nearly empty and by 11 it was full of tourists. In Lonely Planet it says that the town clears out again and precisely 3:30pm because that's when the last main transportation leaves. Kindof funny/weird to see a town empty and fill like that.

We enjoyed the markets and one of the most interesting shops was a candy making shop. We watched as they rolled, stretched and then cut rainbow hard candy. So cool!! For lunch we stopped at a German restaurant and had sausages with onions and sauerkraut. Reminded me of my days at Dolce Vita. Because we got there so early, we had seen everything by around 1. We decided to drive down into Cairns and find the hostel that offers one free night to Jucy vans.

        So today we made our (first) final descent into Cairns! It was odd driving into a town knowing that we are going to stay there. Instead of not caring what the town has to offer, I found myself really hoping that I liked what I saw. And I will say, my first impressions aren't bad. It's bigger than I expected, but still mostly walkable. We drove all around it today. There are lots of restaurants and bars and tourists everywhere. It was sunny so there were a lot of people down at the man made lagoon along the edge of town. There aren't actually beaches in Cairns, so they made the lagoon instead. The beaches are all a little ways north. It's supposedly the “party capital of Northern Queensland,” which sounds like it will be a fun enough place to live for a few months.

        We hung out at the hostel for an hour waiting for the office to reopen and once they did we found out they were full for the night. We booked a spot for tomorrow and then we drove back to the beach parking we stayed at two nights ago. We made some dinner and while we did 5 other camper vans pulled in. There is a “no camping” sign but now that there are 7 vans here I wonder if anything will happen. Very likely nothing at all will happen. So we're spending one more night sleeping in the van down along the beach and we have one night at the hostel tomorrow and then we turn it back in. So sad! I can't imagine not having it anymore. While I haven't loved every single thing about living in a van, I really am going to miss it once it's gone. Overall I'm feeling just a little sad that the trip is coming to an end. But it's not over yet!! (so stay tuned for more of my sad and reflective thoughts on leaving our Jucy friend)