On the Waterfront

Cairns is such a lovely, compact little city, and there is a lot happening down at the very attractive waterfront.  Many of the large hotels are concentrated in this area, so of course can offer their customers lovely sea views.  We took a walk along the boardwalk to explore this delightful area, passing a multitude of cafes, shops of all kinds, and tourist operators.  Just look at this view, isn’t it stunning, and looks so peaceful.  And turning in the other direction, we see the Big Boys Toys.

Down at the sea in boats

A life-size bronze sculpture, valued at about $300,000, took pride of place at Marlin Jetty to mark the occasion of the Cairns Black Marlin 50th Anniversary Tournament.  These days, a tag and release system is in place to ensure a sustainable fishing industry for all to enjoy.  Over the years the fishing grounds have attracted celebrities such as late Hollywood movie star Lee Marvin, author Wilbur Smith, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, US president Jimmy Carter and golfers Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus.

Black Marlin sculpture

We were on a quest – to find a particular shop for Robin.  He admits that he doesn’t really enjoy shopping, but this was an exception.  And there it was, the Akubra shop.  He had long wanted one of these typically Aussie hats, made from rabbit fur.  The shop owner certainly knew his stuff, took his time trying various sizes to ensure the correct fitting.  There’s three rabbits in each hat, he remarked.  He then told us, in great detail, how to care for the hat to ensure it stayed looking good.

Looking good in his Akubra

With that accomplished, we continued our waterfront walk along the Esplanade.  We made short work of an ice-cream each then crossed the road to see a group of pelicans – also referred to as a colony, brief, pod, pouch, scoop or squadron, take your pick.  I rather like the name scoop, as they certainly do a lot of that.

This was another first for us, to see a group of pelicans in the wild, our previous encounters had been in zoos.  The pelicans were down at the foreshore on a little spit of land.  As the tide kept getting higher, and their little piece of land was slowly getting covered over, they just keep moving closer and closer to the sea wall.  The pelicans were having a great time, bathing in the water, vigorously flapping their wings, and laying their large beaks sideways in the water to wash them.  Others were busy preening their feathers, turning their large beaks this way and that to reach the areas that needed attention.

A scoop of pelicans

We had decided to have another meal in the Cairns RSL restaurant, and looked at the memorial once more.  On our previous visit  we were informed the significance of the time on the clock.  The clock is stopped at the time that the first Australian soldiers landed at Gallipoli.

Lest We Forget

It was a little early for dining so we sat at the tables by the footpath with a cool drink and watched the people go by for a while.  And what’s this on the table - insect repellant perhaps?

No indeed, it is a bottle of “Peaceful Avian Tormentor for Repelling Incessant Overfed Transients”.  In other words, to keep the birds away from the tables.  We rather liked the directions which stated:  “To be used on feathered intruders only.  Male parents on holiday with more than one (naughty) child are to relinquish use of the device to the responsible female partner immediately”.

Our meals were delicious, as expected. Robin chose lamb rump and I got to try the Spanish Mackerel which I had seen on various other menus.  Not imported from Spain, as I incorrectly assumed, and the waitress laughed loudly when I asked her that question.  Seems it is a locally caught fish, a bit like our hoki at home in New Zealand.

Returning back at our hotel after our mea, we spotted this sign.  With sore knees and tired legs after another big day out, of course we will be obeying the sign.  I can’t see us running up and down three flights of stairs at the best of times, can you?

No chance of us doing this