Cairns is a proper town and being one of the busiest tourist place and jump off destination for the Great Barrier Reef, the town offers diving excursions, island trips, helicopter tours, and many boat tours. Marlin marina wasa a top notch marina with lots of amenities and lots of restaurants and bars along the beachfront esplanade. Enjoying access to well stocked grocery stores, boat parts, and good internet…we got a lot done in a little amount of time.
You could purchase fresh shrimp from this boat at the marina…unfortunately we didn’t but we heard great reviews of this place.Cairns only beach is right in town and is a man-made 4,000-sq-m (43,000-sq-ft) saltwater lagoon and artificial beach. Lots of people sunbathing and kids enjoying the lagoon.Lot’s of the locals fish off the pier. Not sure what this guy is doing but having fun non-the-less.A MALL!!!! Target, Khols, OMG…. it was too much!This guy stuck us as strange….half chicken half stork?
Doctor visit – We organized our last vaccinations to be administered at a local clinic. These guys were AMAZING!!! We did have to pay for another consultation, but that was to be expected as they couldn’t “rely” on the New Zealand chart notes and prescriptions.
I had emailed this company to get our second dose of the Japanese Encephalitis immunization. Back in New Zealand is where we received the first shot. The ladies at reception totally remembered me and our situation. We made appointments and that day and was seen the next day.So in Australia the doctors and clinics do not “carry” any medications in the clinics….therefore we had to purchase the immunization shots at a nearby pharmacy (chemist) and then bring it back into the doctor and nurses to administer it. Well….they didn’t have the immunization on hand and had to order it…a few days later we had to go back, pick up the shots and go back to the clinic. All was well but it was an incredible system…we quite liked it.
Never ending boat work – Cairns, Australia is the beginning of the Sail 2 Indonesia rally for many of the participants and is the last major city where boat parts and labor and relatively reasonable provisions can be found before we head north up Queensland Australia so you can imagine we, and the rest of the rally boats, were busy getting our vessels in tip top shape and filling every available space with goodies from the stores and markets. We also spent DAYS getting our new iPhone (my went swimming in Vanuatu) and new iPad for Trevor set up with all the satellite and sailing stuff we needed. It’s amazing how time flies by… We spent the first 3-4 days exploring the town to acquire the required parts we needed….some of the parts we ordered from the source and had it shipped to the Marina which means getting it through customs. We technically can get parts to us without paying taxes but each country has their rules. We had to have each vendor sut specific information on each package to ensure our parts did not “stay” at customs too long.
Just a snap shot of what our living space looks like everytime Trevor is into a project….It’s amazing how we move around this stuff and actually get anything done.Our freezer stopped working in New Caledonia right before we left to Australia. We cooked all the frozen meats so it wouldn’t go to waste. However, we knew we couldn’t go without Kimi’s favrrite food (pizzas…frozen will do) so we ordered a new compressor pump and condenser plate. Trevor decided to get a larger unit which meant basically rebuilding the system and moving the compressor pump to an area with a little more air flow….So he installed the compressor pump underneath the oven…..Old condenser plate out and freezer cleaned out…..Oven back in place and an access hole to vent the compressor pump…..Found a “almost” matching wood grate to finish the project off. Working great and again enjoying ice…and frozen pizzas : )Something missing?Ahhh…found it! One of our vacuum flush toilet stopped working in New Claedonia and we tried tiredlessly (and not feeling well) to fix it. We determined we had no idea why the system would not hold a vacum . So in Cairns, we contacted the closest dealer in Brisbane, AU who nicely talked us through some troubleshooting tips…those didn’t work so we ordered lots of spare parts just in case and started to replace one thing at a time. Trevor still doesn’t know exactly what fixed it…but it is working great now.Trevor decided, after much debate, to get new batteries as he was not satisfied with our current system. Our battery bank (6 AGM batteries) was not holding or taking a charge like they had before.He found what he wanted: 2 Victron 12 volt batteries and 2 new 12 volt batteries for our windlass and starter. Supposedly these batteries contain newer technology and allows us to draw more out of them than our old batteries. We found batteries that would fit the space of the old one (not an easy task as you may think). They are lighter and slightly smaller too. So far so good…we haven’t had to run the generator to charge up the batteries at night with some help from our solar panels and wind generator…but overall has held a consistent charge
Provisioning – It’s definitely work to provision a boat…it’s not like a weekly grocery shopping list and you would think by now we would have it down to a science….NOT!!!! It’s hard to imagine what we have coming and anticipate all our needs and want for the next few countries we will be in. We do know however, we are entering countries with a more Muslim influence so pork and liquor will be hard to find/expensive if you can find it at all. Speciality sauces and food we like and paper products was on the top of our list….Rice was not on our list (LOL).
We found this great company, Brynes Meats, who would deliver hand cut meats to our boat!We spent about $300 for 30 pounds of meat! You may think this is expensive but the quality has been amazing and the delivery service was to die for!After delivery….we have to unpack and vacuum seal the meats in quantities we wanted to freeze them in. We spent hours doing this and we still have room in the freezer!So we didn’t have a car and the local supermarket was about 4-5 blocks away…not bad when you have a few bags of groceries. But when you are providing for months on end, it was quite the hike. It took us 4 trips to the store and we organized our shopping into categories: Canned and dry goods, paper products, beverages, and non-consumables (toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.)We did 1 trip to the store the last 4 days we were in Cairns and would have a cab pick us up at the store and drop us near our slip at the Marina…trust me…these bags were HEAVY!Call us crazy…we tag our canned goods and rotate them so we know what to use first. This is all a team effort as we have to unpack and repack areas of the boat that we don’t “organize” often. I don’t know if you can see that we have written “AU” on each can to let us know where we purchased it.The day before we left, I went to Rusty’s market in town. It was a Sunday and I had heard that on Sunday’s all the vendors offer a cheaper price as it’s a weekend market and they don’t want to take anything home on Monday. Rusty’s market had everything from fresh herbs, exotic fruits, street food, to tools. It was so much fun to shop around…I had to buy 2 extra bags just to get everything I wanted.All this fresh fruit and veggies cost me under $50. It lasted us 2 full weeks while cruising up the Queensland coast. Do you see the fresh herbs? OMG it was heaven!
Old Friends – We couldn’t believe it….I got a message from Thom on SV Fathom, a solo sailor on his 28 foot Vancouver who left the England in May 2016. He crossed the Pacific with us in 2017, though from Panama rather than Mexico, and was the only boat we knew still in Australia when we arrived here. We always seemed to be behind him when we were in the Pacific but had met him a few times but never got a chance to really get to know him. Well… Cairns was the start of a wonderful buddy boat relationship, in other words, family!
Thom had Oceana on board, a crew member of a few boats we all had met crossing the Pacific last year…so it was like a mini reunion…but with more stories of what has happened. Oceana is now living in Sydney working at a boat yard and was taking a week holiday to Cairns….so we had DOUBLE the fun!
Our second day in Cairns we met up with Thom, Oceania, and their friend, Neal (crew on an Oyster in the marina), for drinks at the Salt Bar at the Marina.Dinner on Slow Flight….We probably didn’t make any friends on the dock that night as we stayed up way past cruisers midnight!…… Here is Trevor and Thom realizing they had the same tiki necklace purchased from the same Marquesas island (Tahuata) and from the same guy…there was only 1 village (lol)
New Friends – Strange who you will meet in the laundry room…..Meet Jacque and his lovely date….Sharon I think? They just met…literally and this was their SECOND date! Please don’t ask… Not sure how I would feel being taken to a strangers boat who he had just met me 2 days before…but who cares..we had fun anyways.
Jaque and his date…came over in true cruiser form with wine in hand and cheese. He lives on his power boat moored in Cairns. He is actually Scottish and plays the bagpipes among other instruments. We literally met while waiting for our laundry to finish up. He actually said he wanted to stop over that night but we had plans for dinner with Oceana and Thom already. He showed up the next night…got to love this world!
Bree – We got to meet this incredible woman thanks to Thom and his incredible and unique ability to connect with people. Back story: Thom has been sailing up the west coast of Australia this year from Sydney. He met Bree’s parents, also avid sailors in different anchorages along the Gold Coast. They told him to connect with their daughter when he was in Cairns and he did so…. and then the shenanigans began!
Dinner at the Water Bar…the best steak in town..Bree vouched for it and Thom had been there twice before (this made it his third time in less than 2 weeks) so we felt pretty confident that we would enjoy a incredible meal. We generally treat ourselves to 1 nice meal at each port…this place did not disappoint. The evening started off on SV Fathom with Thom’s famous “Rum Punch” and off to the restaurant. We shared a few bottles of wine with a steak dinner and capped off the night on Slow Flight . What a night (in a good way)!Bree invited all of us to come over to her place….. we originally had planned it a day earlier but we all were so hung over that we all just needed a day of rest. Here is Bree mixing a champagne with passion fruit drink…simply divine…did we mention free and unlimited wifi?!She treated us to a gourmet spread!We watched TV for the first time in ages….the start of the Golden Globe Race (GGR) in France. This race is a non-stop, around the world race, solo, and the route follows the famous 1968-1969 first GGR did. Additionally all vessels have to maintain the same technology as the first GGR rather than what’s available now. This year it’s the 50th anniversary of the first race AND there is a woman this year, Susie Goodall. I was given the book A Voyage for Mad Menlast year by a fellow cruiser about the first GGR. It is pretty cool read. Below is this year GGR website…check it out!
http://goldengloberace.com/
Selfie….we took a cab home : )
Hartley’s Adventure Park – I had to see a Koala while I was in Australia. Thom, Oceana, and I hitched a ride with Bree to Hartley’s Adventure park. Hartley’s got great reviews and even the guys who helped install our batteries said it’s the best place to go. We choose NOT to go to Australia for cyclone season and stayed in New Zealand instead where there are flightless birds, no snakes, and things generally don’t want to kill you, unlike here in Australia where they have salt water crocodiles, snakes and spiders and frogs that can kill you. So for me it was ok to see these creatures in a safe environment…behind glass or in a cage…
The salt water crocodiles, aka “salties”, pose a problem to us cruisers who have spent time in the pacific and who are use to just jumping into the water when ever we feel like it. They mostly live in Northern Australia…of course that is the only part of Australia we will see so it’s safe to say we didn’t do a lot of swimming here. But did you know: The temperature of the nest in which eggs are laid determines the sex of the offspring. Lower incubation temperatures produce mostly females; higher temperatures mostly males.Hartley’s offers a boat tour where they show off the crocodiles….notice we are the ones in the cage….here are 2 really large crocodiles being teased with chicken meat….they got to eat it in the end : )SO cute…NOT….these things can kill you….Thought this was interesting….This is a Cassowary…I had never heard of it before…Cairns region is it’s home. It’s a flightless bird, but unlike the Kiwi bird in New Zealand, these guys kill dogs and hurt humans when disturbed!Well, never saw a kangaroo but these are Wallabies. Wallabies are in the Kangaroo family but are smaller. There are about 30 or so different kinds all over Australia.Not sure if this guy was not feeling well or was just use to humans petting it….but it was a cool experience to be so close to one…they were all over this area of the park . It’s fur was softer than I expected….
It’s been a hoot here and after almost 2 weeks it was time to hit the sea again and head up the Queensland coast with SV Fathom (Thom). Up Next…our passage from Cairns to Thursday Island, the northern most point in Australia.
The highlight of Hartley’s was to see the Koala which only live in Australia. They sleep like 18 hours a DAY! Eating one kilogram of eucalyptus leaves in a day, they are supposed to receive a “high” from the leaves…maybe that explains the sleeping : ) The word “koala” is thought to mean “no drink” in aboriginal language due to early observations that koalas did not leave their trees for water.
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