Far Up North

Turn up the heat! From Christchurch to Sydney to Cairns, with only a minor hitch as the labor dispute at the airport put us temporarily in very long lines to get through immigration. The flight to Cairns was particularly quiet. A 4AM wakeup call is good for something. We’re staying in Port Douglas, about 50 km north of Cairns on the Pacific Coast. The kids swam in the pool and we had dinner at a place called the Tin Shed, which we discovered has jugs (pitchers) of raspberry lemonade and view of the bay on the opposite side of the peninsula that Port Douglas sits on.

We started off the next morning staking our place on the Four Mile Beach a few minutes walk from our place, The Outrigger.
The low season in this area starts November 1 because that's when the box jellyfish may have come to town. While walking toward customs in the International Terminal of the Sydney airport, there is a huge mural that asks if you know Australia's deadliest animal and at the end of the mural, the cute little jellyfish is highlighted. It's late October now and none have been spotted, so the nets that they have in place at the beach to keep them out of a small swimming area are not up yet and the warning for Marine Stingers said "unlikely". Still, there is vinegar on hand, which supposedly provides a teeny tiny bit of relief. Have fun kids!

Actually, all three kids were surprised by how much they like swimming in the ocean when the water and the air are warm. The cool waters and air of Sydney made them skeptical at first, but we had to drag Molly and Charlie away at the end of the day. Daniel was curled up on a beach chair with the Kindle, reading "Treasure Island."



Dinner that night...