in-all-places: May 2015

Thursday, 28 May 2015

Between the reef and the forest: Cairns Australia

Cairns: coral reef and rain forest

We arrived here from Sydney and the warm weather was more then a blessing announcing that what started as a perfect holiday in Sydney was to be continued.

Cairns is a provincial city bigger then it seems; is cosy and it can be easily mistaken for a small, laid-back seaside town except that there are no beaches.

What makes Cairns a truly wonderful holiday destination: beautiful sunny days, a nice esplanade, a lagoon so you can swim, fancy hotels and plenty of restaurants, bars and alike and crowds of travellers coming and going to snorkel and dive on the coral Reef and to explore the Rain Forests. Maybe this is why the very present post is more about the outdoor activities than about the city itself!

After two days to get accustomed to the city and get some tan we booked our day out to the Great Barrier Reef with a company providing nice trips for small groups and it was perfect; the crew was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and we had plenty of snorkelling time at two great location: Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Outer barrier Reef. And the reef is spectacular!! It was one of the most memorable day of my life!

You can read all details of the fabulous adventure in my review here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Seastar_Cruises_Reef_Day_Trips-Cairns_

As for the Rain Forest we chose a trip to the nearby town Kuranda: up to Kuranda by Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and back by train - the full name being Kuranda Scenic Railway.

The trip started at Skyrail’s Smithfield Terminal, located just 15 minutes drive from Cairns city. We were collected from the hotel by the cable company minivan, on board on a comfy cabin in no time and we had a (approximately) 90 minutes/ 7.5km trip over the fascinating rainforest.

On the way back, the railway is 37 km and it takes more or less same time - both ways offering spectacular views of waterfalls, tunnels, mountains, rivers and gorges and of course - the forest.

With this splendid landscape the two stops on the way up plus the one on the way down were more then enough to allow us to add some spectacular shoots to our photo portfolio. We end up in the central train station, 10 minutes walking distance from our hotel. And another splendid day!

Of course there is more about Cairns: diving, beautiful beaches 10 minutes driving into Smithfield direction, botanical garden …and of course swimming pools and good books!

Cairns Marina

Cairns Esplanade at sunset

Cairns Esplanade the Lagoon @ in-all-places

'The Lagoon' on Cairns Esplanade at sunset

Small communities of white house scattered against the green background

Cairns Pullman Casino Reef @ in-all-places

Pullman Reef Casino

Cairns lowlands - as we were approaching from Kuranda

Skyrail over the rainforest: on the way up to Kuranda

Cairns Kuranda Scenic Railway @ in-all-places

Kuranda Scenic Railway: going down to Cairns

Saturday, 23 May 2015

Urban trips: Sydney, easy and green and blue

Sydney Australia, easy and green and blue

We spent seven days in Sydney and while you might say we didn't do too much, we actually just went with the flow, adjusting to that a bit of a lay-back attitude we felt around in this beautiful, easy, green and blue city.

So the first few days we were just jet-lag recovering, strolling around, exploring and light shopping (forgot to pack pyjamas), trying to get the drift of this splendid city.

Besides, the two famous Sydney landmarks - Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, are stunning enough that you might actually need to be in their presence for at least two days.

Well, we stayed at InterContinental and we were literarily in their presence more or less all the time: wandering the narrow streets of The Rocks, lingering around the Circular Quay and relaxing with a book in the nearby Royal Botanic Gardens.

We dinned around and tried some local wine too; and while the places we’ve been in - the food was not something to write home about (I’m not a big fun of fish and chips and the “catch of the day” was always, and everywhere, Baramundi) the wine was without exception very, very good!

We spent one day in Manly - lazy on the sunny, cosy and friendly ocean beach Shelly; we ate at the Fish Market in Pyrmont and of course we took a wine tasting tour to Hunter Valley.

We booked it with a big and nice shop in The Rocks - they give us some extra info and we end up with a boutique tour: small van, no more then 10 people and only three vineyards. We visited the Iron Gate Estate, Savannah Estate and the Ernest Hill Winery. We start with the Iron Gates - very good wine, nice presentation of all the wine-making process and even the owner saying hello. Next was Savannah - loved one of their rose, unfortunately the hostess was, although friendly, somehow busy and kept running some errands.

I mean really, we were busy with this serious task of wine tasting, all of us happy and already charmingly tipsy after our first tasting session and she was never in the site to promptly pour more of that delicious wine in our glasses. Mmmm, that will earn her a bad review if you don't mind. Kidding!

Ernest Hill was the most welcoming and, it can be because was the last and by then loads of tasting had happened but their wine was simply gorgeous.

This was end April and the weather was still good although, with the fall approaching the city, it was occasionally rainy and even a bit chilly. I had to buy a light cardigan for my self to protect against the sporadical gusts of wind.

Of course there is much more to do and to see in Sydney; but we just did it our way (or shall I say “local way” ?) while saving some energy for our next destination - Cairns.