Thursday night was our last in Port Douglas and Camp Mother Jenny had booked the beautiful Melaleuca restaurant for dinner – magnifique!  But before dinner we had to visit the historical little church of St Mary’s by the Sea and the pre-dinner item on the agenda was a sundowner G&T at the park by the beach to see the sunset before crossing the road to the restaurant.  Another fun filled day before a couple of nights in Cairns.

This morning we departed Port Douglas and made our way to Kuranda which is an interesting and colourful little village set in the mountains 25 km north west of Cairns.  We had booked to do the Skyrail gondola to Barron Falls which is just a 10 minute ride soaring high over the rainforest and then a short walk to see the magnificent falls.  The views from the Skyrail looking down on the forest canopy were magnificent.  After arriving back in Kuranda it was on to Cairns and a walk around part of the Botannical Gardens before visiting the night markets.

Now these brothers are fixated on gelatos and, wouldn’t you know it, there is an Italian gelato shop right opposite our apartment in Cairns and they can view the state of the queue from the windows here!  They are like two hawks keeping watch!  The range of flavors is so immense that the decision making takes time.  It has been a mixed day starting off with a visit to the Medical Centre – why is it that in nearly every city we get to I have to acquaint myself with a doctor?  Well, at least today’s little chat was not as challenging as telling a doctor in Paris of a tonsillitis, a German-only speaking doctor in Berlin and an entire non-English speaking emergency department in Wittenberg of a problem that will remain undisclosed by let’s just say I thought I may have to mime to get them to understand!  After this morning’s little tete a tete we visited Rusty’s Market – that was a lesson in horticulture and we honestly had no clue what a lot of the produce was but we came home and had a platter of pink and white dragon fruit, papaya, mango, pineapple, Missile apples (google that – delicious) and tiny bananas. This deliciousness was preceded by a plate of French pastries which went down a treat – and then you sit and stress as you are enjoying your cuppa about the shrinking of the clothes! And we have just heard that my little medical issue is not as bad as Oliver’s who has acquainted himself with the orthopaedic department at Melbourne Hospital with a broken collarbone. Guess that will have been a practical tutorial for his BioMed degree!

Off to Darwin tomorrow and then on to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks – our outback adventure begins!