Hello beautiful, sunny Cairns

June 28, 2009.... Day 1

It was a bright & early start to the day. The alarm went off at 3.15am & we hit the road at 4... I was surprised how talkative Tate was given that when we travel, I usually just pick him up out of bed & drop him into his seat in the car - you barely get a grunt out of him :) The flight left at 7 getting us into Cairns on time at about 9. Stepping off the plane, we were met with 25 or 26 degrees & a balmy winter's morn... I picked up the hire care Kirsty had kindly arranged for me (Ferrari red, Ford XRS) & we were on our way. It's about a 20 or 30 minute drive to Palm Cove where we've rented a house. Another fantastic find (thanks Mike). The kids were all straight into the pool which made it easy to head off to the nearest Coles for our week's supplies. Spent the day kicking around the pool, down to the Esplanade for burgers & chips, an evening walk to the jetty to watch the fishermen then finished off with a glass of wine/beer & Mike's sensational kebabs on the the barbie - by the pool.

Day 2

Woke up early, although Mike, Tanya, Taylor & Jaren had already headed off to the beach for the sunrise. Got our gear together & set off for Cape Tribulation. Our Jungle Surfing was booked for 1.30 so we had quite a bit of time to make our way up the coast. Stopped in at Mossman for a snack then on to Mossman Gorge where the kids were keen for a swim (like they weren't already water-logged). After eventually dragging them out of the water, we kept moving north. We arrived at Cape Trib in plenty of time to have a bit of a scan around, an icecream & fill out the medical forms for the "Surfin' Safari".... WOW, what a great activity. The kids were jumping out of their skins to get to the "ride". We were kitted up with helmets (all with appropriate names for each of us) & full harnesses. The kids loved it... the 3 little boys only hesitated to do the last run.... upside down !!! They chose the upright position - maybe next time for the thrill seeker's version, after all, they're only 7, 8 & 9 :)

The Kuranda Markets look like tomorrow's destination so off to bed we go after a huge & exciting first day.