Day 189- Monday, July 2, 2007- Melbourne to Cairns

Day 189- Monday, July 2, 2007- Winter Holidays- en-route from Melbourne to Brisbane on Virgin Blue Airlines’ Boeing 737


We cannot quite believe that we are on another Australian adventure already, this time by air to the northern tropics. It seems like yesterday that we drove our little Mazda onto the ferry at Port Melbourne and headed south across the Bass Strait to Tasmania. This time we are headed north, a long way north, past the Tropic of Capricorn. This is our first trip within Australia via air, and we are testing the claims of British aviation guru Richard Branson by flying on his Virgin Blue Australian airline (so far so good, Richard).
This is a high tech airline, from the Internet booking of relatively inexpensive flights, to automated check in machines. All you have to do is scan your emailed receipt, or your Virgin Blue Velocity point card and then your boarding passes, along with those of your travel companions, (in this case, T Colleen, R Matheson, and Kevin R), will be automatically printed. Then just hand in your baggage at the counter and you are on your way. We don’t fly that often and when we do, it is almost always an “international flight” with tight security. Domestic flights in this country are easy to board, with limited security and limited hassles. What a breeze. Take note Air Canada.
The plane was a renovated Boeing 737-800, with leather seats and TV screens on the seat backs. You can watch CNN live (or even Fox News Channel if all you need is a Paris update) or even the BBC if you need real world news while you cruise along at 1100 kilometres per hour at an altitude of 11500 metres.
This is a big country, about the same size as the continental United States. We were on a 2 1/2 hour flight to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Then we change planes for another 2 1/2 hour flight to Cairns (pronounced “Cans” for those with little background in Australian pronunciation) in far north tropical Queensland. This would be at least as far as Toronto to Victoria, BC.
When we arrive in Cairns (remember, it’s “Cans”) we will rent a 4WD and head north to Palm Cove, which, I have been told, is the hangout of Australia’s rich and famous. From here we shall visit the Great Barrier Reef and stroll the beach with the rich and famous. Then, we move on northward again to the Daintree National Park, a world heritage listed rainforest and stay at Cape Tribulation, which history buffs will know is where Captain Cook ran aground in the 1700’s. We stay at the Cape Tribulation Beach House, described by the Lonely Planet Guide as “simply divine.” It is a cross between a backpacker hostel and a 4 star resort, right where the rainforest meets the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef. Here we will sea kayak, visit the Reef again, take a 4WD adventure tour up through the Daintree, do a tree top canopy tour of the rainforest, board a crocodile cruise on the Daintree River, walk the rainforest tracks and watch the sun rise over the Coral Sea. Can you believe we are doing all this? Neither can we.
Our trip is only 10 days, as we will return a few days before the 2 week school holiday ends and meet Matheson’s friends Dillon and Nicole during our stopover in Sydney.
Coincidentally, before we left Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, we met fellow exchange teacher Leon Baker, from the UK and wife Sarah, at the airport. They were off to Adelaide for a tour of the famous Barossa Wine region of South Australia.

Virgin Blue has saucy signs everywhere:

• Take all take emotional baggage you want, just make sure yours fits in this space.
• Time Poor? Get Rich quick with self check in.
• On the bathrooms: “Virgin Loo”


Later the same day…
Our stopover in Brisbane was uneventful, except for the fact that the boys had their skateboards confiscated. The desk clerk at the Virgin Blue check-in noticed the skateboards, and was certain that they were not allowed on board. Apparently this escaped the eagle eyed security staff at Tullamarine International, Honolulu International, and Pearson International, as well as the employees of United, Aloha, Qantas and Virgin-Blue as this is how they have carried the skateboards since we left Canada.
At least the Brisbane Airport is set up so that you only have to walk a few metres to make your connecting flight.
Our flight departed Brisbane 2 minutes early and arrived in Cairns almost a half hour early and we quickly gathered our baggage, including the contraband skateboards, picked up our new white rental Subaru Forrester, and headed north, in the dark, up the Captain Cook Highway to Palm Cove, where, with a little searching, we found our beautiful condo, walked to the ocean front, and found a Greek Restaurant that prepared Massoukas and Lamb Chops for us to take out, as most other restauarants had already closed.
It my have been the price, or the fact that we were exceptionally hungry, or the fact that we ate out on our spacious 3rd floor patio deck in short sleeves, but it was the best take out we have ever eaten.