Farewell to Cairns

Deserted beach on a Saturday.

We woke up on our final day in Cairns to warmth and sun. We decided to head down to the pool with plans of packing and hitting the beach for the rest of the day. The water in the pool was gorgeous and some other families we had met during the week were down there as well. I peeked at the beach and although there were a couple families on the sand, the water was deserted. It was Saturday and I found this surprising given the weather and that it was the weekend. That was when I noticed that the lifeguard station's flags were a solid red. Hmmmm....

We started chatting with some other people in the pool and it turned out that 2 crocs had been spotted swimming along the beach an hour before. One croc was about 5 metres, the second I don't know. There were boats moored out from the beach to keep watch and of course signs were posted to keep people out of the water until it was deemed safe. I learned that the wind had changed and was coming from the north. This brings warmer winds and with that, the tropical humidity and rain. When the wet season arrives, it signals the crocs to move to their nesting grounds, which is what these two crocs were doing. Apparently the nesting ground is just south of where our beach is. Yikes! Eventually, this wind will also release those box jellyfish spores and send them south as well. That is when people must be VERY careful and wear stinger suits if they want to swim in the waters. They are especially lethal to the young and the old. Double yikes!

For us, that meant extra time in the pool and a walk along the beach to explore. Dad and Jake threw the footy around on the empty beach. At about 4:30 that afternoon, they put up the sign to say the beach was now clear for swimming so we went down for a couple of hours before dinner to play around in the surf. Well, Sam and Jake did - dad, mom and I kept careful watch. This turn of events made it easy for us to leave this beautiful, yet dangerous paradise the next morning. We loved our time there and are thankful for the beautiful weather, incredible scenery and amazing experiences! Thanks Cairns!

Jack and Jake exploring the rocks. Dad and Jake throwing the footy.