Brisbane

 

Brisbane skyline

Finally our last port stop, Brisbane. Another city, another cousin of Fiona's. This time Clem. 

Relaxing day exploring Southbank. Cultured day went into the Queensland Art Gallery pretending we appreciated art. Quick gyoza lunch as we were craving good Asian food. We finished off the day visiting Mount Coot-tha. Beautiful view and afternoon tea.

After days of sailing and exploring, our final port of call arrived: the vibrant city of Brisbane! Another city saw us finding another one of Fiona's wonderful cousins! Clem picked us from the port, ready to show us around. It's truly amazing how a local guide can transform a visit, adding layers of warmth and insight you'd never get otherwise.

Our day in Brisbane was all about relaxed exploration, beginning with the iconic South Bank. This sprawling cultural and recreational precinct along the Brisbane River is a fantastic hub of activity, offering everything from lush parklands and swimming lagoons to a diverse array of eateries and cultural institutions. Feeling suitably cultured (or at least pretending to be!), we ventured into the Queensland Art Gallery. While I won't claim to be an art connoisseur, there's a certain quiet pleasure in wandering through galleries, soaking in the different styles and stories, even if some pieces leave you scratching your head! 

This was part of an exhibition showcasing photography of Australian streetscapes. One one hand, I'm thinking I could take a better photo...on the other I loved the subject as it was probably what I would take a photo of!

For lunch, we chose a spot serving up fancy gyoza. After weeks of cruise ship fare, a serious craving for authentic Asian cuisine had set in. The little parcels of savory goodness was exactly what we needed to satisfy our yearning.

To cap off our Brisbane adventure, we headed up to Mount Coot-tha. This elevated perch offers simply breathtaking panoramic views of the entire city, stretching from the glittering CBD skyline to the distant ranges. We arrived just in time for a serene afternoon tea, sipping on coffee while soaking in the stunning vista. It was the perfect end to our time in Brisbane, offering a moment to reflect on the beauty of the city and the incredible journey we've been on.

View of Brisbane

Honeycomb and fig dessert!

Yuzu mocktail with lunch

I must be old. I enjoyed the Buddy Holly show!

Willis Island

That is it. That's Willis Island!

Willis Island? Where? Yup we had never heard of it either prior to today. We cruised to look at said island, in the Coral Sea past the Great Barrier Reed, which was home to an Australian Bureau of Meteorology weather station. Fortunately the commentary was provided by the resident meteorologist on the island rather than the ship's expert! She provided an outline of daily life and what they do. There's a great article on the ABC with photos if you were interested in reading more.

The rest of the day was another enjoyable sea day. We did have dinner at Sabatini's tonight which was one of the specialty restaurants onboard. The Italian fare was nice enough but for my tastes not worth the $80 extra charge. Enjoy our silly photos!

We get asked every day if we were sisters, or twins. We just say yes now...

A full very intense rainbow!

The camera couldn't do the colour pop justice!

We finished our book club discussions!

Napkin folding

Time to channel our inner Picasso

Our own sip and paint session

Pre-dinner drinks. Loch Ness Martini, and Bangkok mule

Dinner at Sabatini's

Tonight's show Encore, the same one as on the Royal Princess. They had better singers, this cast didn't knock the candelabra over lol.

 

Cairns & the Atherton Tablelands

 

Lake Barrine

Hello Cairns! While we've certainly embraced the rhythm of sea days, we very much cherish our port stops, and today was our first taste of Queensland charm. As the ads go, "Queensland...beautiful one day, perfect the next!". The locals informed us that we had just missed a bout of heavy rains, and Cairns greeted us with glorious sunshine and a balmy 27 degrees –  perfect!

I was relieved to find the Cruise Terminal in Cairns operating with far greater efficiency than our experience in Darwin. We disembarked swiftly after docking, hopped into a quick Uber to our awaiting rental car near the airport, and soon enough, we were cruising in our trusty little MG3. We had outsourced ChatGPT to craft an itinerary in the Atherton Tablelands for us which covered sightseeing, swimming opportunities and, crucially, delicious food stops.. It delivered. With drive times, addresses, and stops timed to the minute, we completed our circuit with 45 minutes to spare. Good job ChatGPT!

Breakfast with a view

Cruising into Cairns

Stop #1 - Lake Barrine 

We were in cassowary territory! Unfortunately we didn't encounter any this trip

The very large and tall curtain fig tree

Hearty bacon and potato soup at Gallo Dairyland

Some of their chocolate selection

Milla Millaa Falls

Our "tropical" uber ride back to the cruise terminal

Coffee Works

The roads were pleasantly quiet, winding through a picturesque landscape of lush, vibrant greens. A word of caution for those prone to motion sickness: the ascent and descent to the Tablelands involve a fair share of windy turns and twists, so be prepared! For those curious about our meticulously planned day of exploration, here's the ChatGPT-generated itinerary that guided our adventure:

8:00 AM -Pick Up Rental Car

• Location: Cairns Airport Car Rental Center (Hours 7am-7pm)

• Address Bargain Car Rentals, 410 Sheridan Street, Cairns, QLD 4870

• Drive Time to Stop #1: ~1 hour 5 minutes

9:15 AM - Stop #1: Lake Barrine Tea House & Rainforest Walk

• Description: Enjoy a light breakfast overlooking the serene crater lake. Stroll along the easy 5 km circuit track through lush rainforest.

• Location: Lake Barrine, Gillies Highway, Yungaburra QLD

• Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM

• Drive Time to Stop #2: ~15 minutes

10:45 AM - Stop #2: Curtain Fig Tree

• Description: Marvel at this enormous 500-year-old strangler fig, an iconic natural wonder. Short walk from the car park.

• Location: Curtain Fig Tree Road, Yungaburra QLD

• Drive Time to Stop #3: ~10 minutes

11:30 AM - Stop #3: Gallo Dairyland

• Description: Sample locally made chocolates and cheeses. This family-run dairy also serves lunch made with fresh, local ingredients.

• Location: 721 Malanda-Atherton Road, East Barron QLD

• Opening Hours: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

• Drive Time to Stop #4: ~25 minutes

1:00 PM - Stop #4: Millaa Millaa Falls Circuit

• Description: Visit the famous Millaa Millaa Falls, a postcard-perfect waterfall set in the rainforest. Take a refreshing dip if you're feeling adventurous. Optionally, explore nearby Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls.

• Location: Theresa Creek Road, Millaa Millaa QLD

• Drive Time to Stop #5: ~40 minutes

2:45 PM - Stop #5: Mt. Uncle Distillery

• Description: Mt. Uncle Distillery offers a beautiful café where you can enjoy a coffee or locally sourced treats. The grounds are stunning with friendly animals roaming around.

• Location: 1819 Chewko Road, Walkamin QLD

• Opening Hours: 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

• Drive Time to Stop #6: ~30 minutes

4:00 PM - Stop #6: Coffee Works

• Description: End your adventure with a visit to Coffee Works, where you can sample world-class coffee and chocolate.

• Location: 136 Mason Street, Mareeba QLD

• Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

• Drive Time to Cairns Airport: ~1 hour

5:30 PM - Drop Off Rental Car

• Location: Cairns Airport Car Rental Center

Other helpful information:

The Uber set-down and pick up area was clearly marked and right at the Cruise Terminal. The uber ride from the port to the airport will set you back $12-25 depending on demand, but the wait was quick. 

With our Atherton Tablelands adventure wrapped up with time to spare, we seized the opportunity for a refreshing dip in the ship's pool. For dinner, we decided to shake things up and try the onboard Gastropub, a welcome change from the main dining room scene. I mean...they had me at lobster mac and cheese. 

And the evening's entertainment? Well, it turned out to be my absolute favourite so far! A magician comedian by the name of Johnny Balance took to the stage, and he delivered an unexpected torrent of laughter. I'm so glad I didn't decide to skip the show – a truly fantastic end to a wonderful day in Queensland!

Dinner venue

Starter

Lobster mac and cheese! Delicious with lots of lobster chunks

Isolating...

This blog post will be really short, only for those who really care about what we eat while in isolation! Our breakfast was included, so that was easy. We pre-ordered last night and it was delivered at 0730 as requested complete with barista coffee. 

We chose to exercise one of the valid reasons to leave "the house", that is, to buy food! A short stop to get some Korean/Japanese fusion and then Woolworths for supplies to last us the next 2 days until our flight at 1835 tomorrow. 

The resort had kindly dropped supplies including fresh towels, tea, coffee, sugar, milk, garbage bags etc. And they did call to make sure that we had everything we needed. The children were glad to have unlimited screen time...and quietly so were the adults!

By now, (as expected) the news from Sydney was getting worse. All of greater Sydney, along with Wollongong, The Blue Mountains, and the Central Coast, had to go into lockdown starting from 6pm tonight. If you are not familiar with NSW, that is pretty much where the majority for the state population lives!

Counting down now until we can go home. Unless something horrendous happens tomorrow, I will be ending the blog for this trip here. All we would be doing tomorrow is checking out, driving to Cairns, returning the car and hopping on a plane. Wish us luck! Keep your fingers crossed for no flight cancellations!

An excellent lemon myrtle pancakes. I'm somewhat obsessed with lemon myrtle at the moment...

So very grateful to have a large balcony that in nice

A view of the cane train heading to the mill. Everything only seen from the car...sigh

A very delicious meal, although I'm still not sure what was in it

calamari on rice

Curse Of The Corona

Beautiful flora everywhere

The next two days were allocated to the exploration the Daintree National Park north of the Daintree River. Our included walkabout tour was scheduled for tomorrow and so we had today to cover the rest! We had our breakfast right on 0730 so we could be on the Daintree River ferry crossing as early as possible. It was a hefty $31 for a return ticket!

It was a very tasty breakfast

Time for some homework. Studying a map of the National Park

Daintree River crossing

Our main aims today were to visit the Daintree Discovery Centre, Madja and  Dubuji boardwalks, as well as to spot a cassowary. There were signs for "Cassowary crossings" everywhere, how could we miss?! However, first, we had to contend with the rain. This area is green and lush for a reason...good rainfall. We braved the showers and ventured out to the boardwalks of the Daintree Discovery Centre armed with our audioguides and venue-provided smelly umbrellas. Whilst the set up may seem aged at the beginning, it was actually highly informative and the kids enjoyed it. The Daintree Rainforest is the world's oldest tropical rainforest, estimated to be around 165 million years old and dating back from when the dinosaurs were still alive. 

The view from Alexandra lookout, the Daintree River opening out to the Ocean

We love audioguides! Now wrapped in plastic to be covid-safe

Can you spot the bug?

The children LOVED the bug and animal displays

What?! A dinosaur named after Elliot?

Even better...a dinosaur named after an airline?!

Whoever named this dinosaur deserved a prize for awesomeness!

By the time we finished and arrived at the first boardwalk, the rain had cleared. We tried our best to be very quiet so as not to scare the cassowaries away but being quiet wasn't really our strong suit. We needn't have feared. There was a cassowary and baby waiting for us at the carpark and indeed crossing the road! They are very large and so we stayed well clear of them...

The very pretty fan palms

Boardwalks everywhere! Makes for an easy and pleasant walk

Cassowary x 2!

For a sense of scale...

Next on the agenda was food...we had a picnic hamper prepared. We stopped to have a peep at the gorgeous Cape Tribulation Beach and there happened to be picnic tables nearby. Beauty! After lunch comes dessert, we stopped at the Daintree Ice Cream Co for some handcrafted tropical fruit sorbet and gelato. The flavours for the day were coconut, mango, wattleseed and black sapote. The wattleseed had hints of coffee and the black sapote hints of chocolate. The latter probably would have tasted nicer if tasted on its own. By this stage, the humidity was getting to us and we decided to head back to the resort.

We shortly discovered upon reading the news that four local government areas (LGA) in Sydney had been ordered to go into lockdown by NSW health. Queensland had then decreed that anyone who has been in those four LGA since June 11 (!!) had to follow the NSW lockdown rules. Um...my workplace that I go to once a week is in there! Bugger. Many of the rules were confusing and Malcolm and I had a long discussion about how to approach it. In the end, we decided to do the right thing in terms of public health, cut our trip shot and head home. Fortunately, there was nothing that was not refundable. We managed to move our flight forward to the 27th of June at no extra charge. We informed the resort and they were very helpful in delivering our dinner (we had reservations at the resort restaurant) to our room. 

We were glad we did the great barrier reef first! We would have been very disappointed if we did not get a chance to experience it. The last 4 days of our planned time in Queensland was a relaxing stay in Cairns. Whilst it was disappointing to have to cut a holiday short, Cairns could be easily revisited another time. 

Curse you coronavirus!!!!

One side of Cape Tribulation Beach

And the other

Beach is beautiful...but comes with warnings!

Ok we get it. NO getting into the water...

Our very yummy picnic

Daintree Ice Cream Co

If like me, you were wondering what the heck wattleseed was...ta da!

And black sapote. If you don't know mango and coconut there is no help for you

Our dinner in our balcony

Pork belly

Coral trout