Cairns, Australia...Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef..

Thursday May, 17, 2012
Cairns, Australia- Partly sunny 80 degrees

Arrived in Brisbane on time where we had to go through Customs and claim our baggage. Everything went very smooth and we then headed for the domestic terminal to catch our flight to Cairns via Qantas.

The flight was approx 2.5 hrs and very enjoyable. Now here is an interesting fact; all the domestic flights within Australia on Qantas served meals and if it was a really short flight like this one, guess what, you don't get stinking peanuts, they gave you a choice of wonderful desserts. I had one of the best desserts I have ever tasted on this flight. It was called a mandarin cake and it was delicious!

We arrive in Cairns at 12:00 noon and flew over the Great Barrier Reef and it was beautiful to see an Aeriel view.

 
We stayed at the Novotel Oasis Resort, right in the Center of Cairns. That is something I have to give kudos to Collette vacations for. All of the resorts were perfect and centrally located...Very impressed! Our room and the resort was very nice with a view of the pool, gardens and mountains. Upon arrival in our room was a welcome note and a gift of cold bottled water and snacks from management. The room was large with a tropical feel. Below is the view from our room:

 We had some time to walk around the town, took some photos and then had to meet the group for dinner at Ochre Restaurant for our first "Aussie" dinner....The restaurant was close enough to walk to and very nice. I had the chicken (played it safe) and some of the guest did try the kangaroo and claim it was very good. Sorry but I can't eat something that cute! It was a 4 course meal including unusual appetizers, salad, entree and a very typical Aussie unique dessert. Everything was pretty good.  Photo of the kangaroo dinner below:

Photos below are of our room, the resort Downtown Cairns and meals from Ochre Restaurant: