Back To The First World

Considering I recently mistook Justin Bieber for a PNG musician, a trip to Cairns, Australia could not have come at a more perfect time.  I’m currently on a tourist visa which allows for 60 days in the country and you can apply for a 30 day extension.  After almost 3 months here, it was time to go.

We (Monica and I) took the 6am flight to Port Moresby (mainly because the 6am flight is the only flight out of Kavieng) and had a fairly long layover there.  We went to the Airways Hotel to have lunch and were a bit surprised to hear it was “American Day” at the buffet.  I’ve heard of Italian themed, Chinese themed, and Mexican themed food, but never have I been to a buffet where there was American food (probably because I’m not well traveled and most buffets I’ve been to have been in the States).  I have been dying for a burger recently and that is just what they were serving at the American buffet.  After collecting all our goodies it dawned on us that it was July 4^th.  American Day… July 4^th… Oh yes, of course, Independence Day.  We enjoyed our American food and then headed to Cairns.

This is the security guard outside of the hotel.  Yes that is a giant
gun he's holding.  Welcome to Port Moresby.

Cairns is a lovely little place.  Very backpacker friendly.  I saw 5 or 6 hostels while we buzzed around over our long weekend.  The first night we went to the night markets.  They’re boutiques that are open each night from 7pm-11pm.  While checking things out we came across a couple places that did a 40 minute massage for $15.  Uhhh, sign me up! 

The following day, Friday, we shopped.  I’m not a big shopper.  I don’t hate it, but the quicker it’s over the better.  In Kavieng there is nowhere to shop.  A few grocery stores and that’s it.  If you lose the top to your swim suit (yes, I did) there is nowhere to replace it.   If you run out of that really nice shampoo you like (almost there) you have to buy whatever brand the store has in stock.  If the bar you frequent runs out of your recently discovered favorite bottle of whiskey, you have to suffer months without it.  On this occasion, I was particularly excited to go shopping to buy a swim suit, shampoo, and yes, booze.

The view of the ocean from the Esplanade

All around the Esplanade there are lit up trees at night

I very much so liked these lit up trees

Saturday we took a drive up to Kuranda which is about 30 minutes outside of Cairns and is an outdoor market.  There are different restaurants, clothing stores, trinket stores, etc.  It’s was lovely to walk through on an over cast day.  There also happens to be a wildlife conservation park.  There were reptiles, birds, kangaroos, koalas, and more.  Lucky for me, Monica paid the required $18 for me to take a photo with a koala.  I am far to cheap to pay such a steep price and am very grateful Monica is not nearly as cheap as me and was willing to swipe her visa for such an experience.  Luna the koala was lovely.  Very calm which can probably be attributed to her state of limbo – not quite awake, but not quite asleep either.  Luna was placed in my arms, the camera snapped then she was taken away.  This all happened much to quickly.  I would have been happy to hang out with Luna in my arms all day.

Welcome to Kuranda

Lovely Luna

After my photo was done they asked if Monica
wanted to get in on a picture.

Luna went back in the eucalyptus
trees after her photo shoot

Lots of gators

I liked this little guy

You can see how huge this spider is with the snake next to it.
Mid picture Monica thought I would be funny to tickle
the back of my neck.  Yes, I freaked out and yes, I slapped her.

Since holding Luna all day was not on the agenda, we pressed on and into the kangaroo exhibit.  It was here I made another friend.  A small kangaroo was happy to eat treats from my hand.  When I tried to pull my hand away it gently grabbed on and placed my hand back in prime eating position then held it there to ensure it was not pulled away again. So cute!!  Ok, now I want a koala and a kangaroo. 

Nom Nom Nom

I pulled my hand away and it reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it back.
Then it held on to insure I didn't pull my hand away again.

Bongo and his pal

While walking down Hippie Alley (think Diagon Alley
but full of hippies instead of wizards) I spotted this gem.

Just in case you're not sure how to appropriately use a toilet
there are instructions on the back of the door.   

After we’d seen all there was to see in Kuranda we continued on the road toward Daintree which is a rainforest about 1 ½ hours north of Cairns.  It was a lovely drive and we wanted to make it to Daintree with enough time to look around and then get back on the road to head home and drive along the coast before dark.  However, this did not happen. Why you ask?  Booze.  We came across a winery.  Not just any winery, though, a mango winery.  The opportunity to taste mango wine could not be passed so we pulled in and did just that, had a taste.  It tastes like juice (juice that if you drink too much you’ll be in a world of hurt the next day).  We also sampled a couple liquors – mango, lime, lemon, and dragonfruit.  After our tasting we made a purchase – 2 bottles of mango champagne, 1 bottle of medium mango wine, and 3 bottles of liquor – and then we were off again.  At this point it was 3pm and we still weren’t at Daintree so we turned down the road headed to Port Douglas and decided to skip Daintree in hopes of finding sustenance.  We made our way to a restaurant and I spotted a burger on the menu – Wahoo another burger!  It was a bit too gourmet for what I was looking for (Double Double without onions) but it was sans egg and beat root which come on most Australian burgers so I considered it a win.  I ate almost the entire thing resulting in a massive food baby but I had no qualms with walking around looking like I was 5 months pregnant for the next few hours.  I was satisfied.

Mango vineyard

<------ To the tasting room

Bongo with all the goodies you can purchase

The view from the road on our way to Port Douglas

Mmmmmm burger!

Sunday was spent finishing up any last minute shopping and Monday morning we were back to PNG with suitcases that originally weighed 8 kilos (about 18ish pounds) and 15 kilos (35ish pounds) now bursting and at the max allowance of 23 kilos (50 pounds) each.  If that wasn’t enough, we went through the duty free shop where I purchased another bottle of American Honey whiskey to have on standby for when my first bottle runs out.

Cairns was lovely and I’d love to go back one day.  But for now it’s back to the 3^rd world for the next three months until I have to renew my visa again.

This lovely butterfly was outside our hotel one day

The menu at The Plantation Room restaurant.  I got the Aussie Rock.

That black slab is a hot rock and the plate on the right is
raw kangaroo, emu, and crocodile meat that you
cook yourself on the rock.

Kangaroo was the best

And I of course got Davos treats while in Oz.
This chew toy and some pig ears which are already gone.
This was supposed to deter him form chewing on everything
but considering one of my flip flops went missing last night
it's safe to say it's not working.