Mister Brisbane: Man in Cairns
The Far North is where it's all at. Or, at least, it's where I've just been
I booked a week’s holiday a month or so ago, but I only decided to go to Cairns the day before I took flight. As you read this, I’m already back in Brisbane preparing to return to work and wondering how time flies.
On the subject of flying, it was my first time in a plane in two years — possibly the longest I’ve gone without air travel in my adult life. And I admit to being rather nervous about it. I’m not sure whether my faith in heavier-than-air flight had somehow waned, or whether the remote possibility of catching COVD onboard was the issue.
Of course it’s here that I have to declare that I flew business class. I got a bargain price to fly up with Virgin Australia, and I used frequent-flyer points to come back with Qantas. I’d hate you to think I was roughing it.
GREEN SCENE
One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Botanical Gardens. Of course, it’s not necessary to go there to see amazing tropical plants, but it’s a great place to be to see a huge variety of natives and selected imports. Sitting in the midst of the Gardens is extremely relaxing. It’s right next to the Tanks arts centre, which comprises repurposed water tanks.
Thanks to a friend I haven’t seen in decades (but have kept in touch with via social media), I also got to see the marvel that is Kuranda. My fear of heights meant I was never going to take the Skyrail, so I was grateful for the lift from Simon, who owns a wonderful house in the middle of the rainforest. I’m also thankful for the recommendation that we dine at the perfectly located Petit Cafe, where savoury and sweet crepes are the specialty.
Back in Cairns, Simon also took me to Tha Fish, another culinary treat. In fact, I ate very well on my entire trip. Other highlights were meals at Villa Romana (I returned for breakfast after a great evening experience), Splash, Ochre (the seafood linguini and the lychee cocktail were superb) and Perrotta’s at the Gallery (although the gallery itself was closed because they were installing a new exhibition).
With another friend from the past, Mick, I visited two interesting bars — the Coral Sea Brewing Co’s Tap Room (we went on open-mic night, and met some colourful characters), and Elixir Music Bar, whose patronage helps define the word “eclectic”.
POSTSCRIPT
I’ve always known that I’ve been lucky to be able to travel. On this recent trip, I realised that I was luckier than most Australians — because so many of us are in lockdown. Vaccination is the only way out of this. We can quibble about the actual point at which we should open up, but surely we should agree that the sooner most of us are vaccinated, the better and more free our lives will be. Even if you don’t think that should be the way it is, that is the way it is. Protesting about it will only extend the pain. So, get proper medical advice — from a qualified person, not somebody whose conspiracy theories don’t stack up to proper scrutiny — and, if you are eligible to get vaccinated, please get vaccinated as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
SIZE MATTERS
Before I left for Cairns, I went to buy a new cabin bag and some cheap leisurewear at K-mart. I got what I wanted, but I came away with two grumbles. One is my old bête noire: the fact that it’s now compulsory to use the self-checkouts because the desk is no longer staffed. The other is new: I discovered that there is no uniform system of sizing. Some items of clothing use the S, M, L, XL, XXL etc. system and others are marked in numbers (30, 32, 34 etc.). There was no conversion chart.
SPARE THE ROD
Who remembers Cuisenaire Rods? They were learning tools that taught us to add up using colours representing the numbers from 1 to 10. The flaw was that we then had to unlearn the colours and learn the actual numbers. I was surprised to discover they are still around, and can be bought online.
From memory, my age-group were the among the first (and possibly the last) to use them in Queensland schools. I also learned the metric system while still in primary school, and yet, as long ago as that was, it’s surprising to me that many people still use Imperial measurements (especially when it comes to height). We don’t hear anyone talking about pounds, shillings and pence any more …
P.S. Back then, I was taught that the proper abbreviation for kilometres is km, regardless of how many there were, yet we still see such renderings as “100 kms” (which even my American-English spellchecker knows is wrong).