July 17th & 18th ..DAYS 31 & 32

The first focus for the day was to have the front tyres of EC attended to. They had become badly out of balance making driving much more challenging. Luckily we found a garage which specialised in truck tyres. The guys attended to it immediately. Very Lucky as it is Cairns Show this weekend and most places are closed tomorrow.

Botanical gardens around cafe where we enjoyed lunch

Flowere in botanical Gardens

We did a few shopping items , then drove through heavy traffic on the Esplanade and eventually ended up at the  Botanical Gardens. We lunched in the Cafe first, then enjoyed a lovely walk through the wonderful gardens. We especially enjoyed the beautiful tropical plants with coloured leaves and exotic flowers.

Dinner was 'fish & chips' on the foreshore, then a long walk to see the night time activities of cafes and shops. The Night Market was open so we walked though there. It was amazing the number of people about
just enjoying the night air. There is a lovely swimming pool on the fore shore, for public use and free of charge. What an asset on a hot day.

The 2nd day was hot again but  very pleasant. Tony, our 'Navy Man'  in fact the Commanding Officer of the Port of Cairns, took us out to the Port to see the newly  berthed Parramatta Frigate. He arranged for us to have a half hour tour with Jesse Kelly, a young Officer who is learning the operations of  'the bridge'. She is a knowledgeable young female sailor who will be able to take control of the frigate, after about 18 months of training . We saw over the 4 or 5 decks which covered the bridge, the fore deck with guns, living quarters including bunk cabins, bathrooms, the mess and the well equipped galley.  Customs were on board with a lovely golden coloured 'sniffer dog' inspecting all decks. As we were leaving we saw a human chain of sailors loading supplies. It was a very interesting half hour.

We enjoyed lunch with Tony, Brenda & Greig..a lunch of cold meat, fresh bread and fruit. We are really enjoying the tropical fruits..banana, pineapples, papayas, dragon fruit, chocolate fruit and passionfruit.This evening a BBQ will be enjoyed with everyone including Lauren who has been out to the reef on the boat 'Reef Magic'. It will have been a lovely day on the Barrier Reef which is about 60 km out.

Fore deck of the Parramatta Frigate

Sailors loading supplies