Miscellaneous photos around Cairns

Cairns Esplanade

The lovely Esplanade is a popular place to walk, jog, roller blade etc. I took an early morning walk.



Below: But dont go near the water - crocodile alert!



Below: The pristing skate park (the onlt one without grafffiti I have ever seen) and volleball courts.

Below: Free activities near the swimming lagoon each morning.

Below: Muddy's Playground

The hotel pool

If we weren't at the lagoon, there was a small pool at the hotel. Ben and I swam there at night once (during the day the conference was held in the rooms alongside)

Trinity Inlet and a Manly Ferry

The Barrenjoey (later renamed North Head) was built in 1913 and spent 70 years on the Sydney-Manly ferry. In 1949 she was converted from a steamer to diesel engine and renamed. More here.

From Ferries of Sydney website:

On 12th of December, 1985, North Head made her final trip and she was offered up for sale. On the 26th of March 1987 she proceeded under her own steam to Hobart to take up a new career in that city as a floating restaurant and convention centre. There she remained until 2000 when she was taken to Cairns. After 13 years in Tasmania, where it was restored and cruised the Derwent, it was bought by an entrepreneur who wanted to turn it into a floating restaurant in Port Douglas. But his plans were thwarted by bankruptcy and debt.

The ship rotted at Cairns until 2005, when it was sold on eBay to a landscape contractor, George Fay, for about $20,000. It languishes amid debris on his property on Trinity Inlet. Locals say he wants to restore it. A lone ladder stands beside the ship. But the expensive, laborious job was made even more difficult after it was battered by Cyclone Larry. A consulting marine engineer, Peter Burge, said restoring the old ferries would cost millions of dollars - too much to make a commercial proposition, such as a floating restaurant, viable. The most viable fate, he said, was for them to end up as museum pieces. The mayor of Manly, Peter Macdonald, said the council had been involved in negotiations to buy relics from the North Head from its former owner, but they fell through.

Spot the Croc

Cairns Crocodile Farm is the largest crocdile farm in Australia. It started in 1995. In winter, during the sugar cane harvest, hot water produced by the sugar mill is piped directly into the swimming ponds of the juvenile enclosures. The water raises the body temperature and growth rate of the young crocodiles.

The farm has more than 200 adult wild Australian Estuarine crocodiles. Most have been relocated from areas within Cairns because they posed a threat. They are now used for breeding. The captivity-raised crocodiles are farmed primarily for their meat and skins.

The Lagoon

In recent times, the Esplanade area has been completely made over, and as well as boardwalks, kids' playgrounds, large swathes of grass and shade trees, barbecues, there is this massive free swimming lagoon, complete with sand beach. It covers 4 hectares, and is open daily between 6am and 10pm, and patrolled by security guards outside those times to prevent damage.The water in the lagoon is sea water, but cleaned and filtered every few hours. No marine 'stingers' can enter the water, so it's safe for swimming all year round (you don't go in coastal water in northern Qld between November and April unless wearing a "stinger suit" to protect against deadly jellyfish). And the beaches and estuaries are crocodile territory as well.

Here's the lagoon throughout the day.

Below: Free fitness activities are held each day. On Thursday mornings it's Pilates

...and on other days, it's other things:

Below: Morning stillness

Below: Mid afternoon





















Below: Late afternoon









Below: Night