Bart Bear's Blog

If you have any interest at all in military history, you must visit the Australian Armor and Artillery Museum at Smithfield, just north of Cairns. This is a huge shed full of tanks, mobile artillery, personnel carriers and field guns from around the world. The vehicles are mostly from WW2 or later. Over 100 are on display and many others are being restored. I will not name all of ones in these pictures for you (because I don't know all of them). The second one is important for Australian history. It is the Sentinel, the first tank designed and built in Aus. Only a few were built because tanks from the US were soon available. There are many signs forbidding climbing on the exhibits but we all know that they only apply to people, not small bears.
 

Labels: army, Cairns, museum, tanks

Here are a few more of the fish. The ugly one hiding in the third image is a Stone Fish. If you tread on one of these it is agonizing, so we wear beach boots when wading in tropical waters. In row 2 there is a puffer fish. Scare one of these and it blows up into something that looks like a spiky football.The spotty one in the second row is a Moray eel. The one in the bottom row is a small leopard shark, pretty and harmless. There are some big lobsters and really blue crayfish, also crabs but I don't like them. There is also a section with tropical reptiles. You may not like lizards but I do. The displays in the aquarium are great, but the behaviour of visiting schoolkids was not. Hordes of screaming and yelling munchkins made some of our visit a bit unpleasant. Still worth the visit though.
 

Labels: animals, Cairns, fish

 

Labels: animals, Cairns, fish

There are loads of nice beaches north of Cairns. My favourite is Palm Cove. As the name suggests, there are lots of palm trees planted along the shoreline. Across the road near the beach are lots of cafes/restaurants and apartments. The beach is long, sandy and kept clean. You can see from Double Island almost right down to Cairns. Nice sand, calm water, warm day, so you may be wondering why there is nobody actually in the water. Dad showed me why. The sign he held me up to has warnings about marine stingers, including box jellyfish and irukandji. A sting from either of those can be fatal. There are also lots of other stinging jellyfish that don't kill you, just make you feel like you have been worked over by a maniac swinging a whip coated with acid. Stinger season is October to May so sensible swimmers head for the Barrier Reef, which is far enough offshore to be clear of the stingers, or just swim in resort pools. Oh yes, there is also the possibility of meeting a salt-water crocodile - that is not something to wish for. Some of you will remember that, despite my wish to surf and snorkel, Mum will not let me get wet. She has no trouble keeping me out of the sea when we visit beaches north of the Tropic of Capricorn in summer!!
 

Labels: animals, beach, Cairns

There are 2 ways to return to Cairns from Kuranda. You can go back by the train or you can take the Skyrail. This way you sit in a small gondola that carries you above the dense rain forest and down the range to the station where you can get a shuttle bus back into Cairns. There are 2 stops along the way where you can leave the skyrail and walk some of the trails to scenic lookouts. From the gondola you can see all of the flowers, creepers, vines, and birds that live at the top of the forest trees. There are also great views of some of the waterfalls and gorges. The drop down the range gives you splendid views of the northern beach suburbs of Cairns. I love this trip but the Oldies sometimes get a bit jumpy when the wind makes the gondola sway or when there is an unexpected bump and rumble as it passes one of the support towers. If you visit Cairns you really must do the railway and skyrail trip to Kuranda.
 

Labels: Cairns, Kuranda, Queensland

A must-do thing anytime you visit Cairns is to take a trip on the tourist train to Kuranda. Kuranda is a small village in the rain forest on top of the mountain range inland of Cairns. The railway was built between 1886 and 1891 to provide a link between the mining towns on the Atherton tableland and Cairns. During WW2 it linked the ports of Cairns and Port Douglas with the military camps and hospitals on the tableland, and the railway between Cairns and Brisbane. The line is 75km long and rises to 327m above sea level. It was built entirely by pick, shovel and dynamite, one of the great engineering feats of colonial Australia. Today it is one of the world's great tourist railway trips. Although the engines are now diesel electric the carriages are restored vintage units, including a "luxury" Gold Class carriage (drinks and snacks all during the trip). I bought the Oldies seats in this one from my pocket money.The line passes through 15 tunnels, has 93 sharp curves and passes over dozens of bridges across ravines. From the train you see many waterfalls. The train makes a photo stop at Barron Falls, usually the most spectacular one, but this time the best was Stony Creek. The almost-last image is a view across the Barron Gorge to Stony Creek Falls and the long railway bridge which crosses the ravine here. We have done this trip 4 times now and will definitely do it again if we have the chance. And about those bars across the windows to stop passengers leaning out, well they don't stop determined small bears.

Labels: Cairns, Kuranda, Queensland, train

 

Labels: astronomy, Cairns, Queensland

OK, before the purists among you jump and clammer loudly that these are SHIPS, not boats, I admit that is the proper term, but "ships" doesn't alliterate with "Bart's". I absolutely love cruising and these are the ships that I have cruised on so far. "Dro Ki Cakau" was a happy ship. I did three cruises around various parts of Fiji on her. The photo shows her moored among the northern Yasawa islands. She was damaged beyond repair during a cyclone in 2010, and replaced by "Reef Endeavour". I cruised some of the Great Barrier Reef on "Reef Endeavour" in 2005, while she was based in Cairns. The picture shows her at Cooktown. What can I say about "Queen Mary 2"? She is the ultimate cruise liner, a superb mix of classic Cunard luxury and modern technology. I only had 5 days on her in 2011 and hope that we can afford a longer trip sometime in the future. The photo shows her arriving in Fremantle harbour. "Voyager of the Seas" is my favourite ship, so far. Dad was lecturer on her on a New Zealand trip in 2012. Although not as "posh" as the QM2, "Voyager" is a well-run and happy ship with lots of activities, live music of various types, and interesting places to eat. The good news is that we are taking Mum on another "Voyager" cruise for her birthday and Christmas this year. "Celebrity Millenium" was a bit of a let-down because the ship was kept too cold and lots of the passengers got really sick. The ship was OK, but didn't have the excitement of the others. However, the cruise from Hawaii to Sydney via French Polynesia took us to many places the Oldies wanted to see. There is a blank space in the mosaic for my next ship. This will be "Radiance of the Seas", which Dad will be lecturing on in April during a cruise to New Caledonia. I am looking forward to returning to Noumea and investigating a new ship. Love cruising.
You can see many images from these cruises on my blog, just search the ship name in the search window at top left of the page.

Labels: boats, Cairns, Captain Cook, cruising, Fiji, New Zealand, Noumea, Tahiti

It seems like ages since the eclipse in Cairns. A lot of exciting stuff has happened in the meantime, particularly our New Zealand cruise. So for a while there will be a mix of photos, hope you can sort them out. Anyhow, here are Scruffy and I waiting for the eclipse to start. Our balcony at Amaroo had a table in just the right place to give us a good view across the ocean and to the side of the Oldies. We spent the time before the start of partial phases with a glass of breakfast champagne and our Kindles. Actually, I use Dad's Kindle because he has lots of great S-F stories on it; Scruff uses Mum's because he is getting interested in ancient Egypt too. Of course, when the eclipse started we had to wear proper protection to look at the Sun. Once the Moon completely covered the Sun during Totality we could look with our unprotected eyes, but before and after Totality we used eclipse goggles. We are getting quite a collection of these goggles now; this is our second eclipse and Mum likes the different designs. Whatever else you do, make sure you see at least one Total Solar Eclipse in your lifetime. You will never forget it.

Labels: astronomy, Cairns, eclipse, Queensland

On the way up to Kuranda on the train you can see several waterfalls tumbling down into the Barron River Gorge. Here are the two that are easiest to see, both about 130m high. The one on the left is Stoney Creek Falls and the train goes right alongside it. The train is moving fairly slowly as it passes the falls because it is going across one of the longest curved lattice railway bridges in Australia. The one on the right is Barron Falls. It used to be really spectacular, but now most of the water is dammed and used to run a hydroelectric station that powers the Cairns area. The train stops for a photo break at Barron Falls station, and you can also get photos by taking a short walk from the Skyrail station on the other side of the gorge on your way back to Cairns. The trip from Cairns to Kuranda is really one of the most scenic short trips in Australia, so do it sometime (and take your small bear with you).

Labels: Cairns, Kuranda, Queensland, waterfall

One of the best day trips that you can do from Cairns is to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up to the market town of Kuranda, and come back down via the Skyrail cableway. I have done this trip 3 times now and absolutely love it. This time the train was very long, around 16 carriages, and needed two big diesel locos to haul it. Cairns was, of course, jam-packed with visitors for the eclipse and lots of them were visiting Kuranda. The train runs through rain forest for most of the trip and it has dozens of trestle bridges and 15 tunnels. It also has a station near the top of the climb where you can get out for a short stop to see Barron Falls. It was raining gently this day and it made the views a bit spooky, with clouds right down on the tops of the hills. We even saw a lyrebird fluttering down the embankment near where the bottom photo was taken. Do the trip if you are visiting Cairns, up by rail, back by Skyrail. Lots of shopping for Mums at Kuranda. You will enjoy it.

Labels: Cairns, Kuranda, Queensland, train

We spent a day at Port Douglas during our eclipse trip. Our aim was to find a historic lighthouse, Island Point Light, that we had looked for on our last trip but couldn't find. No problem this time because the locals had signposted it and even put in a path to it. The problem last trip was that we were looking for it near the top of the hill. In fact it is near the bottom, facing out to sea. It replaced an old wooden one built in 1878 and destroyed in a cyclone in 1911. The lighthouse has not worked since 1997. The "lighthouse" today is a strong light attached to a communication mast at the top of the hill. There is another lighthouse near Port Douglas, on the Low isles near the start of the shipping channel. We visited that one on our last trip to Cairns and you can find pictures of it way back in the blog.

Labels: Cairns, lighthouse, Queensland

We are back from our eclipse trip. We saw lots of interesting things, but of course the eclipse was the main thing. We were lucky. There was lots of cloud as the Sun rose and it got thicker as eclipse started. We didn't see the start of the partial phases, but as you can see, we had the special glasses on and caught glimpses of the Sun slowly disappearing behind the Moon. Then just as Totality began the clouds parted and we saw about 90% of the event. People on beaches to either side of ours saw nothing, so we really were lucky. The eclipse photo is from our friend Steve. He drove up to the Atherton Tablelands, inland from Cairns, and had clear skies. Eclipses are spectacular. Even if you don't see the whole thing you experience the eerie darkness and the cool wind that blows during totality. And it's fun to see the confused reactions of birds and animals that can't work out what's happening. That was my second Solar Eclipse and I hope that the Oldies will take me to more of them. Actually the reactions of people (including the Oldies) are some of the funniest things that you see at eclipses.

Labels: astronomy, Cairns, eclipse, Queensland

Yes, I am off travelling again. In just over an hour we head to the airport and fly off on our way to Cairns. There is a Total Solar Eclipse there on Wednesday next week and hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world are travelling there to see it. Scruffy and I have seen an eclipse before, at Ceduna in December 2002, and are really keen to see this one. We have had our accommodation at Trinity Beach booked for over 4 years! If you have never experienced a Total Solar Eclipse then you really need to do so. It is totally awesome in every sense of the word. Naturally, planning an eclipse expedition takes a lot of work and here's me doing the background reading on my Kindle (which Mum mistakenly thinks is hers). If any of you are in the Cairns area for the eclipse, look for the two small bears with eclipse glasses and camera.

Labels: Cairns, eclipse, Queensland

Here's a photo of two real sea monsters who never ever take a small bear with them when they go snorkelling. This day we were at the Low Isles near Cairns. At least the island has a lighthouse so there was something for me to explore while the meanies were terrifying the marine life. Snorkelling must be fun because they always have a big grin on their face when they come back to dry out, and they yabber on about the fantastic fish and coral they see. But Scruffy and I are always left behind so the only way we ever see fish and things is through the glass bottoms of see-through boats. Not fair to small bears!!

Labels: Barrier Reef, Cairns, Queensland

This is one cute lighthouse. It is on one of the Low Isles, near Port Douglas, and is the main lighthouse for boats coming back from trips out to the Barrier Reef. The Low Isles are a pair of very different islands. The small one is nice and sandy and the bigger one is yucky and swampy. Naturally, the lighthouse is on the smaller one. We went out for a day trip on one of the Quicksilver boats in 2005, just before we did our Barrier Reef cruise with Captain Cook. I had fun that day. It had a bit of everything, a bus trip, a look at some cassawories, lots of different sorts of boats, a small train, a boat trip, a beaut beach to explore while the Oldies were off snorkelling, and enough people around to scare the crabs away. We walked all around the island, and had a good look at the lighthouse which is in the middle of the island. There is a nice path from the beach so not even small bears can get lost there (unless we want to). The only problem is that once I got away from the crowd on the beach I was back in crab territory. Fortunately there is a set of posts to climb and a chain joining them that I learnt to tight-rope walk on while the Oldies were busy taking photos (can you see me in this one). Crabs are not good tightrope walkers.
I love holidays. Only two more sleeps before we are off on our next one. My next post will be in a fortnight, with more pictures of my favourite thing, cruising Fiji with Captain Cook.

Labels: Barrier Reef, Cairns, Captain Cook, crabs, cruising, lighthouse, Queensland

This is definitely not a place to go swimming. It is one of the pens in a croc farm near Cairns. We visited it during the break between our 3-day and 4-day Captain Cook Barrier Reef cruises. The Captain shouts continuing passengers a free side trip, so I was taken out to see how crocodiles are raised and turned into special leather goods. In just the area near the fence in this photo I can see 8 crocs. The pen had dozens of them. One pen had over a hundred. I was very glad that there was a fence between the crocs and the bus, and that I was well inside the bus window. The oldies got out occasionally to see things closer up, but there was no way I was getting out of the bus. Every pen had "Keep Out. No Swimming." signs on it. You would have to be an absolute dill to disobey those signs.

Labels: animals, Cairns, Captain Cook, Queensland

One of the best train trips anywhere has to be the trip up from Cairns to Kuranda. Lots of tunnels and bridges and a real scary track in places where the hill goes straight up on one side and drops straight down on the other side. This is my favourite bit of the whole trip. The trestle bridge we are on takes the train across in front of the cliff and over the creek at Stony Creek Falls. It is one of the longest and highest bridges like this in Australia. I like to have the window up so the wind can ruffle my fur, but Mum gets all panicky in case I fall out and end up way down the gully. Actually, I hang on pretty tight. We take this trip every time we go to Cairns, usually up on the train and down on the Skyrail because that way you get the scariest rides.

Labels: Cairns, Kuranda, Queensland, train

Last September we went on a cruise along the Great Barrier Reef. The ship was Captain Cook's "Reef Endeavour". This is a bit bigger than our Fiji boat "Reef Escape", but it gets you to just as many interesting places. Scruffy and I spend a lot of time on these trips looking out our window at the islands and reefs. Here we are looking at a very big island. It is Australia. We are anchored off Dunk Island and the houses on the mainland are at Mission Beach. Mum and Dad are getting ready to go ashore and explore Dunk. Scruff and I are settling in for an afternoon of watching boats go by.

Labels: Barrier Reef, Cairns, Captain Cook, cruising, Queensland

Scruff and I are sitting in the Butterfly house at Kuranda. This is one of the places we visited during our Cairns trip last year. It is an interesting place, just like a small rainforest but totally indoors. It is full of butterflies of all descriptions. Some of them are almost as big as me. The most speccy ones are the blue Ulysses and the green Birdwings. The butterflies flutter right around you and land on everything, including visitors. I don't really like moths and butterflies fluttering around my head, neither does Mum.

Labels: animals, Cairns, Kuranda, Queensland