Headed south
For some reason we spent too much time in Cairns. There’s no deadline on this ride, but everytime we think of the bigger picture, when not moving forward quickly, there’s a little internal process of time-not-riding-extrapolation. We ride fast for a couple of months, then ride slower and stay in interesting towns until we feel like leaving them, whether it’s a couple of days or a week. And that’s been the case for the last month or so.
The problem with our having half of our mind on the bigger picture, and budgeting time accordingly, is neglecting to add in a contingency for the unexpected. Because so far, with one exception, it’s been smooth sailing. But now we’re about to hit a problem that has complicated itself into a time monster. The next post explains.
Anyway, the first day out of Cairns down the coast road was dull. The road is inland of the coast and there’s little to see. But we detour once or twice to see what the coastline looks like
The view of close-in Pacific islands from the only ridge we cross
A great river
Our water spots are more civilized now we’re on the coast and not as much fun. This could be anywhere
Kids playing cricket
And into Airlie Beach
Which is a tourist town
There’s a small dinghy club. I wonder what happens when the kids capsize. They must be wearing gloves and complete covering because of the jellyfish. I guess the sharks and crocs are just a risk they take. Poor mites
A deadly jellyfish warning sign. As you can see this is the bad season. Click to read
Airlie Beach. Deserted despite the town being full because it’s early in the morning and the town’s inhabitants this week are all kids
It’s high school grad week and the kids come here to party. They’re called ‘schoolies’. The next age group up are here to sell them booze and drugs and generally prey on them. They’re age 18 to 25 I’m guessing and are called ‘toolies’.
The whole town is ready for it. There are strict designated places for activities and hundreds of uniformed adult supervisors. It looks totally no fun. I feel sorry for the kids who deserve a week of crazed anarchy, not this
Here’s a major institution: a ‘postie’. The mailmen all get this standard moto and uniform and you see them everywhere. A guy tried to do a RTW on a postie bike just for laughs. Aussie obviously
