Sarah and I got away for four nights in Cairns and had an absolutely awesome time. We usually go away at this time of the year – it’s something that we’ve done since she was a little girl – but usually we head to Melbourne. Melbourne this year though is off-limits due to COVID-19 so we went north instead. I’ll tell you more about it over the next few weeks, but bucket list items were ticked.
It did, however, feel weird to be flying again and, indeed, holidaying when Melbourne is again in lockdown and Sydney is scrambling to control outbreaks, but touch wood, there are just two active cases in Queensland at the moment…
Okay, to the five…
1.This quote
You are afraid of surrender because you don’t want to lose control.
But you never had control – all you had was anxiety.
Liz Gilbert
This really spoke to me.
2. Social Distancing Far North Queensland (FNQ) style
I love these signs. What I didn’t love so much was the attitude some people took to contact tracing information in restaurants. It’s a requirement in Queensland that if you are dining in you need to leave your full name, address, and phone number. Most people did the right thing but I also saw things like:
- Dominic – Riley Hotel
- Alice – Parramatta Park
- Mary – Abbott Street
Seriously guys, the details are needed for a reason, and cafe and restaurant owners – your job is to make sure the proper details are there in case contact tracing is required.
Rant over.
3. FNQ Hospitality
From Tony the taxi driver, to the publican I bought some wine from, the the rail worker we got chatting to while waiting for the train on Saturday morning to the crew on the reef boat to the owners of the distillery I did some tasting in too… it seemed that everyone we came across had suggestions about what we couldn’t go home without seeing.
This is a region that relies almost completely on tourists for employment and income and (I think I read somewhere) is the postcode that has the highest number of businesses claiming job keeper – an unenviable statistic. You can see that they’re hurting, and also that they’re grateful that people are choosing to holiday in the region – even if the numbers are still substantially down for this time of the year.
And as we walked across the tarmac to our plane yesterday ground crew are there waving people off, ‘see ya next time!’
Direct flights between the Sunshine Coast and Cairns with Alliance Airlines kicked off on Friday so it was fabulous to be able to fly straight back in to Maroochydore rather than into Brisbane followed by the hour or so drive back up the highway. Cairns is now just under 2 hours flying time away – very do-able for a long weekend.
4. The Reef
This was beyond awesome. I’ll tell you more about it, but I actually got to swim with this guy and he was this close. (By the way, the photo isn’t mine, it was taken by the on-board photographer.)
This, however, is me…
5. Prawns on a boat
Okay, more than prawns. On this little tower of pure yum was also oysters, bugs and some salmon. And we ate it on the back of a trawler in the sun.
We also tried crocodile for the first time – and yes, it does taste like chicken with the texture of pork.
Okay, that was my week…how was yours?
And Anyways... 
Jo, Looks like a fabulous get-away and worth a repeat. Beautiful photos as usual. I think I’d try a piece of crocodile #lifethisweek
It’s such a beautiful place & we had incredible winter weather.
Thank you for letting me know that the first reef photo was not taken by you. I was just about to throw my phone camera away!
It looks like an AWESOME trip. I look forward to hearing even more details!
The ic we took of him on a gopro was not great lol. But he was so close I could have touched him.
A wonderful time away for you both Jo – nothing like mother and daughter bonding time (I miss those days of having an unmarried adult daughter – things change when they marry and you move further down the list). Loved the underwater photo and the happiness shining out of your post x
I’m treasuring the time that we have – there will come a time when, as you say, I’m a lot further down the list – and that will be as it should be.
So much awesome in one post and you are so lucky to have that on your “almost” doorstep! I can’t wait to hear all about it and I loved following along on the ‘gram although I was away in the country at the weekend with no wifi (the horror!) I’m looking forward to your recap on the blog, hope you have an ace week!
We are so lucky – and there’s so much more to explore in this state.
Looks like a wonderful break you had with your daughter Jo. Cairns is a beautiful place to visit as your photos show. Those prawns!
I’m so lucky tat she still wants to do our mother-daughter time. There will, I’m sure, come a time when she won’t.
I feel like that Liz Gilbert quote was written just for me! Thanks for sharing. Hubby and I were supposed to fly out to Colorado (2000 miles away) to visit our grandson for his birthday next week. We weren’t comfortable flying right now but we may drive instead. It will be a long car trip if we do decide to go! Glad you had a good trip. I think Australia is much safer than the US right now.
Definitely parts of Aus. Here in Queensland we have just 2 active cases.
What an absolute treat of a week Jo, I love the shot of you underwater! As I’m away from home I completely understand how weird it feels to be enjoying being in the warmth while things are in lockdown down south. I even feel guilty about being out and about at times. That anxiety quote is so spot on! And those prawns :0
Those prawns were soooo good.
Thank you for linking up your blog post 20.7.2020. I will be back with my comments this Monday 27.7.2020 when I have more concentration capacity following my major surgery last week. I appreciate your comments always. Denyse.