We boarded a plane in the vast empty dryness of the Red Centre and emerged in Queensland which felt very much like Hawaii - humidity, familiar plants, and lots of tourists. For some reason, the hotel decided to give us a free upgrade so we had a room on the top floor with a view.
Cairns was actually much nicer than I had expected. A lovely park stretched along the water and there were numerous open air restaurants along the other side of the esplanade. By now we had adapted to the Australian lifestyle and looked forward to each evening's Happy Hour. There was a cozy area in the hotel lobby under a boat figurehead where we enjoyed our nightly drinks. Then we would venture out to one of the restaurants for dinner. The pictures below were taken under the boat figurehead at the hotel and at a Turkish restaurant on the esplanade that served delicious food.
On our first day in Cairns, we visited the Cairns Aquarium. Recently opened in September, 2017, it bills itself as "the only aquarium in the world dedicated exclusively to the habitats and species of tropical North Queensland". Ten ecosystems and 70 different habitats are represented within the building.
The first creatures we saw when we entered were the eels below on the left.
The freshwater sawfish would glide gracefully through the large tank that was his home and then settle onto the sandy bottom for awhile.
Here is a giant jungle prawn and a tiny frog.
The truly creepy and extremely ugly reef stone fish on the left is the most venomous fish in the world. Contrast that with the beautiful blue tang on the right.
Clownfish living in a carpet sea anemone.
Although the organisms on the left look a lot like anemones, they are actually upside down jellyfish. On the right is the creature I most enjoyed watching on this day - a stingray.
Here's another stingray and some strange glowing coral.
The aquarium is also home to a number of reptiles like this lizard on the left which I think is a bearded dragon and the colorful water python on the right.
We hoped not to run into the nasty looking spider below in the wild. Next to it is a picture of the common lionfish, another venomous creature.
There were several large tanks of vibrant multicolored fish.
Other tanks showcased the many types of coral.
Watching the large fish and rays glide through the huge tanks was a very relaxing and enjoyable experience.
