As mentioned in an earlier post, we found ourselves in a cyclone at the end of our stay in Port Douglas. Although it is rainy season, this was still an usual amount of rain at once for North Queensland. It started out funny, and we braved sideways rain to go to the Sunday market which is supposed to be fabulous in this town. With the torrential rain, only a handful of vendors came out, but we still were able to come home with some fresh fruits and veggies, and a chance to try some new things. The girls' decided rambutan looks like EOS lip balm.
After the market we went to church, and almost flooded the car on the way home. After that, we were rained in. We were thankful the apartment had some nice puzzles and games.
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| Crazy lady floating down the street in a swan pool float! |
The rains came down and the floods came up. There were 9 landslides along the Captain Cook Highway, which is the main road to the area where we were. So the road closed. There is one other option, a much longer, inland route, but that road had several bridges underwater, so it was closed too. Therefore, we were stuck. On Monday afternoon the rain slowed and we walked around in town and wondered what we would do if we couldn't get to the airport for our fight on Tuesday. Someone at the post office told us one lane was re-opened on the highway, police were escorting cars through one at a time. The road crews were making steady progress, and the road would probably be clear enough to get to the airport on Tuesday, EXCEPT... more rain was coming Mon night. And if there was any more landslides, the road would close again and we would certainly miss our flight. Every single local we asked said the same thing. "If I were you, I'd try to go right now while the road is open, and find a hotel in Cairns tonight (on the other side, by the airport).
So, we went back to the apartment to quickly pack our things and hit the road. Unfortunately we had to eat a night from the apartment rental, but in the end it was for the best. After a few hours delay, we did successfully make it down the highway into Cairns (the major city by the airport). It was still slightly better than the border crossing at Tijuana. 😉
The Cairns detour turned out to be great. We arrived in time to have a quick look around town before sunset. The lagoon (public pool at the waterfront) was open until 9pm, so we had a night swim and then went to the night markets for dinner and shopping. In the end it was a super-fun night and we were glad to have been able to see a bit of Cairns as well.
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| Staying up late |
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| Market treats |
We had time for a run on the Cairns esplanade and the playground before our flight in the morning.
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