Day 4 – Australia/New Zealand Adventure – Sydney to Cairns

(Monday, March 10, 2025) by Ann Silverthorn with Jim DeDad

This day, which was also the birthday of our middle child, was the first of our eight flights during our trip, in addition to the ones coming and going to Australia and New Zealand. This three-hour flight from Sydney to Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, was aboard Virgin Australia. Since it was a smaller plane, there was no jetway, and we boarded using steps.

All of the in-vacation flights were booked as a group, so we couldn’t check-in ourselves, and since the seats were assigned alphabetically, and Jim and I have different surnames, we never sat together on one of them. We tried to get them to fix it, but since the flights were mostly full, it wasn’t possible. Tour Manager Cam once was able to get us a little bit closer, at least. None of the flights was more than 3.5 hours, so neither of us really minded. The worst part was that I scored a middle seat every. . .stinkin’. . . time!

On the way from the airport to the Crystalbrook Bailey hotel in the middle of Cairns, Cam shared the following facts (and more) with us. I’ll call them bits and bobs, hearkening back to our Sydney Opera House tour guide, Imi.

Bits and Bobs About Cairns and Australia

• Cairns endured a cyclone a few years ago with a lot of flooding.
• The population is around 170,000.
• It was 88 degrees upon arrival.
• The area is flat, with no hills, but there are mountains in the distance. 
• Sugar cane is a major crop here.
• It usually rains every day.
• There are many flying foxes (bats).
• The Battle of the Coral Sea in WWII was fought near here.
• Captain James Cook discovered Cairns in 1770,  and called the bay Trinity Bay. He also named Green Island (which is on the next day’s agenda).
• In Australia, most trees do not lose their leaves in winter.
• Their rainforest in Australia is older than the Amazon.

After the relative cool and breeziness of Sydney, we got our first taste of Australian heat in Cairns, which was also quite humid. After the worst winter in years back home, this felt pretty good–for a little while.

Since we would be on our own for dinner, Cam gave us recommendations: Oak and Vine (great view), CC’s Bar and Grill (attached to the hotel), Backyard, Hemingway Brewery, Villa Romana, Splash. We ate at Villa Romano. It is an open-air Italian restaurant that was very good, but looking back as I write this, apparently, there was another, more-authentic Italian restaurant called Piccolo Cucina, a two-minute walk away. . .

After dinner, we walked around and found the laundromat around the corner for future use. We also went for a swim in the hotel pool under the stars. It was lovely until it started to rain. We ran back to the room and the shower felt heavenly!

In Cairns, there is also a nice boardwalk around the waterfront, a casino, a free lagoon pool [huge], and a night market with a food court and vendors. Cairns is a very walkable city that feels safe.

Tomorrow, a glass-bottom boat and the Great Barrier Reef.

The Crystalbrook Bailey hotel is one of three in the city, part of the Crystalbrook Collection of hotels. The other two are Crystalbrook Flynn and Crystalbrook Riley, and all three are named after the owners’ children. I thought that was kind of nice.

The hotel is green and has these odd metal grids that cover the windows in spots, giving the impression of netting hanging from the rood. This goes along with its charming, artsy theme, but if one of them is covering most of your window, it’s difficult to appreciate the view. 

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