Taken on a clear Saturday night, sitting by the Esplanade walkway tucking into a double-scoop Baskin Robbins and reflecting. Aka stone-ing aka my de facto past time. It was a surreal sight and although the picture unfortunately doesn't seem to do justice to that moment in time, it is one of my all-time favourites.

Speaking of which, there was a large swimming lagoon along the Esplanade which was free for all to take a dip. There were people still enjoying the waters before the 10pm closing time. Cool!

I decided against putting up any pictures of the day trip to the Atherton Tablelands (recommended by Malcolm at front-desk who was helpful enough to point out that the Daintree Rainforest visit would be better with a tour guide) . To be honest, it was quite a tiring trip, fraught with never-ending bends on the mountainous Gillies Highway which took at least 25 minutes to clear per way and rather lacklustre attractions.

The interesting thing about Cairns is the sheer numbers of Japanese natives and mainland Chinese tourists who seemed to be everywhere. There was even a DFS mini-mall, which stood out awkwardly amongst the numerous touristy shops.

It was a good break from Sydney, the weather reminded me of home and of course, I had regrets about not visiting the mother of all reefs, but it was all in the name of good relaxation.