Back to Cairns
We departed Port Douglas at 0800 driving towards Cairns. After filling up near our destination, Kim dropped me and our luggage off near our accommodation at 0900 while he returned the wreck which we had rented.
In Cairns, we’re booked for three nights at Global Backpackers in a private ensuite room. With the Esplanade’s lagoon pool, at our doorstep, I expected a resort experience at a backpacker price. It certainly worked out as hostel deserved its 9.3 rating that we saw on Booking.com. The staff were truly special.
The communal kitchen was equipped with lots of hotplates, sinks and crockery were heavy restaurant-quality ones. The feature that stole my heart was the walk-in fridge.
I waited for a while for Kim on the hostel’s rooftop lounge, kitchen and balcony. With super-cloudy weather and rain, he had taken a tea-stop to shelter from the rain.
Photos continue after this gallery
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- My favourite style of accommodation on the road is a private ensuite room in a backpackers hostel.
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- My favourite style of accommodation on the road is a private ensuite room in a backpackers hostel.
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- Excellent kitchen with heavy white restaurant-quality crockery. I especially love ♥️♥️♥️ the walk-in refrigerator
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- Bright airy atrium with private rooms and dormitories.
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- Our hostel on the left.
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- Cairns free Esplanade lagoon pool is just next to the hostel. Obscured by the trees.
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- Cairns free Esplanade Lagoon public pool.
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- Cairns free Esplanade Lagoon public pool.
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- Cairns free Esplanade Lagoon public pool.
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- Cairns free Esplanade Lagoon public pool.
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- Cairns free Esplanade Lagoon public pool.
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- Taichi, yoga, pilates and other activities are available on the Esplanade for free.
Covid-19 test, Take 2
Once Kim turned up mid-morning, despite the staff best efforts, our room wasn’t ready yet. We wandered out for a light lunch and slowly made our way to the pathology lab for our Covid-19 test that would enable us to fly back to New Zealand.
With our flight at 1155 on Sunday, we had to wait a while after doing the paper work, before our swabs could be taken. Mine was time at 1156 while Kim’s at 1200. The manager came to us and said she would waive the charges for us as she felt for us, but asked us to keep it to ourselves.
That was very kind and I attribute it to my kindness towards her. I remembered they had only two clipboards in the office during my last visit and returned mine to her as soon as I had completed my form, and jokingly mentioned it to her.
Playing lawyer
In the afternoon, we sat on the rooftop and I played lawyer by helping Kim research boat sharing agreement templates. We made plenty of bullet points for inclusion in a drafted agreement which we’d complete tomorrow.
Playing lawyer on the rooftop, working on a boat sharing agreement.
As the rain had cleared, we took a walk on the waterfront towards the south, an area which we hadn’t explored yet.
For dinner, we checked out P J O’Brien pub. There was a good reason for this. Guests at our hostel get AUD10 meals including beer here. We chose a lasagna and a chicken parmigiana. Several other options for the same price! It wasn’t a deal that could disappoint; the food was good and the value incredible!
Hostel guests get discounted meals at Irish pub nearby. AUD10 for each meal including a beer.