Frogmouth bird at Wildlife Dome in Cairns. (Photo from their website)

I missed sunrise, but not because I wasn’t up. I hadn’t checked the time for this part of the world and I had the curtains drawn so as not to disturb my husband. Light was seeping through the edges when I realized that the sun was up. Ah well, maybe tomorrow. The room has an electric kettle with a selection of Nescafe and tea bags. For those who may not be old enough to remember Nescafe – instant coffee was something big in the 1950s and I’m not sure for how much longer after that. As better coffeemakers and access to more types of coffee became popular, Nescafe remained a staple overseas. This was the first cup I’d had in a long time. And speaking of coffee, I was not aware that it was so big in Australia, or at least in Cairns. After my husband got up, we had what we learned was a “long black” coffee at one of the many shops we’ve seen.

Then it was wandering around and up to the Wildlife Dome, an intriguing little slice of rain forest atop the local casino. Yes, and not only is it a small zoo/aviary, it has a series of overhead obstacles and zip lines to explore and engage with (for an additional price of course). We arrived for the morning feeding (mostly of birds) as the guide took us around and explained about the inhabitants, many of which were free-flying. The frogmouth bird in the photo is not an owl even though it looks a lot like one. They have two small freshwater crocodiles and one of the large saltwater ones, obviously kept in separate areas. They also had a couple of fish and some snakes, as well as a few mammals, mostly night creatures that you can come back and see roaming about as it gets dark. It was an amazing place considering where it was and then as we were walking around another part of town, I heard what seemed to be an incredibly large number of some sort of bird that was similar to a parrot’s squawk, but not quite. Except there were no birds – there were, however, hundreds of bats. That’s correct – about half a dozen trees that are a sanctuary for the spectacled flying bat were filled with them. They dangled upside down, taking it easy in the big shady trees, apparently quite content to live right in the middle of downtown.

On to lunch on the Esplanade which is the beautiful street that fronts the lagoon. Lots of places to choose from and we selected a smaller spot not listed in our guide, but that had a sign claiming to be owned by a local fishing family. It was a great choice – pesto prawns for me and another local fish with lime and some other flavorings for my husband. A visit to the art gallery featuring all Aboriginal artists was thoroughly enjoyable, then back to the hotel for a little time on the balcony watching the boats in the marina again.

Dinner tonight is still up for grabs, although the restaurant that adjoins the hotel (separate operation) looks very tempting.