Flight 702 to Cairns

If you noticed I’d been quiet on the blog, you’re right – I’ve just been on holiday.

It’s time for another of my holiday blog posts in excruciating detail. It’s for my benefit, not yours, and if you’re only here for the transport content, you can skip some of these… although given it’s me writing, there will definitely be some transport content in here! This post is backdated to the day it happened.

I’m not a morning person, so being up and out the door before the sun is up can be a challenge, let alone when it’s 3 degrees outside.

Rolling my two-wheeled old-school (but still working) suitcase down the street to catch a 7am train I realised just how loud the hard wheels are on the paving stones. Hopefully I didn’t wake anybody else up.

The plan was to catch the train through to Footscray, find a taxi, pick up my travelling companion nearby then head to the airport. It all worked fine.

The airport precinct was pretty busy – the departures level just doesn’t function well with so many people being dropped off by car or taxi. If only there was some kind of mass transit vehicle that could bypass the traffic to get you there…

They keep it moving by having traffic controllers to override the zebra crossings, prioritising drop-offs (including taxis) over people walking from the car parks.

Baggage drop (I am personally not a fan of carry-on luggage that barely fits into the lockers, though I know others like it), mosey around the terminal for a bit, then onto the 9:45am flight to Cairns.

We decided to wear masks on the plane, apart from when eating/drinking – risk minimisation for something messing up the holiday. A few other people were wearing them too, and the decision appeared vindicated by the three kids in the row in front coughing for pretty much all of the 3.5 hour flight.

You can also turn on the air vents above the seat, improving fresh air flow.

The flight was on time all the way, and as soon as we stepped outside the aircraft (rear stairs onto the tarmac) it was apparent just how much warmer it was in Cairns compared to Melbourne, though also a bit drizzly.

5th July 2024	Melbourne	Cairns
Minimum temperature	2.2	20.1
Maximum temperature	11.4	26.7
Rain	0 mm	10.4 mm

After hopping in a taxi to the hotel (about a 10 minute ride), we checked-in, and I changed the jeans and multiple layers for shorts and a t-shirt – the uniform for the entirety of the rest of the holiday.

We had a walk to familiarise ourselves. The hotel was on the western side of the CBD, with the waterfront on the eastern side. The CBD is a grid, so pretty easy for a Melburnian to navigate.

It was lovely being able to enjoy some warm weather in the middle of winter.

After a walk, including along some of the waterfront where we came across an event being held for NAIDOC Week, we met up with my sister’s family, who had travelled up from Melbourne the day before, and were staying in the same hotel – all part of a broader plan.

We had dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant, then a look at the Cairns Night Market, which was interesting and atmospheric, but mostly touristy souvenir stuff, not really my thing. Our very helpful hotel reception people said that Rusty’s Markets, a few streets away, are the working markets where the locals go.

Then back to the hotel. We’d covered 2300 kilometres, and it had been a long day.