DIRECTIONAL SIGN

We saw this interesting directional signpost at one of the traffic junctions of Cairns.

It gave the direction of some of the areas in Australia e.g. Sydney, and some other cities e.g. London, in terms of km around the globe.

How funny!

CAIRNS ESPLANADE

Cairns Esplanade reminded me a little of our East Coast Park, although it was less busy and more quiet.

The road abutting the esplanade was literally without much vehicular traffic and the air was clean and fresh.

Interestingly, I was told this area used to be a mangrove mudflat and the esplanade was built on a higher platform level than the muddy seafront.

Physically, it was quite a drop in terms of height from the edge of the timber deck walkway. But surprise surprise, there were no railings at all to prevent people from falling onto the mud. I suppose their culture is so different that they really do not need a physical barrier to protect their safety, unlike in Singapore where the slightest drop in height would likely illicit feedback of hazards and danger from the general public. So I guess they are more responsible and conscious of their personal safety.

The seagull and other shorebirds were comfortably strolling in the mud, supposedly looking for food amongst the planted or regenerated mangrove saplings.

There was nothing really unusual or spectacular about the walkway and there was no conflict in terms of pedestrians and cyclists etc. Come to think of it, there were very few cyclists along the roads or at the esplanade.

What I really love was the big open swimming pool. How I wished I could take a dip in the clear shallow waters. It was interesting why a public swimming pool was constructed next to the sea. In fact, it seemed quite ironical, if you think about it. But that aside, to me this was really the highlight of the place.

They also had an interesting signage that showed the daily temperature and weather etc. How refreshing!

And yes, I absolutely love the stout Cassia with beautiful pinkish yellow flowers.

The walkway linking to the Pier was planted with 2 linear rows of Moreton Bay Ficus (Ficus macrophylla) that provided lots of shade to the area.

Well, this has to be the post with one of the most photos. The record is 16 photos here.

NURSERY

Continuiing from the post on 2 May 10 at Cairns, we visited this nursery where I saw this beautiful Tibouchina tree, under which grew a peach-coloured flower Brugmansia cultivar. The contrast is so good. But as always, I think I was the only one amazed with it.

I liked the 2nd photo because it looked like a dry meandering river of silvery-leaved Gazania cultivars.

Then, there were these clumps of aquatic grasses and the one in the foreground had interesting flowers.

There was a black-white spider on a red-branched Euphorbia cultivar.

Finally, there was an Eggfly Butterfly on the lilac-flowered Pentas lanceolata.

CAIRNS STREET

I was in Australia from 13-17 Apr 10.

We started from Cairns and these were some of the streetscape photos. Frankly, they looked quite similar to Singapore mainly because of the same plants that we use. But their streets were wider and quieter with less people and cars. So it did feel less busy and stressed when I was there.

The daily temperature was also lower, but not too cold that I had to wear a sweater or what. It was also not humid like in Singapore.

And they had very few traffic lights on the road but there were a lot of roundabouts. However, it did look like it was easier to drive on their roads.