07.05.2026

The day began today with a morning walk after breakfast along the palms by the beach. The sun was already shining brightly! The palms and the very old eucalyptus trees along the promenade are impressive. Everything radiates peace! Shops do not open before 10 AM and close at the latest by 5 PM. And this is in a vacation spot! Around 10:30 AM we headed towards Cairns, 18 km from here, where we had booked a helicopter flight over parts of the reef and the rainforest. The formalities were quickly and easily handled, and a young German was our pilot. What a wonderful surprise, we experienced everything in our native language! First, we headed to parts of the reef, which extends over a length of 2,300 km. We could see plants and corals quite well at times. We also flew past the platform where we were yesterday. Then we headed back towards the mainland over the 'Tablelands' of the rainforest, a high plateau. We flew over some waterfalls and river courses. We also saw the old railway line, which is only used for tourism now, and the cable car that goes over the forest. Everything is lush green, and from above, the rainforest appears almost like a closed area. Only the shades of green differ. But even the most beautiful flight has to come to an end. We can definitely recommend the company 'ZOOM Helicopters'! By now it had gotten really hot, over 30°C, and we headed to the city center, to the 'Aquarium' - for a cool tour. Large aquariums and terrariums display the wildlife from the reef and partly from Australia. Everything is colorful, clean, and well presented. We recognized some animals and their habitats again. It was feeding time in the recreated wildlife! The snakes were given mice or rats, depending on the size of the animal. For the fish and corals, fine particles were blown into the water, and a diver 'pollinated' the corals and sea anemones. There was also a 'touch pool' with starfish and shells. The shark tank was clever, partly designed as a tunnel, then winding again, so that they were also above our heads. The basin of one of the recreated reefs was 10 m high. Just when we were there, everything was explained, and we recognized some of the fish from yesterday. The presentation is diverse and varied. Many small children, who were out with their parents, really had fun. Outside, the rain was pouring down, and we just wanted to leave the city. Break! This evening we had dinner at an Australian restaurant. It consists of a sports bar, where a sports event was playing on big screens, an arcade, and the actual restaurant area. Space for about 150 people, and by around 5:30 PM, it was already well filled. Our electronic order didn’t go through at first, but with the help of the staff, our order arrived. Large portions! However, due to the long wait, we experienced another highlight. There were quiz rounds on various topics: Round 1: recognize the respective movie title from pictures, Round 2: higher general knowledge: e.g.: the names of the 5 oceans from the longest to the shortest, .... Many people participated! We initially struggled with understanding! There were supposed to be four more guessing rounds. We don’t know what prizes there were. However: The restaurant was full! Now we are organizing our things because tomorrow we are heading to the other side of Australia...