October 11-12, 2023 bus/train to Airlie Beach, Australia

We planned a train ride from Cairns to Airlie Beach, just for the experience.  They were working on part of the track (for years, I am now told), so we boarded a bus in Cairns at 7:30 am and switched to a train about halfway there.   It was a great way to see the countryside.  It was almost 400 miles, so would have taken too much time to rent a car (one way) and drive.

Cairns train station

we passed this train station with a sugar cane refinery behind it

banana trees with the flowers covered

Young sugar cane field.  They grow and cut the sugar cane from the same field for about 6 years.  Then the field is burned to start over

view of the sea at Caldwell

We had a complimentary lunch at a local restaurant in Ingham.  We were given a menu to choose from.  Dave had the rump roast and I had the roast of the day, which was pork.  It was a nice chance to visit with others on the bus.  2 ladies were from New Zealand and gave us some good information.  We continued by bus to Townsville and boarded the train about 3:30.   The train had a dining car.  So we had meat pies and locals beers which we could bring back to our seat.

our lunch cafe

this is the "cane train", it has a smaller gauge track

we saw several ant hills

our seats on the train

wild kangaroos on both sides of the fence

dining car

not much room in the dining car, so took food to our seats

 

We arrived in Proserpine at 7:20pm, which was 16 miles inland.  We thought we would take a taxi or uber into town once we arrived.  I had called the train station to confirm our seats the day before we left.  The agent asked if we had booked seats on the bus to Airlie Beach.  She explained that it was just as quick as a taxi and much cheaper.  She was able to make the reservation for us, which we did.  Once we were on the bus, the bus driver told us that taxis and ubers don't come out to Proserpine.  We would have had a hard time getting to Airlie Beach if we hadn't taken the bus.  That's what we refer to as the "luck of a fool".  We had to let our hotel know that we would be arriving after 5:00.  They left info for us at the office outside.  We had to do that a few places.  They don't have staff at the desk 24 hours.  But the places we have been staying have been smaller places with kitchens vs your typical hotel room.

October 12-We relaxed in our little cabin today.  I did some planning for our trip to New Zealand.  We had a general idea of what we wanted to do, but waited for some things to watch the weather, since it was spring and could snow.   We picked up a few groceries for our room.  It had a kitchenette.

nice variety and explanation of bananas

 

there were parrots right outside of our cabin

In the late afternoon, we walked the beach and chose a restaurant for dinner, Di'Vine Fish.  They were known for their rum bar, so I had to have a mojito, which was very good.

 

Mary's seafood platter

Dave's seafood chowder in a bread bowl