August 26, 2025

Day 3 - continued into a Special Night!

After a quick lunch in the Nitishi Market we rested up and got out of the heat at our hotel for a few hours. We then went to a fabulous Dinner at little place I had noticed near our hotel that always had a crowd dining there - it was yummy and very well priced! Bosco and I split susumi (sea bream and tuna) and tempura ( the corn, peppers, yams, eggplant and chicken was all amazing!

Then we got an uber and went to the Tanabata Latern Festival, it was magical! We all got our own latern, we wrote our own special intention, attached it to the bottom of the lantern and then at 8:30 pm we all released the to the sky - tethered by our kite strings and then brought them back down after about 15 minutes for proper disposal / reuse. A totally environmental friendly event! And so pretty!

By Patricia Patrick February 15, 2026
We got up at 6:45am to get to National Park Forts Walk trail in the hope of seeing koalas . Prior walkers mark trails with tree branches pointing in the direction of their sighting and we were luck enough to see 3 markers in our first hour of hiking. It is so stinking hot and humid the success we had made it bearable. The koala population on the island started with 20 brought over in 1930, to escape fur hunters. Today, the island boast 800 to 1000, and they are so cute and drowsy. They need 20 hours of sleep a day! The early morning is when they are the most active.
By Patricia Patrick February 14, 2026
Just off the coast of Townsville, Australia is a special little island (that used to be part of mainland, hundreds of thousands years ago). The island was formed by molten granite that was pushed to the earth's surface with volcanic force.Over time the volcanic overlay weathered away leaving an extraordinary landscape of rounded domes and boulders, many as big as a house and spectcularly perched. Over Seventy Percent of the center of the Island is a National Park. There is lots of wildlife here too - koalas, rock wallabies, snakes & birds.
By Patricia Patrick February 14, 2026
This is my third time in CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA and I really enjoy how walkable, clean and charming it is. The waterfront esplanade and lagoon area is a nice walk day or night. We had 2 nights here in the waterfront Shangri La Marina Hotel while waiting for the Ship to arrive and then 2 additional days in Port.