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Australia: Cairns

Cairns from Mt Whitfield Environmental Park
Looking south over Cairns from nearby Mt Whitfield Environmental Park

I shan't dwell on the bus journey from Brisbane to Cairns; it was pretty long and tedious, but at least I managed to get some sleep. Coaches are designed to stop light sleepers like me from getting any shut-eye, with their hissing pneumatic brakes, stops every three hours or so that jolt you wide awake, seats that recline only as far as is uncomfortable for both yourself and the person behind you, movies that don't even tax the mentality of test-tube babies, leg room that makes a coffin look like a two-up two-down... love 'em or hate 'em, they're cheaper than flying, and for good reason. Still, I got there without terminal cramp, and at least you can look out of the window and really appreciate what it is that those crazy cyclists see as they pedal their way round the continent.

The view north from Mt Lumley Hill in Mt Whitfield Environmental Park
The view north from Mt Lumley Hill in Mt Whitfield Environmental Park