Australia-Queensland-Cairns

Since the arrival of Kyra, we naturally haven't been able to travel so we were really excited to see how she would react to flying and being away from the comforts of home. We were eager to get back on the road again and thought a quick trip down to Cairns might be a good way to get her feet wet. It's about a 4 hour flight and she did really good. Better than we expected. A little fussy when we boarded, but once the engines started up she calmed right down. She conquered her first flight with only a few select moments of crying and only one dirty diaper. Sounds like a typical day at work. Ha. We took turns holding her throughout the flight, but Vic had the window seat and is the source of never ending food supply so Kyra was all about sitting with Vic.

We couldn't resist capturing a few moments in the cockpit after we touched down. We had a great crew with guys I've flown with so we took advantage of their work space after her first flight ever.

Kyra and daddy in Matt's office.

We didn't really have any plans upon arrival. We simply wanted to take the opportunity to see how she would travel and just get off island for a bit. The Cairns Zoo is pretty cool. They have all sorts of animals besides the obligatory Kangaroos and Koalas. But Kyra really seemed to be relaxed around the kangaroos.



Cairns is a extremely nice little town. Right on the waterfront with lots of parks and boardwalks. A ton of public space with pools and beaches for everyone. The town is so clean and just serene. This time of year is great as far as weather is concerned, very California in September. But Cairns is mostly just waterfront cafes, shops and backpackers looking for a little R&R. We found ourselves just wanting to sit and people watch all day. We did take a little road trip that proved to be a bit too much. We headed up to this area about an hour an a half outside Cairns called the Atherton Tablelands. We were on our way to a Dairy Farm where you can watch them milk the cows and then make cheese. I thought Vic would be in heaven, but alas, all the milking and cheesing had been done upon our arrival, so we just bought some good eats and had a picnic. It was a little too much driving but the scenery was really pretty. We came across a pretty cool lake that we relaxed at for a bit and a waterfall that didn't meet the guide book hype. We decided the scenery reminded us of a mix between the Vancouver Islands and the New Zealand countryside. What more can you want. Very pretty but we were actually more fond of Cairns than of the nearby Tablelands.

Kyra doesn't mind showing off her bum in public parks. We will have to work on that one in the future.

Typical Cairns evening just outside our hotel. Since we didn't have big plans on this trip we splurged a little bit on the hotel and got a good one with a great location and ocean view.

The Zoo had a whole section on baby Koalas. They were seriously about the most adorable things I have ever seen. I hesitate to use the word adorable, but seriously, they were so cute I can't even describe it. We also saw some pretty big Crocks. One named "Sarge" who was captured a few years back after he was found to be the culprit in the disappearance of some 50+ cows. We saw some more Wombats, but no poop. The Cassowaries had to be the most interesting things we came across. Crazy birds. Really weird looking.


Kyra is not too sure if she likes Koalas yet.

Had to stop for a breast feed. Why not do it on the beach.

Kyra slept all the way home. She didn't make a peep from the time we left the hotel in Cairns to getting in our car on Guam, 7+ hours. We were so amazed and lucky.

It was a nice little trip. It gave us a lot of confidence in that traveling with Kyra, at this age at least, is really doable and that we need not worry about traveling with her. Maybe there will be more in the near future. We were glad to get her to her first continent and overall we had a swell time.