Cairns and Port Douglas

After our time in Victoria (southern Australia), we headed far north to Queensland. We flew to Cairns where it was 31 degC when we landed and about 99% humidity. Living in Denver, we are definitely NOT used to the sticky humid weather and all the bugs. It was a nice change of weather from the rest of our trip. Finally- we got to wear the shorts we packed!
We went to the Cairns Tropical Zoo our first afternoon in town. We saw emus, a cute red panda, dingoes (no we didn't get our arm bit! haha), pelicons, cassowaries, other exotic birds and gigantic crocodiles.

I know it's totally a touristy thing to do, but one of my 30 things to do before I'm 30 was to cuddle a koala (okay, so I don't really have a list, but if I did, it would've made it!). Many of Australia's states don't allow this (including New South Wales-- Sydney), but Queensland did. I was so excited to get the 6 month old baby named Willow. She was cuddly and precious. Although by the time they were done taking pictures, she was starting to get antsy and her claws are sharp!

For $1 AUD, we also got to feed dozens of little kangaroos. They were surprisingly gentle and very hungry! They ate right out of your hands and even let you pet them! We found a mom with a Joey in her pouch. You could only see his legs, but how neat!

After leaving the Cairns Tropical Zoo, we drove up the scenic Cook Highway to Port Douglas. We stopped at Rex's Lookout to see the rainforest bluffs meeting the reef. We checked into the 4-star Sheraton Mirage on Four Mile Beach. Our hotel room was a bit dated, but the resort had an endless amount of saltwater lagoons and freshwater pools. They flowed right up against the rooms. We played volleyball in the pool for hours with eachother. It reminded us of pool time in Pasadena from many years ago.

We enjoyed a romantic sunset off the hotel property on Four Mile Beach. We miss walking hand in hand on the beach like we often did in Cali.
We went into town for dinner at Pokies Verandah. We sat outside on the patio on stools made of straw. Port Douglas was a neat little town with a great vibe and relatively energetic nightlife.