Day 249. Cairns

A day full of surprises!

What a big day we have ahead of us today! There will be free food, swimming, surprises, and even more swimming. Did I mention surprises?

We woke to another glorious morning, but we could feel the heat already rising. Luckily for us, we didn't have to worry about getting ourselves breakfast today, as the Big 4 Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort put on a free 'pancakes by the pool' morning; where all we had to worry about was bringing over a plate with cutlery! Now that's my kind of breakfast!

Service with a smile! Thats what you get at the Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort

So by 8am, we were over at the pool lining up for our free pancakes! The temptation of swimming in the pool was to much for Scarlett, and she dived straight on in even before breakfast!

Let the truth be known - that Bec left her hat and sunglasses by the pool yesterday, and Scarlett went looking for them for her. Well Scarlett found the hat and sunnies on the other side of the pool; and instead of walking around the pool, Scarlett decided it would be quicker to dive in and swim across to retrieve said items!

Mmmm.... Pancakes by the pool!

So we all enjoyed a lovely breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup by the pool - so much so that I ended up having 4 serves! It was great just relaxing by the pool and enjoying the ambiance with like minded people; while watching Scarlett swim. It even got to tempting for me, and as soon as I finished my breakfast, I was in there with her! The water was so refreshing that I didn't want to get out - but there were certain surprises in store today; so I soon left the pool with Bec and Scarlett still enjoying the water, and disappeared into Cairns to see what was happening...

I was gone for an hour or two, and finally returned with my surprise for Scarlett. I found Bec and Scarlett watching a movie over in the movie room, so I quietly stood behind them with my surprise, waiting for Scarlett to turn around and notice.

"I can't breathe"

Well it didn't take long, and Scarlett soon turned around with a look of uncertainty that soon turned into pure joy on her face. There beside me was her Nana and Grumpy! Wendy and Russell had organised with Bec to pay Scarlett a surprise visit for her 6th birthday weeks ago, and that's where I had disappeared to earlier - to pick them up from the airport.

To say Scarlett was overjoyed to see her Nana and Grumpy would be an understatement! She was tickled pink! And you couldn't wipe the smile off of her face if you tried. There were hugs and kisses all round, which soon turned to smiles and laughter, as Scarlett told stories from our recent travels to her Nana and Grumpy! It was great to see Scarlett smile and laugh so much, as Bec was really starting to get worried about how we were going to make Scarlett's 6th birthday special, being we are still in the caravan away from all her friends and family. I think by just seeing the reaction from Scarlett, Bec's fears were put to rest, as Scarlett is over the moon that Nana and Grumpy have flown all the way from Sydney to see her for this special occasion.

Surprise, surprise surprise!

After a wonderful lunch that Bec put together for all of us, it was back to the pool and waterpark to enjoy the cool refreshing waters. The heat and humidity were rising quickly , and I'm sure that both Wendy and Russell were glad to get out of their cold southern clothes, and change into something more appropriate for the local climate here in Cairns.


Enjoying a ride of 'Big Red' - Scarlett with Alison and Julia

The afternoon was spent lazing around the various pools and caravan, before 'Big Red' made an appearance and took all the kids for joy rides around the caravan park. Scarlett ended up going on three rides; as she so desperately wanted to make her way to the front seat of the fire engine so that she could ring the bell. Persistence certainly pays off, as she finally made it the front - where she rang the bell all the way around the caravan park!

Russell enjoying the tropics!

Afterwards, it was time for an early BBQ dinner back over at the 'Garden Pool', where we enjoyed a few quiet drinks with out lamb patties, gourmet sausages, and BBQ'd veggies. We then once again all hit the pool for a refreshing after dinner dip! But it was all to much for Russell, who decided to take some 'time out' under the shade of a couple of coconut tree's in the hammock!

Scarlett finished off her day with a visit to the outdoor cinema; where she watched 'Chicken Run' with her two friends - Julia and Alison; whom she originally met way back in Port Lincoln in February just after we started out trip! It really is a small world....