CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA (Port No. 15, 2/27-29/12)

∙ GEOGRAPHY 101
          ∙ Land Mass/Continent: Australia
          ∙ About Cairns: Cairns is a city on the coast of “Far North Queensland” (the northernmost part of the State of Queensland)
          ∙ Estimated Population: 150,920
          ∙ Distance From Home (San Diego, CA): 7,240 miles
          ∙ The Water That Got Us Here: Cairns is located on the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula, off the Coral Sea (which, itself, merges with the South Pacific Ocean)

∙ ITS PLACE IN HISTORY/INTERESTING FACTS
          ∙ Local time: 
          ∙ The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, a former Governor of Queensland
          ∙ Cairns is a starting point for people wanting to visit The Great Barrier Reef
          ∙ Prior to British settlement, Cairns was inhabited by the Walubarra Yidinji people
          ∙ During World War II, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces as a staging base for operations in the Pacific; after WW II, it gradually grew into a centre for tourism, especially after they opened Cairns International Airport in 1984

KOALA BEAR SLEEPING IN PARK IN CAIRNS

          ∙ Travel video (Great Barrier Reef):  http://www.youtube.com/user/THEWORLDOFTRAVEL#p/search/0/_4CqqxkW9G8

∙ CLIMATE
          ∙ Cairns has a warm tropical (tropical monsoon) climate, with lush rainforests running all the way down to the sea; wet season runs from November to May
          ∙ Cairns is prone to tropical cyclones, usually between November and May
          ∙ Most recently, Severe (Category 5) Tropical Cyclone Yasi made landfall in northern Queensland on 2/3/11, causing $800 million in damages
          ∙ Average low for February/March: 74.8 (Feb), 73.4 (Mar)
          ∙ Average high for February/March: 88.2 (Feb), 87.1 (Mar)

∙ HIGHLIGHTS/THINGS TO SEE
          ∙ The Great Barrier Reef
          ∙ Skyrail Rainforest Cableway
          ∙ The Cairns Esplanade and swimming lagoon, where topless sunbathing has been permitted since 2003 - yee ha!!