Cairns

I arrived in Cairns today. I have never been to Cairns and realized on the plane ride that except for a few friends saying they loved it, I have done no real research on Cairns and what to do here so I am just winging it. After checking in and finding my room not ready yet, I dropped my bags with the concierge and headed for The Esplanade. The first thing I noticed -with the tide out, the ocean was very far away and the exposed ocean bed was a mass of shells, crabs, and alligators. Or are they crocodiles. Either way, it was a little disturbing! At about 4:30 pm the tide came in and the sun came out and it was a beautiful evening for a stroll along the water front. Tomorrow I am taking a tour to Kuranda. We travel there via train and return via Sky Rail. The day after that I have joined a tour to go snorkeling on the reef. I ended up on the same tours as the couple in front of me - Ken and Sally from Iowa. I met them because when the person booking the tours asked them for their room number, he said "I think it's 518". Nope. That would be my room. They are actually in 528. I am sure they would be happy to know I have posted that on the Internet.