Despite the lack of sleep (see my blog post on Tim Thinks for an explanation), I managed to check out of the fully ludicrous Gilligan’s Backpackers hostel on time and set out for the Botanic Gardens along the road my friends and I had taken the day before. Sure enough, my footpath route proved longer than I had anticipated before it joined the bus route. By the time the two routes met and I was able to climb on the next bus, I had had more than my share of walking. (Fortunately, I was able to take the bus all the way back, where I learned that the hub was about two blocks from Gilligan’s hostel.) Had I been better informed, I would have woken up a bit later and arrived at the Botanic Gardens in time for the guided tour at 11.
Instead, I had to settle for the much less instructive self-guided walk. Aided by a fold-out brochure highlighting and describing the more interesting and important plants in their collection, this walk proved well interesting. The Cairns Botanic Gardens is a truly impressive collection of exotic plants native to Northern QLD and tropical rainforests across the world, and I wonder how much more the guided tour would have elucidated.
What better place to reflect on life and tropical plants than the Botanic Gardens café? I stopped for breakfast there, where floral scents mingled with baking smells from the kitchen and the tropical breeze,
as ever, danced lightly upon my skin. Just to fully maximize my sensory-load, I put my headphones on and listened to the new Thievery Corporation as I wrote in my journal. Of note from the gardens were the stupendous variety of orchids and massive pitcher plants in the Orchid House, the bright red crown shafts of the lipstick palm, large, colorful buds of the ginger (Alpinia) plants. Friendly retirees, families, couples, and other solo travelers ambled peaceably through the lush, colorful gardens, took photos and admired the flora.
