Cairns Apartment

This week we have been exploring Cairns and getting to know the area. We bought bikes and have been peddling all over town. We have looked at several apartments this week, and finally decided on one. We signed a lease on Friday. We move in on Sunday for 5 months! It is a one bedroom apartment at "The Lakes" in Cairns North. It is about a 15 minute bike ride to the city center, but an enjoyable one. Because we are pretty much directly north of the main city area near the water, we can use the Esplanade the whole way into town. The Esplanade is about a 5 mile stretch of park along the waters edge ranging from 50 yards wide to a couple hundred yards wide. All along the grassy Esplanade are bike trails, walking paths, playgrounds, bbq areas, fitness stations, a children's water park, a huge public pool, skate park, beach volleyball courts, tennis courts, and anything else you could imagine. It has all been really well designed and is landscaped beautifully. So from our new apartment, we cross over two blocks east to the esplanade and head south into the heart of town. Of course there is plenty in the area that we are in as well, but the main shops, marina, and attractions are in the center of town. So far we are really liking the area. It is much bigger than the town we lived in, in New Zealand. Cairns has a little over 150,000 people including the suburbs, which will be a nice change for a little while. We do love small towns, but sometimes its nice to have good shopping, big grocery stores, and a nice selection of restaurants. The next couple of days we will be getting ready to move into our apartment and get settled.