Cairns

After a very hectic week at work, rushing to get everything done so that we could have a relaxing holiday, we are now in Cairns.  This is our first time in Northern Queensland and it has a very different feel from Brisbane.  This is a very hot and tropic place, and has a resorty-ness to it that gives it a much slower pace. 
Today we drove from Cairns to Paronella Park, about 90 minutes south.  We actually drove through both Edmonton and Innisfail to get there and, like in Alberta, Edmonton is north of Innisfail.  It was a little bit of Canada!
Paronella Park (pictures to be posted once we have a better internet connection) is a really beautiful park in a rainforest setting.  It started in the 1930s when a Spaniard, Jose Paronella, fulfilled his dream of building a Spanish castle in the tropics.  The grounds were set up with a ballroom/movie theatre, swimming hole, boce green, tennis court and walking path.  It was a very early theme park.  After Jose died and his family were no longer able to run it, the park was sold to a third party.  In 1979 a fire went through the castle grounds.  The entire place fell into ruin until the 1990s, when the new owners took over.  They haven't refurbished anything, but they have opened up the park to the public and we can now all walk through castle ruins in the midst of the jungle!  It is a fascinating place!