The Cairns Trip
Wow. I've just finished a fashion trip to Cairns, part holiday and part work. Wifey is up here for a few photo shoots, and I decided to tag along (I would have missed her too much if I'd let her go without me.) Anyway, that was an excellent decision, because Far North Queensland turned out to be fantastic.
Firstly, the people I went with (photo shoot crew) are wonderful. Rae, Georges, Dave, Laura and Carlie (plus wifey) are really happy-go-lucky sorts. There's no ego involved at all, and they were very cool with all my questions and accidentally getting in the way. It was also incredibly inspiring to hang out with people who are at the top of their game. They work hard and truly give it 100% all the time. The photos from the shoots are absolutely top notch.
Secondly, the weather and scenery were top notch. We went from a pretty cold winter period in Sydney to late-twenties weather in Cairns, with excellent water and nothing too sticky. Beautiful.
And the activities have been great. From helping out on photo shoots, to taking a rest day trip to the go kart track and Mossman Gorge, everything was memorable. I probably ate a little too much, but a couple of trips to the gym and a fast 5.5km run along the water was perfect to balance that.
Highlights in point form:
- Arrived late friday, then hit the waterside grill for some meat.
- Saturday we went up to Port Douglas to stay at Pool, an as yet unopened but spectacularly beautiful resort being opened by a new favourite person, Rob Potter -- champion guy who made us feel right at home.
- Sunday was busy, as we completed TWO shoots in one day. Everyone as exhausted at the end, but also energised by the results, which were spectacular. Laura the model was a champ. The hardest things I had to do were get breakfast, climb a ladder with a bowl of fruit, make a two hour round trip back to Cairns to get a new set of clothes for the second shoot, and hold a reflector against super strong winds.
- Monday was pretty much a rest day -- no one got up to much, but we trawled around Cairns town and ended up having Indian for dinner.
- Tuesday: Go Karting (results of three races basically went: Dave, Me, Georges, Carlie, Inez, Laura), Mossman Gorge, Pool for sunset, crocodile and pizza).
- Wednesday: the only disappointment of the trip so far -- there was only space on the helicopters out to the sand cay shoot for six people, so I couldn't go with the crew (hence I'm back in the hotel room right now tapping away, which ain't too bad when you are overlooking the gorgeous mariner).
- Thursday: with the photo shoots over and done with, we booked a full day cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef to do some snorkelling and general cavorting. Spectacular wildlife under the ocean's surface, but the trip out and back was quite long and bumpy (2 1/2 hours each way).
- Friday: our final day was loooooong. A morning run with George followed by a Pilates training session with the ropes, late breakfast, then on the road for a late lunch at the Australian Coffee Center. Final stop of our trip to Cairns, more Go Kart action at Mako Trac. Then a rush back to the airport and hurried check in. When we arrived with Sydney we even fit in an 11pm dinner at Super Bowl on Dixon st (which is not the Super Bowl we thought it was!), but by that time everyone was shattered.
All in all, it was amazing trip, one of the best experiences of the year for me. Saturday was spent recovering and reminiscing. Great fun.