Luckily, Cairns City Backpackers was amazingly accommodating when we arrived before 10 am.  Our room was vacated, but not yet cleaned, but they let us store our luggage inside until we were ready.  We immediately had a good feeling about the place.  The owners, Dave and Hiromi checked us in themselves, and were eager to provied suggestions and local tips.  Our room was very clean and comfortable.  It’s a double, as usual, but unlike most places, even though it’s not exactly an ensuite, there is a small shower and sink.  Heaven!  What a pleasure to brush my teeth at night before bed in the privacy of my own room.  We hadn’t had an in-room sink since the Ashanti Lodge in Capetown…never mind a shower!  The rooms don’t have numbers, rather pictures: ours is three boomerangs.  You might be in three butterflies, for example, or two frogs.  These little details make the place very homey.  There is a roomy shared kitchen with everything you’d need to prepare a meal, or, if not, a voucher for a free hostel dinner at a pub downtown is included as well.  There is also a TV in the open common area, a pool table, a pool, lots of tables, chairs and couches.  There is a well-equipped laundry and lockers are available as well.

We spent the day exploring Cairns and getting organized.  We are already leaning toward extending our stay in this area.  The weather is close to perfect.  Everything is very tourist friendly…maybe too much so, but we we decided on another road trip so no need to spend too much time in the CBD.  In the evening, we checked out the free meal at the Wool Shed.  I had a modest spaghetti plate, while Donny upgraded for $7 to the fish and chips, which was quite tasty.  It had been a long day, so we made it an early night.