~ PERSONAL ~

CAIRNS ~ A 16th Birthday Adventure
🩵🌴

So, this trip turned out a little differently to how we had originally planned… but nonetheless, adventures were had and memories were definitely made! ❤️

Our daughter was turning 16, and the plan was for hubby, myself, our daughter and her bestie to head off to Cairns to celebrate her special birthday in style. 🎉✈️

But, as life sometimes does, things changed. Unfortunately, hubby’s dad wasn’t doing too well, and hubby made the decision to stay behind in Melbourne to be with his dad. Totally understandable ~ and honestly, I wanted to stay too.

But Deda, in true Deda fashion, told us to go, enjoy the holiday and make the most of it. ❤️ So, with his blessing, that’s what we did.

The three of us headed north to Cairns, carrying a mixture of excitement, a little guilt, and the hope that we could make this birthday one our daughter would always remember.

And boy, did we have some adventures! 🌴☀️🌊

It may not have been the trip we originally imagined, but sometimes the unexpected changes end up creating the stories you remember the most.

So here begins our daughter's Cairns 16th Birthday Adventure… 💕🌴✈️

There was plenty of laughs, a few surprises, some tears, beautiful moments and definitely some adventures along the way! 😍

DAY ONE

Flew to Cairns and kicked off the trip with a special birthday dinner and celebrations at our accommodation, the Cairns Queenslander Hotel & Apartments. 🎂🥂✨ A beautiful start to our Cairns adventure!

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DAY TWO

What an adventure this was for all of us! 🌊🐠💙

The Great Barrier Reef was OMG amazing! 🪸🐢✨ Except for the sea sickness on our daughter’s part… apparently she is never going on a boat again! 🥹😂

The highlight of the day for both of them was definitely the helicopter ride back to Cairns 🚁. Our daughter was desperate to get back on solid ground, so the pilots were absolutely fantastic and took us on a scenic route back to Cairns.

Honestly, that ended up being my highlight of the day too ~ seeing the reef and coastline from above was simply incredible! 💙🌴

Enjoy the images… 📸✨

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DAY THREE

🌴☀️ A Much-Needed Rest Day

After the adventure we had yesterday, we definitely needed a slower day! 😂🌊🚁

So today was all about taking it easy ~ browsing around Cairns, enjoying a relaxed wander, and spending some time by the pool. 🛍️🌴🏊‍♀️

No boats, no helicopters, no sea sickness… just a nice, quiet day to recharge! 😌💦

Sometimes the best days on holiday are the ones where you don’t have to do much at all. ❤️

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DAY FOUR

🌿🚌 The Adventure Continues…

What a day! We climbed aboard our all-day bus tour and set off to explore some of the beautiful sights around the Atherton Tablelands. 🌴💚

Our lovely guide Jordan was amazing and he really made the day special ~ knowledgeable, friendly and full of interesting stories along the way. 😊

We visited:

🌿 Crater Lakes National Park
🌳 Curtain Fig National Park — an incredible sight and definitely one for the photo album!
💦 Malanda Falls Conservation Park
🍽️ Lunch at the lovely Malanda RSL — a much-needed refuel after all that exploring!
💧 Millaa Millaa Falls — absolutely beautiful and one of the highlights of the day.
🌴 Josephine Falls — another stunning spot to finish off an amazing day.

It was a BIG day, but what a way to see more of the incredible Far North Queensland countryside. From towering rainforest and giant fig trees to spectacular waterfalls, we certainly packed a lot into one day! 💚🌿💦

And of course… enjoy the photos! 📸✨

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DAY FIVE

🚂🐨 Yet Another Adventure!

Yet another adventure for us today! And this time we ventured aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway 🚂🌿 — what an incredible way to take in the beautiful rainforest and scenery around us.

We also managed a visit to Kuranda Koala Gardens, where we ticked off a very special bucket-list item… 🐨🩶

WE CUDDLED A KOALA! 😍🥰

OMG, they are just the cutest little things — and so incredibly soft! 🐨💗 I honestly wanted to bring one home with us! 😂 (Pretty sure that might be frowned upon though!) 😉

Another wonderful day, another unforgettable experience, and plenty more memories to add to the collection. 🩵

Enjoy the photos! 📸✨

DAY SIX

✈️🩵 Goodbye Cairns… Hello Melbourne!

And just like that, our Cairns adventure came to an end. 🥹🌴

After an incredible few days filled with amazing experiences, beautiful scenery, plenty of laughs, and a few unexpected adventures along the way 😂, it was time to say goodbye to Cairns and head back home to Melbourne. ✈️🏡

What an unforgettable trip it was! From the Great Barrier Reef and helicopter ride 🚁, to waterfalls, rainforests, the Kuranda Scenic Railway 🚂 and, of course, cuddling a koala 🐨🩶 — we certainly made some wonderful memories.

Until next time, Cairns… thank you for the memories! 🌴🩵✨

DEDA

THE ROBERTS FAMILY 2024