Carns, AU 10-29-08

Cairns, AU 10/29/08
We found a very nice opal store, Everts, in Karunda and decided to visit their main store in Cairns. Wayne took me opal shopping. I had great memories of shopping in Surfer’s Paradise on the gold Coast with our Scott, Colleen, and John in 1991. The kids waited on the sidewalk outside the store while I looked for the perfect opal. Well this time, there were no kids waiting but my selection skills did not improve. It is so hard to choose from all those beautiful opals. There are three types to choose from Black, Boulder, & Crystal. Each is found in a different location within Australia. The opal can be a full stone or a triplet (three sections glued) or a doublet (two sections glued). The black is from Lightning Ridge and the Boulder is from the Moore Mine in Queensland. The Black is only available in a smaller stone while the boulder (ironstone) is available in larger pieces. The black has a black background while the boulder is usually found in blue/blue green colors. The crystal is usually found in light/white background colors. Wayne bought me a gorgeous opal as a memory of our trip. He also found a statue of a wild stallion made of Boulder opal as a souvenir for himself. We talked with the two sisters about their opal store. Their father had started the business as just a hobby. He expanded the store through the years. He and his wife had ten children. His widow still lives in Minton a town of 1,000 close to the mine. The children continue to operate several stores. They purchase directly from the mines and have the stones polished and set in the Cairns area. It was a pleasure to meet them.

We had a lovely gourmet dinner at our favorite place, Hungry Jacks (better known in the USA as Burger King). We took a long walk on the Esplanade enjoying the cool evening along with many others. A sign close to the pool, showed the UV index as very high. The Australians have made many accommodations to prevent skin cancer. Much of their outdoor activity is done at night. The shops along the street all have very wide 25 foot verandas to protect from the sun. Outdoor eating and displays take up much of the area. Hats are sold for all ages along with sun resistant clothing. Even the pontoon that we swam from on the reef was almost completely covered with sun shade. We passed a group of school children playing at recess. All of the children wore hats.

We spent the rest of the evening packing and eliminating weight in our suit cases. With the increased weight restrictions on the airplanes, we have to make every kilogram count. We are allowed one 50 pound checked in and one 15 pound carryon each.