Cairns Warnings Or Dangers

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Please be mindful of the mangoes that have fallen from the trees around Cairns.
The birds and bats love them and leave them half eaten or split open making a slippery mess.
October through to 'approx' March is mangoe season and Cairns has hundreds of these wonderful trees.
If you are walking around the Botanical Gardens and the Tanks area then be extra careful as this fruit has dropped onto the stairs and ramps waiting for some unsuspecting visitor to tread on them.
There isn't anything that anyone can do about this until the season is over.

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Although the first photo of the sign was taken in Palm Cove on a brief stop there, the second photo was taken at the Port Douglas beach. the warnings are just as relevant to nearly all other areas in northern Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Third photo, well all I can say is PLEASE don't get too close.

Don't swim in open waters during the months November - April as there are marine stingers and they create a very nasty sting. I believe people have died from stingers.

Likewise crocodiles are an ever-present year round danger and they could be lurking almost anywhere. Nature has evolved the crocodile into a very efficient killing machine that can be in excess of 6 metres in length - don't mess with crocs unless you want to be part of the food chain.

Be careful not to touch the stinging plants found along hiking tracks,read carefully the signs situted at the entry to the trails.The sting from these plants are very very painful,if the pain doesn't go then you may need to seek medical assistance.

If you are walking anywhere near a creek,waterways,or the saltwater lake at Centenary Lakes and anywhere along the beaches,rivers and mangroves--be very careful.These areas are crocodile habitats.Visitors may not realise that Cairns is a croc danger place.
A crocodile has been sighted at Centenary Salt Lake on Greenslopes Street,Edge Hill..as I am writing this Oct 10th 2011.People are going down to do some croc spotting without really being fully aware they are wild and dangerous creatures.
Please be careful and heed the crocodile signs around you.

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Be very careful when you are hiking or walking the bush tracks around Cairns and areas..many of them have rough dirt tracks with rocks/small boulders and tree roots sticking out from the earth.Make sure you have sturdy walking shoes/boots and keep your eyes open,the tracks can be very steep and narrow in places so watch your step.

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Whatever you do please try and not park your car under the mango and fig trees in Cairns and suburbs where there is a flying fox (fruit bat) colony.Or under any trees where flocks of birds come to rest for the night.
They will leave your car,bike,bicycle in a real mess.
It is hard to clean off the duco once it dries and of course if left to long it can eat it away.
You may get a dropping as well if you walk underneath them.
You will be able to hear them when you approach,so they do give you a warning if you are walking..
If your transport is in a mess there is a self serve car wash in Bunda Street,Cairns or any servo that has drive through car wash.

Most visitors believe that because Cairns and areas are known as the 'wet tropics' and that rainforests are always 'damp' need to be warned of the danger of bushfires in the area.
Cairns and surrounds often have serious bush fires that can threaten homes and wildlife let alone the wonderful bushland and forests that are loved and visited by locals and tourists.
The ranges around Cairns have smoke hazes that filter down into the city and suburbs and those people with lung disease or asthmatics often end in hospital for treatment.
Sometimes after a big wet (the wet season) and a long dry season the hills and beyond become tinder dry.
Please be careful when you are travelling and take advice from authorities,if you have trouble breathing go to the nearest medical centre or the Cairns Base Hospital on the Esplanade.

Cairns and areas are renowned for the mosquitoes and midges especially at dusk.
My water aerobics teacher always had a bottle of no-brand baby oil on hand and made sure all the participants rubbed some over our face,shoulders,backs and arms or any exposed skin.

He told us that the insects could not land on the skin because it was to slippery,so we had bite free sessions in the pool every evening.

It is inexpensive and works,you don't need much and no chemicals to worry about.