Hooray! January turned out to be our best month for digital underwater camera rentals since July, which is extraordinary since July and August are supposed to be our busiest months here in Cairns, and January traditionally one of our slowest. But the Gods have been kind to us this year *so far. touch wood* and January’s weather has been nothing short of spectacular. We have woken each morning to blue skies and sunny days, not too hot or humid - except for the last two days which were scorchers – and the occasional late afternoon thunderstorm refreshing us with a heavy tropical drenching.

You have to wonder why anyone would live anywhere else.

So let’s keep the momentum going…

For the month of February, we are offering a guaranteed minimum 20% discount on car rental in Cairns. This is the most heavily discounted Cairns car rental we have ever offered, and it includes renting a four wheel drive for the Bloomfield Track to Cooktown.

We can offer discounted rates on renting a convertible in Cairns, or even a people mover such as a Toyota Tarago. We are sure this is the cheapest Cairns car rental we have offered since we launched Cairns Unlimited almost five years ago.

Through one of our other websites, Cairns liveaboard, we are also offering free digital underwater camera rental to anyone who books their multi day or overnight Great Barrier Reef trip with us.* conditions apply

On that site, you can find a comparison of all the Cairns liveaboard reef trips, ranging from affordable overnight snorkelling trips to luxury multi-day Cairns scuba diving trips to the famous Ribbon Reefs and the Cod Hole.

If you know someone who’s planning a trip to Tropical North Queensland, tell them to contact us. They’ll thank you for it.

You wouldn’t know it, but apparently (according to the weather bureau) it is teeming with rain and howling with wind here in Cairns today. Apparently (from the impression that you get from the news) we are even under flood.

The photo above was taken this morning, right before I washed my car and hung a load of washing out to dry. It is the view from our balcony, looking over the suburbs of Cairns and out to Green Island.

The inaccuracy of the weather forecasts over recent days would be laughable if it wasn’t having a measurable effect on our business. Rentals of digital underwater cameras had been busier than ever this month, with near perfect conditions most days. But since the bureau started forecasting doom and gloom several days ago, rentals have dropped off markedly.

Right now it is just after 12:00noon; it’s 30degrees with blue skies and a gentle, refreshing sea breeze. This is the greatest place on Earth.

And a good thing we did.

The drive from Westport to Hanmer Springs via Lewis Pass was nothing short of magical. Many times I wished I had my black car instead of an automatic Toyota Corolla, but then I remembered that Maria gets carsick if you take curves at high speed. Then I still wished I had my black car

Hanmer Springs is a resort town, a popular weekend getaway for Christchurch residents. But during the week it is less visited. We quickly chose a pleasant hotel a short walk from the springs complex, and spent the day soaking in a variety of hot pools.

But don’t worry, there was something for everyone, even the littlest of us…