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Part 1 of 2Australia 2013 — From Work to Wanderings

My First Business Trip: Cairns to Townsville

Three nights of work in Cairns, a scenic drive down the coast with colleagues and a few weeks in Townsville.

By Thawaio3 min read2013 · Cairns and Townsville

Cairns at dusk under heavy cloud, with a large glass-domed building, a hotel and lit, tree-lined streets in front of an inlet with moored boats and forested mountains beyond.
The view over the Cairns waterfront at dusk.

I still remember the mixed feelings I had when preparing for my first business trip overseas. I was excited, but also a little nervous. I was travelling to Australia on my own, didn’t know anyone there, and had been given the responsibility of upgrading the IT infrastructure at two branches.

Even getting ready for the trip took quite a bit of work. There was the visa application and planning the flights between the different cities. I knew I would be away for a few weeks, so there was quite a lot to organise before I even left Singapore.

Three nights in Cairns

Cairns was my first stop, where I would spend three nights working on the infrastructure upgrade.

When I arrived, someone was waiting for me at the library. I went there first, completed my orientation and collected the things I needed to get started.

Most of my time in Cairns was spent working, so I didn’t get to explore much. But I do remember the view from my hotel. Looking out over the waterfront, with the marina, buildings and mountains in the distance, was a pleasant way to end the day.

I took a few photographs as the evening light settled over the city. Even now, those views are among the clearest reminders I have of Cairns.

Evening over a marina full of moored yachts, with a tall white apartment building, a lit street below and forested mountains under dark rain clouds.
The marina and the mountains beyond.

The drive to Townsville

Two colleagues from Townsville had driven up to Cairns to join me for the work. Once we were finished, I travelled back with them by car.

That drive turned out to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip.

I wasn’t driving, so I could simply sit back, enjoy the company and take in the scenery. The road passed through beautiful stretches of North Queensland, and I remember how pleasant the whole journey felt.

A freshly ploughed red-soil field with a flock of white birds, a band of tall green crops and forested hills under broken cloud.
Fields and hills in North Queensland.
A wide, empty road leading towards the sea, with palms, low houses and a give-way sign, under streaks of high cloud.
A quiet road with palms and low houses.
A road ending at the sea, with palms, a flowering tree and power poles, under a blue sky with scattered cloud.
A road running down to the sea.

I don’t have many photographs of the drive itself, but the memory of that road trip has stayed with me.

A few weeks in Townsville

Townsville was where I spent the next few weeks, continuing the infrastructure work.

I was working alongside the same two colleagues who had driven me down from Cairns. Another colleague was kind enough to pick me up from the hotel each morning and drop me back after work. Having people around who knew the place made a difference, especially since I had arrived in Australia not knowing anyone.

As in Cairns, I went through an orientation when I arrived and got everything I needed for the work.

Life outside working hours was rather different from what we’re used to today.

Mobile data was expensive back in 2013, and I generally had internet access only when I was at work. There was no casually browsing on my phone throughout the evening.

So quite often, I ended up watching rugby on the television in my hotel room. I hadn’t travelled all the way to Australia to watch rugby, of course, but that became part of my routine during those weeks.

Walks along The Strand

One place I enjoyed spending time was The Strand, Townsville’s waterfront.

I used to go there for walks, enjoying the open views of the sea and the coastline. It was a welcome change from spending the day working on computers and infrastructure.

A palm-lined waterfront park with a curved path, a lawn and shade sails, looking out over the sea under a deep blue sky.
The Strand.

I still have photographs of the waterfront, the marina and the houses along the hillsides. They’re ordinary scenes, but they remind me of the quieter side of my stay in Townsville.

A marina packed with yachts and boats, seen from above over boatyard roofs, with the city and port buildings behind.
The marina.
Houses stacked up a steep hillside beyond a quiet road junction, with palms and power poles under a clear sky.
Houses on the hillside.

I also managed a visit to Billabong Sanctuary, where I saw some of Australia’s wildlife up close — crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas and a wombat, among others.

A crocodile lying on a muddy bank beside green water, with a wire fence behind.
A crocodile.
Two kangaroos among trees on dry ground, with a group of brown whistling ducks at their feet.
Kangaroos and whistling ducks.
A koala asleep in the fork of a eucalyptus tree, curled up among the leaves.
A koala asleep in a tree.
A wombat held upright on the lap of a seated keeper, on a wooden bench beside the water.
A wombat with one of the keepers.

It was nice to have the opportunity to see a little more of the place beyond the hotel and the workplace.

From work to a holiday

By the time my work in Queensland was finished, I had spent several weeks away from Singapore.

What had initially felt like a rather daunting assignment had turned into an enjoyable experience. I had managed the work, met colleagues who made me feel welcome, and seen a little of a part of Australia I had never visited before.

But the trip wasn’t over.

Instead of returning straight to Singapore, I flew across Australia to Perth, where I was meeting the same friend with whom I had climbed Mount Kinabalu the previous year.

Neither of us knew that this would lead to one of my favourite travel memories — a day on Rottnest Island.