Country Mouse City Mouse

A few weeks ago, we took our first family holiday to Cairns to visit my brother and sister-in-law and their new baby boy, my first nephew. My oldest niece also joined us which was lovely.

I lived and worked in Cairns for a short time some years ago and really enjoyed my time there. The lifestyle was so easy and relaxing. I would finish work, be home in ten minutes, go for a run along the beach before taking a swim and heading home for dinner sometimes at the local marinia. In summer, the water was so warm, it was like swimming in soup but in winter, it was beautiful. The cynical ‘city’ side of me assumed that most people were trying to sell me Amway or something because everyone was so darn friendly and welcoming.

When friends from Brisbane came to visit, there was plenty to do…

• catch a catamaran out to an outer ocean reef for some snorkelling to find Nemo in the Great Barrier Reef

• take the skyrail over the rainforest canopy to Kuranda, mill around the Kuranda markets, then take a train back down the mountain, taking in the sights of Barron Gorge

• take a scenic drive to see the waterfall circuit, taking in the amazing beauty of Milla Milla Falls

Ahh, tropical paradise!

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After we returned home from holiday, my husband and I reflected on how different the pace of life is in Cairns and how we felt like the city mice visiting our much more laid back and relaxed country mice relatives.

Amelie was absolutely delighted and besotted by my brother’s pet chickens, Nigella and Deliah. My brother and sister-in-law rescued the chickens from a battery farm. They had been cruelly discarded because they no longer laid eggs. After only a short time of enjoying new luxuries of a large backyard to run about in all day and a ‘mansion-esq’ chicken coup to sleep safely and soundly each night, they soon began to lay eggs again.

Justin recently built a cubby house for Amelie, of not too dissimilar proportions to Nigella and Deliah’s coup. I was super impressed with his efforts and have been boasting to anyone that will listen about my talented DIY husband however I now realise that we took the city mouse approach - we ordered online a flat packed and pre-fabricated house that could be installed in 4 hours. …because we are in such a darn hurry about everything!

On the otherhand, my brother built Nigella and Deliah’s chicken coup himself using recycled timber from the old deck of his house. Each nail had been individually pulled out by hand from the decking boards to be re-used to build the new chicken coup. The whole process took months, but as my brother explained, there was no rush. Justin and I were not only impressed with his building capabilities but also with his patience and dedication to recycling.

We stayed in a resort so that Amelie could enjoy the pool and so we could take advantage of easy access to the beach and beach side cafes for late breakfasts and strong coffee each morning but took turns with my brother hosting dinner. The first night we had dinner at my brother’s house and enjoyed a delicious homemade quiche made by my sister-in-law using Nigella and Deliah’s eggs and herbs and vegetables from their garden.

Because “we don’t do holidays”, we treated ourselves to one of the penthouse apartments with roof top terrace, BBQ and entertaining facilities. This turned out to be a brilliant for hosting a BBQ one night - Amelie and my baby nephew were able to sleep peacefully downstairs while we could relax up stairs. My sister-in-law brought a homemade lemon meringue pie for dessert, again made with Nigella and Deliah’s eggs and the lemons from her sister’s lemon tree (delicious!).

My brother and sister-in-law are both Vets and own their own practice so my brother is able to be home a lot – which is especially lovely for them at the moment while my sister-in-law is home on maternity leave with my nephew. My brother doesn’t work a full week, can be home in less than 10minutes and I often describe him to others as someone that is so laid back, he barely has a pulse (I just realised how bad that sounds…I mean that in a good way though - don’t get me wrong, my brother is awesome, just VERY relaxed).

They enjoy an ‘out doorsy’ lifestyle - filling their weekends with mountain bike rides, treks, trips out to my sister-in-law’s parent’s farm or beach house...while I am happy to take a short stroll with Amelie for a long black and baby cappuccino at our local coffee shop.

I love Cairns, it is one of my favourite places in Australia to visit. Whenever I return, there is a sense that I am returning home – it’s a peaceful place to be and while on holiday there as a family, I loved that we could truly relax amongst the slower pace of life, could enjoy beautiful home cooking with fresh ingredients plucked from lush tropical gardens and happy chickens.

In comparison, our lives seem very busy and at times quite stressful, full of long, frustrating drives to work, long hours, days that usually end with stock standard meals I begrudgedly manufacture in haste and which I often view as yet another dreaded task at the end of a very long day – but despite all this, my husband and I agree....

....we prefer the life of a City Mouse!