I'm safely out of Victoria, now in Cairns

Before I start, apologies for the more serious tone, but I'll probably write another post midweek back to my normal style. I've just arrived in Cairns, having left Melbourne. As many people will know, the state of Victoria has suffered serious bushfires, which encroached on the edges of the city. So, this last week I've rather been stuck in the city of Melbourne. Was a bit scary been a matter of miles from such a disaster zone, and at times feared for the worst. But somehow, for me at least, things worked out OK- and I'm now safely away.
I have managed to see some of the sights of a quite magnificent city though. Last night I went with some people I met at Hope Church on Sunday to see a classical concert at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl, followed by some Malasian food out in Chinatown, which made a change from the microwave cooking, as I don't really have the facilities out here to endulge my culinary skills. I also took city tours on the City Circle Tram and the Tourist Shuttle bus. I also visited the King's Domain park near the architecturally sublime Flinder's Street Station; and the Sports Precinct to the East of the city centre, seeing an array of famous stadia, besides the Melbourne Cricket Ground, including the Rod Laver Arena and the 1954 Olympic Park.
Now, I'm in Cairns in Far North Queensland in the extreme North-East of Australia. I'll be visiting the Great Barrier Reef and Cape Tribulation, then going South to Brisbane to visit Fraser Island. It will be from Brisbane that I'll probably blog next
Max