Sarah and her family
I’m Sarah, I’m originally from New Zealand and my husband Dylan is from Victoria. In 2007 a friend of mine from Christchurch was house sitting for her Aunty in Australia. I had completed my University Degree, the contract at my work had finished and the lease on my rental was up so I decided to go on a working holiday to Townsville to visit her. I hadn’t planned on permanently moving but then I met my husband and he had two children so I decided to stay.
We stayed in Townsville for 8 years and then decided to do some travelling to follow Dylan’s work. He works in the mining industry doing sales and operations and they have branches all over Australia. In 2014 I had my first child and was on maternity leave so we headed to Kununurra for 3 months. In 2016, 5 months pregnant we we moved to Mount Isa and then in 2017, with 2 children in tow, we moved to Cairns.
We had been to Cairns on holiday before and usually stayed in the city, but when we started looking for rentals from Mount Isa they all seemed to be in the south side: Gordonvale, Edmonton, Bentley Park and Mount Sheridan. After being accepted for a property we started our south side adventure. 6 months later bought a place in Bentley Park.
We didn’t know anyone so I started looking for local playgroups and sporting clubs to get involved in . I thought I would have to travel further but I found lots of activities close by and in the last 4 years we have become involved in playgroups, the Edmonton Community Kindy, school, swimming lessons, gymnastics, dance and more.
It’s 2021 now and I still love the South Side. I joke that I don’t like to leave my bubble but it really has everything I need. It’s so pretty and green, I love the rainforest hills, the sugar cane paddocks and there are lots of good parks in the South side. We love Sugarworld, Fuller Park and the Duck Pond. There are lots of lovely hidden pathway walks to take the dog out and ride scooters and bikes on and heaps of playgrounds, skateparks and creeks along the way. And Kmart. Did I mention Kmart? lol .
Now that the kids are in school we are not planning to move anytime soon . We still love to travel but either keep it local or head to New Zealand to see family and friends.
So yeah that’s my story of how I ended up living in Cairns South and the reasons that I love it and why I’m still here .