Apologies for the delay. I'll endeavour to post the rest more quickly but I only have enough time for a little bit today.
Transit in Cairns
For those that haven't been to Cairns airport, which is a modest-sized airport, transits can take a surprising amount of time because of the unusual layout and the propensity for flights to arrive and depart in large banks with few flights in between. The airport is currently undergoing renovations (and has been for over a year) but transits were a bit odd even before this.
The airbridge gates are along the western side of the domestic terminal and towards the southern end. They lead to an outside but covered passage that runs northwards all the way to the northern end of the terminal and deposits you landside. At the moment there is a temporary arrivals facility containing baggage claim for Qantas and Qantas Link which is a separate building adjacent and to the north.
For connecting domestic flights go into the main terminal and head south. It used to be open along eastern side inside the terminal all the way to the security check point - albeit past baggage claims and check in desks. With the renovations currently you cannot reach security remaining inside but instead exit the building and walk along the outside to the check in area at the far southern part of the terminal, and then enter backtrack to the north to reach security. Those following closely will have noted we've just about circumnavigated the terminal by this point.
With lots of flights departing at the same time, security queues can get rather large. And they were today. Fortunately they were moving quickly. Unfortunately for me when my carry on bag reached the xray machine they officers decided to stop and argue amongst themselves for a few minutes as to whose turn it was to take a break.
The result was I had no time to visit the lounge and they were already calling me for the next flight, boarding having commenced while I was making the circuit of the terminal.