Cairns Favorites

Favorite thing: Always leave something for the next visit! These are the things I didn't do in Cairns so far and that I want to do when going back:

Ellis Beach & Machans Beach - These are the two Northern Beaches of Cairns that I haven't visited so far. I bet they are beautiful :-)

Crystal Cascades - A freshwater swimming hole in the rainforest, near Redlynch.

Mossman Gorge - A gorge in Daintree National Park that I missed when I visited there. I would love to do a walk with a Kuku Yalanji guide: http://www.yalanji.com.au/

Mangrove Boardwalk - Near the airport. I want to see it because I am fascinated by the eco-system of mangroves!

Frankland Islands - Beautiful islands with great snorkelling, too expensive for me on my last visit ;-)

Fitzroy Island - I was there but did not manage the walk to the peak. Next time I will be fitter and complete the hike!

Favorite thing: David Hudson is a musician from Cairns who is of the Ewamin people. Although the didgeridoo is not a traditional instrument of his people, he is a didgeridoo player and also plays the guitar and many other instruments. He is one of the founders of the Tjapukai park (that I don't really like, see my Tourist Trap tip), and has travelled the world presenting his music.

David has produced both CDs with very traditional music and CDs with a kind of new age music (didgeridoo combined with electronic sounds, waves, birds and so on). I love the first style much more and very much like to listen to it.

My favourite CD is "Yigi Yigi". You can listen to one of the records here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf0RrQ62jw8

His website is: www.davidhudson.com.au

Favorite thing: "Cairns and beyond" is a lovely giftbook that I would recommend if you are looking for a unique and small present. It is a book by Steve Parish who is a famous photographer and has made countless books about Australia and the Australian wildlife. I have several ones of him and there are also many that are not so good, but I really like this one, as the photos are absolutely gorgeous and the book gives a good presentation of Cairns and surroundings. To my mind, it captures the atmosphere very well. I leaf through it very often to remember my beloved Far North Queensland :-)
You can get the book at many souvenir and bookshops. I bought it at Cairns Central.

Picture by (c) Amazon

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Favorite thing: The mudflats along the Cairns esplanade is a haven for many species of birdlife,mud crabs and other creatures.It has a wonderful boardwalk with viewing stations and is a great place to have a picnic/bbq--especially at dusk.
The childrens playground called "muddies" is a great place for families with water features to cool off--most children like to watch the mudcrabs when the tide is out.The "Nard" is also used for exercise--joggers,bike riders etc and have exercise stations placed along the 2 1/2 klms stretch.
It is such a tropical paradise.

Fondest memory: The tropical climate and surrounding mountains and the laid back atmosphere.

Favorite thing: Cairns is the gateway to the northern areas of the tropical rain forests and the Great Barrier Reef.

There is not much to do in the city itself, besides a few random small museums. But there are ample quantities of hotels and restaurants. Most people stay in Cairns only to venture out on day trips. Among them, to places like Kuranda, Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation, Daintree, Mossman or diving in the Great Barrier Reef.

Port Douglas offers a smaller and quieter place to base your trip from, as well as shortening your commute by about an hour on most day trips. That being said too, Cairns has no beach in the city while Port Douglas has a beach nearly 5km long only 5 minutes walk away.

Favorite thing: Hi I am a long time Cairns local & not ashamed to give our area a good old fashioned plug.
If I were you I would look at renting an apartment or try the Discovery Resort Cairns 183 Lake Street Cairns --this is within an easy walking distance to the Esplanade and city centre. www.discoveryresort.com.au or you could try Park Regis Cairns City Quays 6 Lake Street Cairns or visit www.parkregishotels.com
you may get an early bird special rate. This hotel has a rooftop pool & a tour desk,broadband internet & secure parking.

Apart from exploring Cairns eateries & shopping and the famous mudflats on the Esplanade where you can see many different species of birdlife and of course the mudcrabs--you could take a trip to Green Island or Fitzroy Island spend some time there before heading out to the outer reef to experience the reef in all its glory. Some day trips could be a tour North to Cape Tribulation stopping for lunch at Port Douglas & visiting Mossman Gorge--if you have time visit Silky Oaks Lodge for a quite drink or for lunch it is a beautiful place and not far from Mossman township.Along the way it is worth stopping in at Palm Cove one of Cairns Northern beach suburbs.You could have a day at Mission Beach & take either the ferry across or a water taxi to Dunk Island & if you are adventureuos a white water raft trip down the Tully river.
The Great Green Way Tropical Drive South from Cairns to Townville (457 km)or part of this trip takes in some great places such as Eubenagee Wetlands North of Innisfail--it contains a number of rare plant species and assists in the conservation of the regions wildlife particularly birds,butterflies,turtles and crocodiles.From there you could visit Mena Creek Paronella Park which is a major tourist attraction based on the remains of a Spanish grandious home and construction undertaken by a Spanish canecutter early in the centry.The park offers the Dream continues tour--a botanical walk through the rainforest gardens and swimming areas. Hinchinbrook Island is Australias largest island national park and is worth a visit to some of the most pristine and beautiful environment areas.Cardwell is the main town near this area and I love this place as it is situated right on the beach--lots of places to eat but in my opinion they bake the best meat pies in QLD you can puchase these from the pie van or from the bakery in the main street.This is the half way point between Cairns & Townville so if you choose to continue on you can visit lots of great places like Lucinda,Tyto Wetlands where there are lots of wallabies and crocodiles that you can view from platforms. Ingham cemetary is a tourist attraction & well worth looking at.Townville is a beaut city and boasts the Strand and Magnetic Island.

West you can do a day trip to the Atherton Tableland South of Cairns to the Kennedy Highway just before you reach Innisfail and follow the waterfall trail to Malanda or up the Kuranda range North of Cairns to Mareeba & then to Atherton or up the Gillies range South of Cairns turn off at Gordonvale and visit Lake Barrine & Lake Eacham & Lake Tinaroo--Yungaburra is a lovely heritage town with some very nice places to eat,Nicks restaurant is great.Take a look around & see some of the old wood churches. Then onto Atherton & you can do a loop going over the top of the range to Mareeba & down to Kuranda via the range & back to Cairns, You can do a guided tour of these places or you could rent a people mover. No matter what you decide Cairns has a lot to offer,One of my favourite places to go for breakfast is the restaurant at Fleckers Botanical Gardens in Collins Avenue Edge Hill ( a suburb of Cairns) To have one of the waffles with decadent ice cream & chocolate is a wonderful start to the day.
The Pier boardwalk overlooking Trinity inlet & marina with False Cape in the foreground is an ambient place to have lunch or dinner.Tides Hotel serves a good buffet.Mondos part of the Hilton Hotel is a nice outside restaurant & has some special recipes which are a bit different.If you want any more information you can log onto www.cairnseye.com.au

August is a wonderful time to visit --wishing you all the most wonderful trip.
Regards Dorrise

Fondest memory: This is my home and love coming back after a holiday

Favorite thing: The most asked question in the travel forums is...when is the best time to come to Cairns.

So I will try to give you an idea how to decide when to come.
I would visit here at any time of year. Cairns does not close because it rains. It just slows down a little.
During the off season you can get great accommodation prices. Not that the tours are any different in price. You may however grab something at a bargain price.The airfares from the south of Aus also can be a lot cheaper...
It may rain, but you will never be cold and dry out rather quickly:)
You can't swim in the beaches at this time of year as the stingers don't like to share their space:)
BUT accommodation here is all set up for this and have swimming pools. Also there is a great swimming pool at the Esplanade area and other water holes around to have a dip in.

The wet season officially starts from November to March. NOW this doesn't mean it rains non stop all these months. For an example, November 2007 wasn't wet, December had a little rain and Janurary 2008 also had a little rain...it is now Feburary 3rd and we have just started to have rain, mainly of a night, through the day it has been overcast with sunny times.
The humidity is high and it is hot!!
More rain is expected now during the next couple of months and also a cyclon or two can come to visit us. No one really knows , only the weather gods!!

The high season is the dry season, this is from around April onwards to November.
During this time you can have perfect days for weeks....BUT then I have known years where you can get rain in the middle of July!! Once again it's the weather gods!!!
If you want to beat the rain, July, August, September are really the best months. These months you can also swim in the beaches.

So you will just have to make up your own mind:)

Favorite thing: An expedition to the reef is a fairly standard commodity and, though they charge in different ways, you will generally pay the same amount no matter what company you choose. What you want to use to guide your choice of a reef excursion are other considerations.

1. What part of the reef is the boat going to visit.? You might want to revisit the site of a previous dive, or you might want to see something new, but they go to the same spots every day, weather dependent.

2. How fast is the boat? Obviously, slower boats stay closer to shore, and you spend more time getting from point A to point B and less time in the water doing what you paid for.

3. How big is the boat. This is important for those of you who get seasick. A bigger boat is more stable, has a higher resistance to rough seas and is generally more comfortable.

4. Where does the boat leave from? Does it leave from the docks in Cairns, or do you need to take a long trip up to Pt. Douglas in the wee hours of the morning? Boats that go to the northern part of the reef, known for its clear water, generally do leave from Pt. Douglas.

5. Food.

6. Number of dives and the number of times they move the boat.

7. How many snorkelers will be there? Snorkelers generally take up a lot of space in the water and can crowd your dive ladders. The fewer there are, the better.

8. The ratio of divers to divemasters. The lower the better.

Fondest memory: Clearing my mask and suddenly seeing the exotic fish in all their color. It just kind of dawns on you that everything everyone told you about the wondrous sights is true, but that there really aren't words to describe it. About the best comparison I can make is being in someone's carefully maintained fish tank, filled with brightly colored fish you've never seen before.