Cairns Shopping

Strolling around Cairns and Kuranda we ‘discovered’ three galleries from three different photographers. And it was really amazing to see their beautiful photographic images of the natural landscapes in Australia. They were so fascinating and superb !!

Even if you are not interested in buying something it is interesting just to browse in one of these galleries and to enjoy the beauty of these pics (and the diverse Australian scenery).

Just stroll around and you will find the galleries:
Peter Lik Gallery
4 Shields Street, Cairns
www.peterlik.com

Ric J. Steininger Gallery
63 Abbott Street, Cairns
www.steininger.com.au

Peter Jarver Gallery
Coondoo Street, Kuranda
www.peterjarver.com

What to buy: You can buy every picture you can imagine: small, big, huge, framed, postcard, calendar or book. We decided to buy Peter Lik’s book about the ‘Great Barrier Reef’ with pictures I never could make by myself.

What to pay: From a couple of dollars to ......

Having holiday in Australia for the first time, we felt we had to bring home an original Australian ‘souvenir’. Being attracted by the Aboriginal art we visited a couple of galleries. In Cairns we found Jungara Gallery, a little bit hidden behind all the restaurants along The Esplanade.

What to buy: Jungara Gallery, from a Dutch owner Peter von Brunschot, offers the full range of Aboriginal art, like paintings, didgeridoos, pottery, boomerangs, baskets and much more.

As we had still to fly a lot, we decided to buy a carved boab nut, with very fine incisions. Very light and not too fragile to transport back to home.

The Peter Lik Gallery has some of this famed photographer's works on display/for sale. You can walk through the whole place in 10 minutes and admire all the beautiful photos he has taken. If I had the dough, I probably would have walked out with some of his pieces!

What to buy: I would definitely buy his postcards. They also sell his postcards in other stores, but I would definitely swing by his gallery just to see his work - buying the postcards would just be icing on the cake.

What to pay: The postcards I purchased there were $1 AUD each.

Situated just passed Shields Street, folks craving for retail therapy can have this location to go to for cure. Hundreds of speciality stores offers locals and visitors and large selection of goods and services. Souvenirs and gift shops can be found throughout the complex. Live Entertainment can sometimes be found, especially during the school vacation periods. National and International brands can be found at Myers & Target, the national chains of department stores.

A cinema complex is next to the food court on the upstairs level if you want to catch a quick movie. The food court offers a wide selection of meals, restaurants, snacks and fast food. The design of the food court is very interesting with trees and ponds throughout to highlight the tropical climate of Cairns.

There is plenty of undercover and off street parking as well.

What to buy: The usual mall stuff.

What to pay: Depends on what you're buying. No bargaining though.

This is a large market where vegetables and other produce is sold. There is a limited amount of other merchandise, but the focus is really on the produce. You need to walk a few blocks away from the wharf and more touristy areas to access the market, but it might be worth it if you are preparing your own food like we were.

What to buy: I bought mud bugs here, as well as a few other things. Its all farm fresh, from eggs to spinach to "capsicum", the Australian term for green peppers.

What to pay: Less than in a grocery store.

From Cairns, a visit to Port Douglas is a 'must'. Go on Sunday and you'll find a casual market under the palm trees. Most customers are locals but tourists also shop here.

What to buy: Casual clothing, sun-hats, souvenirs, arts & crafts, home-made preserves & cakes.

What to buy: there are lots of shops in Cairns selling Drizabone coats, jackets, hats etc
the Drizabones are manufactured in Queensland and prices here were much lower than we had seen in Sydney or the Blue Mountains

we had bought Drizabone riding coats in Katoomba simply because it was so wet there, and we loved them, they were so cosy and dry, but they were 50AUD cheaper in Cairns

you can even buy Drizabone coats for dogs !

What to pay: our coats were a really great bargain even at the higher price we paid, in the UK we would have had to pay 175 GBP instead of 175 AUD

There are plenty of stalls here, and we thought that Cairns was cheapest for souveniers out of all the places we visited
some of the stalls sell incredibly tacky stuff, but among them are some great craft stalls with unique things

What to buy: if you dont want to buy anything then you can get a massage, neck, arms and back cost A$20 and lasted 30 minutes, camcorderman said it was one of the best hes ever had