cairns travel guide

8/9/2019 Cairns Travel Guide

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Cairns, located in the North ofQueensland is just over 2 hoursby plane from Brisbane. Cairns

tourism means the Great Barrier reef,tropical rainforest, restaurants, spas andmany Cairns adventures. Cairnsbusiness district stretches from theEsplanade facing the ocean inland toSheridan Street and at the sides Wharf

and Alpin streets.

The main industry in Cairns is tourismso the Cairns CBD is full of restaurants,bars, shops, banks and tour companies.The main Cairns attraction is the GreatBarrier Reef that is a short boat tripaway. Cairns cruises depart from theReef Fleet Terminal in the centre ofCairns. Cruise liners arrive at TrinityWharf that is a further along WharfStreet.

The main Cairns beaches are to thenorth of Cairns and start beyond Cairnsairport. The beaches stretch up a stripthat is some 26km long. The Cairnsbeaches are each off the main CaptainCook highway which runs north fromCairns up to Port Douglas. The firstbeach to the north of Cairns is Machansbeach and followed by Hollowaysbeach, Yorkeys Knob, Trinity beach,Clifton beach and Palm Cove. Inlandfrom Cairns is the Atherton Tablelandwhich rises at the highest point to1657m at Bartle Frere.

The Atherton Tableland has many smallbed and breakfast places and muchretreat style accommodation. The maintown that is easily reached from Cairnsis Kuranda which is connected to Cairnson the Kuranda Cairns railway. LakeTinaroo is an artificial lake with somegood rainforest walks. Offshore fromCairns are a number of islands. Green

Island is a popular day visit with manyboats from Cairns. Fitzroy Island is anational park with a resort on the island.The Frankland Islands are fiveuninhabited islands that form the Frankland Group National Park.

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Cairns History

Cominos House

Cairns Museum

The City of Cairns is sited onTrinity Beach which was namedby Captain James Cook in 1770.The Aboriginal name for the areawas Gimuy. In 1873 GeorgeDalrymple led a Governmentexpedition to survey Trinity inlet

and reported favourably on its potential. Once the gold wasdiscovered at the HodginsonGoldfield in 1876 the inletdeveloped as a seaport. Cairnswas proclaimed a port settlementon 7 October 1876 by theGovernor of Queensland WilliamWellington Cairns. Cairns wasmade a town on the 28th May1885 and in 1923 a city. There isa very useful Cairns Heritage City

Walk map available from theVisitor Information Centre at 51The Esplanade. The walk takesyou around some of the historicalbuildings within the Shield Street,Lake Street area.

A traditional Queenslander built in1877 and one of the oldest in thecity. 27 Greenslopes Street, (074032 1368).

Cairns museum is located in theSchool of Arts building, Cnr Lake

& Shields St, City Place. Displaysand collections which includelocal history, Aboriginal culture,mining natural history and othercollections are available forviewing. (07 4051 5582)

Cairns Attractions

Flecker Botanic GardensThe Flecker Botanic Gardenslocated 5km from the heart of the

city are a tropical oasis with 38hectares of native Australiangardens. Many plants found herecannot be seen elsewhere. Nextto the botanical gardens isCentenary Lakes, offering anextensive natural experience,including boardwalks & rainforestwalks. Collins Avenue (07 40443398)

Shipwreck Museum

The Esplanade

The museum has good displayson the early exploration of theGreat Barrier Reef. PierMarketplace. (07 4031 0102).

The most interesting street inCairns is the Esplanade, with thesea on one side and a row ofrestaurants, hotels andbackpackers lodges on the other.This area comes to life in theevenings, especially with theNight Market now held here.

The Esplanade ended with a walland mud flats below, not quitethe romantic image which the city

wished to propagate.

The solution, it seemed, wasevident and simple - construct abeach. What was once a grassypark is now a world class facility,featuring an outdooramphitheatre, a large sandyswimming lagoon, grassy picnicareas, walking tracks, free publicbarbeques, children'splayground, shops, restaurants, aGreat Barrier Reef cruisedeparture terminal & anenvironmental interpretationcentre, all right in the heart of thecity.

Pier Marketplace

Royal Flying DoctorService Visitor Centre

Next to the New EsplanadeProject is the Pier Marketplace, acombination of marina andshopping areas. It boasts adiverse range of shopping,restaurants, a food court, tourbooking lounge and much more.

It also includes Undersea World,a living reef aquarium and is alsothe home of the weekend MudMarkets.

The RFDS centre has a former

RFDS aircraft on display alongwith a range of medicalinstruments. The film “A day inthe life of the RFDS” is alsoscreened. 1 Junction Street,Cairns. (07 4053 1952)






Cairns Rainforest Dome

Cairns Tropical Zoo

Hartley's CrocodileAdventures

Reef Teach

Undersea World

The Cairns Rainforest Dome is awildlife exhibit encased by a 20metre high glass dome on therooftop of the Reef Hotel Casino. Approximately 60 species ofrainforest animals are able towander freely throughout the

enclosure that replicates theirnatural environment. 35 - 41Wharf Street, Cairns. (07 40317250).

Cairns Tropical Zoo is a” handson" wildlife experience. Thephilosophy at Cairns Tropical Zoois that personal interaction withanimals encourages a greaterunderstanding of native wildlifeand promotes the need topreserve their natural habitats.Cairns Tropical Zoo is about 20minutes drive north of Cairnsclose to Palm Cove. CairnsTropical Zoo is set in 6 hectares ofgardens. Lots of opportunities tointeract with the animals. TheCairns Zoo also has a night zoowhich includes an Aussie BBQ.(07 4055 3669).

Hartley's Crocodile Adventureshas a daily crocodile feedingsession and crocodile cruises.Hartley's also has other animalsyou can learn about, such assnakes, koalas and theendangered cassowary. Located

40 minutes north of Cairns on theCaptain Cook Highway. (07 40553576).

Reef Teach is a live 2 hourpresentation about the wonders ofthe Great Barrier Reef. 14 SpenceStreet (07 4031 7794).

Undersea World is a smallaquarium offering the opportunityto swim with the sharks. PierMarketplace, (07 4041 1777)

Cairns Beaches

There are various beaches, allnorth of the city and nearly allaccessible by local bus. Theyvary in character, with Palm Covethe most developed, but all arerelatively quiet and unpopulated.

The first beach beyond Cairns.

Close to Cairns airport and goodfor canoeing, fishing, golfing andsailing and has a few shops

About 10 north of Cairns Airportwith a marina and boat club. Accommodation is along thebeach and there are restaurants,a shopping centre and watersports.

Trinity Beach is 15 minutes drive

north from the CairnsInternational airport. Plenty ofaccommodation, beachfrontrestaurants, shopping andactivities.

Machans Beach

Holloways Beach

Yorkey's Knob

Trinity Beach

Kewarra Beach

Palm Cove

20 minutes drive from the CairnsInternational airport with someaccommodation.

Palm Cove is a very welldeveloped beach resort about30 minutes north of Cairnsairport. Palm Cove is designedto make you relax.

For many in Australia, PalmCove is your idyllic place to bemarried or spend yourhoneymoon.

Palm Cove stretches along abeach and restaurants and bars

face out over the sea.

Some Palm Coveaccommodation is on WilliamsEsplanade facing the ocean andGreat Barrier Reef and the rest afew streets back.


Clifton Beach

20km north of airport with a

shopping centre and someaccommodation.





Around Cairns

Atherton Tableland

A scenic one hour drive in theHighlands west from Cairns is the Atherton Tableland. Tropical NorthQueensland's own mountain

getaway. Situated between theBellenden Ker Range and theGreat Dividing Range, it isregarded as one of the region'sbest kept secrets.

For people visiting the Tablelandsthere are great opportunities forbush walking, bird watching, awildlife cruise, marsupial spotting,hot air ballooning and watersports as diverse as fishing and

white water rafting.

There are spectacular lookoutsand waterfalls, including Australia's widest waterfall,Millstream Falls. Lake Barrine andLake Eacham are deep bluewaters of extinct volcano craterlakes. Lake Barrine has ateahouse overlooking the lakeand lake cruises.

Yungaburra is a tranquil villagesituated 2500 feet above sea leveland located in a pocket of openrainforest. Around the village arewaterfalls, craters and lakes.Located about one hour fromCairns on the AthertonTablelands. A major attraction isthe curtain fig tree which is only 5minutes from Yungaburra.

Barron Gorge National Parkextends from the mid-altitude Atherton Tableland uplands nearKuranda down the steeply slopingrange to the low-altitude coastalarea northwest of Cairns. BarronGorge National Park extends fromthe mid-altitude AthertonTableland uplands near Kurandadown the steeply sloping range tothe low-altitude coastal area

northwest of Cairns.

The Gorge is one of the mostvisited sites in the World Heritage Area, with visitors choosingbetween several modes of

Barron Gorge

transport through the park,including the historic Kurandatrain and the Skyrail cableway.They provide spectacular viewsof the Gorge and the Barronincluding the historic Kurandatrain and the Skyrail cableway.They provide spectacular viewsof the Gorge and the BarronRiver far below. At the top of theGorge near Kuranda are theBarron Falls.

The Daintree and CapeTribulation is about 90 minutesnorth of Cairns. It is an area ofspectacular scenery with tropicalrainforest and ocean. TheDaintree Cape Tribulation coast

is where the Great Barrier Reefand the Daintree rainforest meet,the only place on earth where twoWorld Heritage areas exist sideby side.

A coral cay on the Great BarrierReef. The island is almost 30kilometres from Cairns, butnowadays modern catamarans

cover this distance in 45 minutes.The main attraction on GreenIsland is Marineland Melanesiawhich is an art gallery, aquariumand crocodile farm. At the end ofthe Jetty is the MarineObservatory, a good place to seecorals.

Fitzroy Island is larger thanGreen Island and 45 minutesfrom Cairns. Fitzroy has a resortwith less obvious coral and muchmore vegetation than GreenIsland.

Daintree

Green Island

Fitzroy Island

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is theworld's largest World Heritage Area extending over 2000kilometres and covering an areaof over 350,000 sq km. TheGreat Barrier Reef is the world'slargest World Heritage Area

extending over 2000 kilometresand covering an area of over350,000 sq km.

It is probably the best knownmarine protected area in theworld including over 2800individual reefs and more than1000 islands. The Great BarrierReef's great diversity reflects thematurity of the ecosystem, whichhas evolved over hundreds of

thousands of years. It is theworld's most extensive coral reefsystem and is one of the world'srichest areas in terms of faunaldiversity.


Kuranda

The settlement of Kuranda islocated approximately 30kilometres north west of Cairns.

Kuranda's difference in altitude,together with its much smallersize, gives it a completelydifferent feeling from Cairns, itscity neighbour.

In the market area you can alsofind Birdworld with many exoticspecies of Australian andoverseas birds, including thecassowary. You can also findthere a Butterfly Sanctuary, the

largest in Australia, with some2,000 butterflies. There are alsovarious rainforest walks ofgreater and lesser lengths andthere is a bat rehabilitation homeon the edge of town.





Lake Barrine

Kuranda Scenic Railway

One hour from Cairns is thevolcanic crater filled with crystalclear water. There is a pleasantteahouse overlooking the lake andlake cruises.

The trip by train to Kuranda isdescribed by QueenslandRailways as a 34 kilometre longpicture postcard. It is a routewhich must rank amongst theworld's best short journeys and isa ride which you will alwaysremember. Construction of thisroute was commenced in 1882,but Kuranda Station was notopened until 1891. The buildershad to surmount the tremendouschallenge of rising from sea levelto an elevation of 328 metresthrough rugged, inhospitable andthickly forested terrain. It was agreat engineering achievement,necessitating the construction offifteen tunnels and 37 bridges andviaducts.

The train starts out from Cairns onthe flat through the residentialparts of the city, stopping atFreshwater, if required, andRedlynch. This part of the journey,although pretty, gives little hint ofwhat is to follow. Now we start toclimb, and this is no ordinaryclimb, for there was nowhere toput a railway here.

It follows the creek bed, twistingand turning with its host, but evenhere ledges have had to be

carved to support the track.Where such engineering worksproved impossible, tunnels wereconstructed, and soon we start tonegotiate them.

The original plan incorporatednineteen tunnels, but in the end itwas decided to convert four ofthem into deep cuttings, throughwhich we shall pass. Fifteentunnels remain. They vary inlength between 60 metres and430 metres and all have agradient of approximately one insixty. They were all opened totraffic on 15th June 1891.

Particularly in the Wet Season,between December and April,this area receives heavy rainfall,which not only hamperedconstruction of the line, butcaused landslides, destroyingwork already completed andcausing several fatal accidents.

The difficulties of working in suchconditions can be imagined aswe crawl up the forested slopesand thread our way through thetunnels. Several times we obtainpanoramic views back over thefoothills to the coastal plain andthe Coral Sea glistening beyond.Stoney Creek station comes atapproximately the mid-point of the climb.

If one had to pick a singlehighlight of this journey, it wouldbe the lofty curving viaduct whichcarries the railway in front of

Stoney Creek Falls. It is thescene most often displayed onleaflets advertising this serviceand, during the construction ofthe railway, it was the spot

chosen for a banquet held incelebration of the visit of theGovernor in April 1890. It is saidthat the location chosen alsoeliminated the need forspeeches, since nothing could beheard above the noise of thewaterfall. On the section of linebetween Stoney Creek andBarron Falls we pass through thelast two tunnels, the second of

which is by far the longest on theline, at 430 metres.

If precedent is followed, the trainwill be stopped at Barron FallsStation, a signal passed andwater allowed to escape from thedam on the Barron River in orderto permit Barron Falls to flow forthe benefit of railwaypassengers, a charming custom.

Kuranda Station, at the end ofour journey, is, in itself,something of a tourist attraction.Constructed in 1915, it hassomehow managed to transformitself into a railway botanicalgarden.

Much as stationmasters wereonce famed for their horticulturalinstincts, you will never haveseen anything on a railwayplatform quite like this verdant

and luxuriant growth. The trainused for this journey consists ofrefurbished 1920s carriageshauled by a modern diesellocomotive.






Cairns Skyrail

Skyrail is a 7.5km gondola ride

over the rainforest to Kuranda.Two midway stations providegood views of the rainforest andthe Barron falls. The ropewaycarries you above the treetops ofthe dense rainforest here, causingno disturbance to it. The journeyitself takes about 45 minutes, butthere are two places on the wayat which to stop.

The first is Barron Falls Station,where walkways lead to three

lookouts over the Barron River,the Barron Gorge and BarronFalls. Located there is also theRainforest Interpretive Centre.Since you have already paidplenty for this journey, there is noextra charge for this museum.

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The route then continues to RedPeak Station, where a twenty-minute guided tour of therainforest environment is

available. The Skyrail is locatedat the corner of Kamerunga Roadand the Captain Cook Highway.(07 4038 1555)

Tjapukai

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

is a most awarded touristattraction in Australia.

It is located on 25 acres of landowned by the Tjapukai people atCaravonica, near Smithfield, 15minutes north of Cairns alongCaptain Cook highway next to theSkyrail terminal.

Seven separate areas allowvisitors to experience every facetof the rainforest people's culture.

This is a multi theatre experience,open daily. There are numerouspackages available includingtransport or just entry to all parkattractions. (07 4042 9999).








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