Cairns

Last year I spent 9 weeks travelling around Australia, travelling up the east coast. I visited many great places along the way and thought that I would add my tips and my thoughts on some of the cities I visited. I am going to start with Cairns located at the top of the east coast in Queensland. Me and my wife decided to stop off here as we had heard great things about the place and I must say I was not disappointed. When we were in Cairns we stayed at a fantastic backpackers called Calypso which we found through an internet search engine. We were picked up by a Calypso minibus and taken to our accommodation located within 10 minutes walking distance of ...  Read the complete review

Cairns - the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef! Upon arriving in Cairns you can be forgiven for thinking that you're entering a small town - it really is. The CBD is appears as a sandy street that you might find in a small town but it doesn't lack character. One thing you feel though is the heat. Especially if you arrive in December the heat can get up to the high thirties and if you're not use to it, it can be a struggle. There is relief though in various tours you can do. You can take a boat out to the Barrier Reef and snorkel over the coral, or you can take a horse ride up in the forests or even a swimming tour of freshwater lakes and ...  Read the complete review

Cairns is a strange place in that you do not really go to Cairns to experience Cairns. It is more of a focal point for exploring other areas around it. That is to say that Cairns has not got lots of attractions in it's own right because it has but the vast majority of visitors will use it as a stopping off place to see both Cairns and other attractions. After our trip to Ayers Rock, Cairns was totally different but equally appealing. ***History*** Discovered by Captain Cook in 1770 it took a further 100 years before white settlers took hold, mainly due to the wet weather, vegetation and treacherous reefs. The finding of gold in "them thar ...  Read the complete review

Before my trip people told me not to go to Cairns as it's 'dirty', 'ugly' and 'boring'. Never one to listen to comments like that, I still decided to stay there for a week, shunning Port Douglas and Palm Cover in favour of accommodation in Cairns itself, and was determined to enjoy myself, or at least experience enough to write a scathing review if need be. Happily this wasn't the case and I spent my week in Cairns wondering what it was that others didn't like. Cairns is a base for exploring the local area, and is served by a busy international airport about 15 minutes from the town centre. I flew up from Sydney with Virgin Blue, paying £40 for a one way ...  Read the complete review

Contrary to what we expected, Cairns turned out to be quite a small town. The population is set at just over 100,000 people and the city centre is neat and compact. At first the place makes little or no impression. It is obvious that tourism is the mainstay and without it, the capital of the North would likely be little more than a backwater. Cairns has a uniquely Oz feel to it. The local bars tout topless gambling nights, check shirted shower avoiding cork dangling hatted old men and one armed bandits that still pull in the punters. The streets are wide and straight and there is little or no high rises. The buildings are largely wooden and have ...  Read the complete review