"Cairns - more than the Great Barrier... " a Cairns Travel Page by vtveen

Visiting the Great Barrier Reef was on our wish list since long times and making an around the world trip we could fit Cairns into our itinerary. It was also our first serious visit to Australia.

Of course the boat trip to the Reef was the highlight of our visit, but to be honest we were, as ‘first time snorkelers’, rather disappointed about the services and help we got during our trip on the Compass.
Nevertheless the Great Barrier Reef itself was ‘a once in a lifetime’ experience.

But Cairns has a lot more to offer. To explore the surroundings we had a rental car for a couple of days, which allowed us to travel where and when we wanted. We made a trip to Kuranda and Mareeba and it was amazing to see how the landscape was changing from a tropical rainforest into (almost) a desert. A notice board along the road said: “Mareeba: where the rainforest meets the outback’.
Another trip was to the Atherton Tableland with its impressive Fig Trees and crater lakes.

Cairns is (of course) very touristy with every kind of accommodation between camping sites and basic hostels, through apartments till five star hotels (and they are still building new and bigger ones), an untold number of travel agencies, shops, galleries, restaurants and ….. everything you need as a tourist.

We were very lucky with the weather and for us it was indeed: ‘Queensland – Sunshine State’.