The Cairns Esplanade

Cairns Qld 4870 (Pop 128 000)

Cairns is a hugely popular Tropical North Qld tourist destination 1,680 km n-w of Brisbane. It was originally settled in 1876 and the railway and port assured the town’s future exporting sugar cane, gold and agricultural products from the surrounding district. Today tourism and sugar cane are the economy’s mainstays. Pier Market (weekends). Festival Cairns (Sept).

Tourist Attractions & Info:
Flecker Botanic Gardens (Collins Ave) Australia’s only wet tropical botanic garden (est. 1886) has magnificent displays of a huge variety of tropical plants from around the world. The adjacent Centenary Lakes have turtles and mangrove birds. Regional Gallery, cnr Shields & Abbott Sts beautiful local exhibits in a National Trust-classified building. Foreshore Lagoon for safe swimming (closed Wed am). Cairns Museum, cnr Lake & Shields Sts interesting display of the area’s Aboriginal, goldrush, timber and sugarcane history. Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Centre, Junction St features the service’s interesting history and displays (closed Sun). Mount Whitfield Conservation Park (next to Botanic Gardens) protects the closest rainforest to Cairns and features two circuit walks through rainforests, grasslands and forested mountain range. The summit affords lovely views of Cairns and the Coral Sea. Bulk Sugar Terminal, Cook St runs tours (June-Dec).

Nearby:
Great Barrier Reef & Islands (reached in less than an hour by boat) for great snorkeling, diving, swimming, fishing and sightseeing. The Islands can be divided up into three categories: Tropical North (including Magnetic, Bedarra, Dunk, Green, Lizard), Whitsundays (including Brampton, Lindeman, Hamilton, Hook, Hayman) and Southern Reef (including Lady Musgrave, Heron, Great Keppel). Daintree NP and Cape Tribulation (110 km north) where the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics meet. This beautiful park features tropical rainforests, swamps, mangroves, beaches and many walks (from 400 m to 1.2km) Alexandra Range lookout for sweeping coastline views. Barron Gorge NP (18 km north) spectacular Barron Falls, Skyrail cableway (over 7.5 km in length), famous Kuranda railway, whitewater rafting and rainforest walks from Speewah or Kamerunga. Crystal Cascades (end of Redlynch Valley) walks by cascades.

Accommodation:
Cairns has over 30 motels, 16 hotels, several resorts, holiday apartments/cottages and about a dozen caravan parks. Visitor Information Centre: 51 The Esplanade. Tel (07) 4051 3588.