Here’s a daily retelling of our recent holiday in Cairns Australia.
Monday
On Monday we decided to get the adrenaline rushing by going white water rafting on the Tully River. It’s a full day trip, they collected us from our resort at 6.45am and we didn’t return until about 6.00pm. They split you into 6 man rafts for the day. Amazingly, for Cairns the water temperature is quite cold, but you soon forget about that as you come to the first rapid. What a buzz! The river tries to send the raft everywhere. Don’t fear though, the guides are all fully trained and certified.
Tuesday
Today we decided to have a lazy day around the resort. A few cold beers and some seafood for lunch made it the perfect day.
Wednesday
Today we finally got to go to the Cairns Great Barrier Reef. We went out with Sunlover Cruises. They have a platform permanently moored at the reef. The snorkelling was awe inspiring with literally thousands of fish of all colours all around you. The coral was fantastic and was so close you could almost touch it.
Wednesday night we went out for a meal and a few beers and caught some Cane Toad racing. They are ugly warty things.
Thursday
Today we visited Kuranda. Kuranda is a quiet little town in the mountains above Cairns. You can get a bus there, but we chose to do the Kuranda Skyrail. The Skyrail took approximately an hour and a half with 2 stops on the way. Kuranda’s a nice town but a little too tacky for my liking. Every second shop is selling didgeridoo’s and the ones in between are selling souveneirs. A must do is the Kuranda Village Markets, with more didgeridoo’s for sale as well as lots of local handmade knick knacks, as well as more didgeridoo’s. We came back by the Kuranda Train with more beautiful scenery.
Friday
Today was another easy day of sorts. We took the chance to spend the day at the lagoon. For a town with crocodiles and stinging jellyfish, this place is a perfect creation.
Friday night we visited the Cairns Night Zoo for dinner show. It was entertaining, but it is meant for travellers from overseas more than locals. The food was pretty basic.
Saturday
Saturday we went to the reef again. Today we went with Ocean Quest on a diving cruise. However we only tried snorkelling, as none of us are qualified scuba divers. The reef was even better than on Wednesday. The absence or crowds makes it a much different day than on the big boat trips.
Sunday
For our last day we went to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest . The Daintree is the worlds oldest rainforest, and it’s quite amazing. They say it’s “where the rainforest meets the reef” and thats about it. The rainforest runs right down to the palm fringed beaches.