Do you believe there's a place that feels like the end of the world? Cairns is it!
As we're landing in this very north-eastern city in Australia, the first sign of civilization that I saw were corrugated tin roofs. After landing and driving to our B&B, you realize this is a very small town and a far cry from the sophistication of Melbourne. It's hard to believe this is the same country. It's not uncommon to what you would see in small-town USA, or remote Canada.
It's a city that seems very remote and detached from the global community: by style, dress, feel, character, behaviour ... everything! Robin called the locals 'Frontier People'! Somehow living on the edge of a global society. Due to that though ... the place has a very relaxed and slow pace, which is sometimes not all that bad.
There are some things that we had to get used to: everyone seems to be tattooed, there are a lot of people that walk around barefoot - on the streets, in shopping malls, everywhere ... hmmm, massive slobbering dogs roaming around, ...
After our time in Cairns, I have to say that there are two main reasons why to come here: Great Barrier Reef, which is just next door and the World Heritage status tropical rainforest. Other than that ... run :-)
Actually, if we had done a little bit more research on the area, we would have stayed at a small holiday community just north of Cairns called Palm Cove, or in Port Douglas, which seemed like a lovely boutique holiday destination.
Do you research prior to going on a vacation folks!
HOW TO GET THERE:
Given the size of Australia, the domestic airline market is very extensive, although still very much run by Quantas ... thus not always cheap! Of course there's Quantas and Quantas owned JetStar plus Virgin Blue. And I think that's it!
We were referred to one website that consolidated all these airline tickets and gave you a great price and schedule comparison called WebJet ... it's a great way to start planning your Australian domestic trip.
WHAT TO DO:
> Great Barrier Reef: It truly deserves to be one of the seven wonders of the world! I was curious to see what it was going to be like. We've been to many beautiful islands and reefs/snorkeling locations around the world. What makes the reef special though is the number of different species that you will see while in the water. That is truly unique. The Great Barrier Reef is huge ... 344,00 square kilometres. It is 2300 km long, extending up the north-eastern side of Australia. It is home to 400 types of coral, 1500 species of fish and 4000 types of mollusc. Today's living reefs are about 10,000 years old. Can you imagine? From Cairns, where the reefs are closest to the mainland, you can take several excursion boats. I highly recommend the Reef Encounter. And don't do a day trip ... make sure you stay overnight, for that is when you truly experience the beauty of this natural wonder. By staying two full days, you will get a chance to snorkel or dive 6 times a day in different locations on the outer reef (approx 60 km from coastline), morning, noon and night. The food was plentiful and the crowd on the boat young and energetic. We saw a gizillion different types of fish, turtles, clams, corals, and yes ... sharks! Best of all, I did my very first (and second) dive here. WOW ... exhilarating and at times a bit scary experience ... especially when I did the night dive. You go down with an instructor in complete darkness, with only a torch in hand. In front of yourself you have your narrow path illuminated, but all around you ... pitch black! When suddenly a school of very big fish pass you from the side, close-by to you, for they're all to happy that you're lighting up the way for them as they're in search of their prey! For my second dive ... I thought I was being quite courageous. Will never forget this experience!
> Prehistoric World Heritage Rainforest trip: This full-day tour of the tropical rainforests in the Cape Tribulation and Daintree area was stunning! This is truly what Australia has to offer ... stunning nature that is untouched due to the small population size and large land mass. The day commences with the beautiful drive up north from Cairns, along the beach, heading to Port Douglas. What surprised me are all the sugar cane plantations. This is sugar country! After Port Douglas we headed for a boat trip down Daintree River. And this is where we saw Fat Albert and his mates ... and girlfriends! Initially we kept spotting the so-caled log-odiles ... but then we saw him ... a 5 metre long imposing crocodile named Fat Albert. He was beautiful, fat and tanning on the banks of the river ... and looking at us! The tour guide told us he's used to the swarms of tourists that come to gawk at him. And we spotted 4 more crocs after that, although none as big as Albert. We also saw a snake resting on a dead branch right above the water. After that you drive deep into the World Heritage Rainforest around the Daintree / Cape Tribulation area. The forest is lush, green and impressive. This is supposedly the oldest rainforest in the world and it's stunning. The diversity of flora and fauna is mind-boggling! We also visited an entomological (insect) museum, stopped on the beach at Cape Tribulation and at several other scenic viewpoints on the way. And our guide was superb, telling us all about the gold-rush history of this area ... true frontier land! We booked the tour with Trek North.
> Private helicopter ride over the Great Barrier Reef with Sky Safari: MUST DO!!! This is something you will always remember, for besides just flying over the Great Barrier Reef, you also land on Middle Cay ... which is basically a small sand island in the middle of a reef, some 30 km from the shore. And when I say small ... I mean small! Martin our guide/pilot pulls up an umbrella, prepares a meal for you, opens the champagne and fills up the flutes. You make a toast in your bathing suit and all that you have around your private little island of sand is the beautiful blue sea, a helicopter, a pilot/guide and an umbrella stand in the sand! To add to the effect ... add wind! It was so windy that our champagne flutes had sand in them in no time, even if we were hiding behind the umbrella. And while standing on the island, at points, you felt like you were being sand-blasted. But it's all part of this spectacular nature!
> walk down the esplanade/promenade in Cairns: this is not a natural coastline, but reclaimed land. After all, the area around Cairns used to be a mangrove swampland! You can walk along the whole bay leading up to 'downtown' Cairns. It's breezy, it's relaxing and it's very, very calm!
RESTAURANTS:
> Salt House: located right by the marina in downtown Cairns, this is a perfect place for a meal or an afternoon drink. Relaxing outdoor setup with great fish and chips, and sauvignon blanc from Margaret River.
> Cock & Bull (6 Grove Street): their slogan is value and style! As you walk in, style definitely doesn't come to mind. This restaurant/bar is a snap-shot of the local scene, with stuffed animals adorning every wooden wall, plastic fish hanging from the ceiling and the centrepiece? a stuffed lion standing tall above his prey ... also stuffed! We sat down and waited for a waiter ... until a local told us it was self-service. The place was packed with locals and very lively. And the food ... well you definitely got value. We had crocodile and kangaroo meat for dinner ... and the portions had a mountain of food on them. Have to give it to the Cock & Bull ... a very memorable place and my kangaroo was delicious!
> Annabel's bakery (corner of Sheridan and Charles Street): since breakfast at our B&B ended at 0930 ... and we were never ready by then ... we would drop by our friend Annabel and have a long-white (Ozzie speak for latte ... I think) and a muffin. Very local setting, and as we sat at one of the two tables in front of the bakery, there was never a lack of interesting characters walking by.
> Villa Romana (corner of Aplin Street and Esplanade): this is the Italian restaurant in town. Right next to the beach, packed with people, with a gentle evening breeze blowing while you eat your rigatoni.
HOTELS:
This is one thing that seems to be lacking in Cairns. There are a lot of 2 and 3 star hotels, some B&B's but not much more. There was a Hilton Hotel and a Shangri-La Marina Hotel on the harbour.
There are some interesting options around Cairns though. As I mentioned earlier, we didn't really do our research prior to coming here. Something to consider:
> Thala Beach Lodge Hotel: north of Cairns, on the way to Port Douglas
> Green Island Resort: one of the few islands on the reef with accommodation
> Double Island: private beach resort
> Port Douglas and Palm Cove: Palm Coves is very close to Cairns, while Port Douglas is a boutique resort community. Both looked much more interesting than Cairns!
Bojan Tercon
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