Cairns/Atherton - ideas on what to do

[fisho mcspaz]

I just realised that tomorrow I will be in Cairns and with no knowledge of it other than my memories from when I was there sixteen years ago, for a week, when I was nine. (My mum: 'I hope you've got a map.' Me: 'Nah, that's cool, I remember where everything is.') I have a fair idea as to where the markets are and the Esplanade but apart from that I am relying on chance.

So yeah - for Saturday I'll be looking for stuff to do in Cairns, maybe Kuranda as well, and Sunday I'll be in Yungaburra so will be wandering around that region too. Do any of you have any recommendations for things to do? Just to narrow it down - I've got a six-month-old baby who will be accompanying me; I don't like shopping for clothes, shoes or expensive stuff, but I DO like shopping for weird things like painted wooden fish and clay perfume bottles; I like walking and I would really like to go somewhere where I can find a brush turkey because they are fun to chase and they have a cool red and yellow ring around their necks. Lastly, I will probably be knackered as I've currently got food poisoning and am only just starting to get over it, so that may rule out mountain climbing and hang-gliding.

[AFLflyer]

prob too late, but if your in the tablelands, do the waterfall treble, miller miller, zillie falls and i forgot the other, but they are good and close to each other.
awesome steak feeds at Atherton too.

if you have time, it's quick to get to mission beach from there and you must hunt for a cassowary. much better than than the brush turkey.
p.s no brush (bush) turkeys in FNQ.
enjoy!

[AFLflyer]

plus, lake eacham in the tablelands is a great swiimming spot and good turtle spotting too!

[Booney]

If you only have the one day in Cairns fisho, and have a fishette with you, enjoy the sunshine and spend the day at the lagoon on the Esplanade.

You wont have time to do Kuranda, it is a full-on day trip.

I would :

Get up early and catch the bus ( pretty good public transport ) to Palm Cove for a walk along the beach. Lots of little shops along the water front, kill a few hours and see a very nice part of the world.

Bus it back to the Lagoon for a while until the fishette needs a sleep in the mid-afternoon ( fisho might need one too - lol ) and then back to the Lagoon for a dip before a walk through the night markets where $8-10 will get you a good feed of Chinese/Indian/Thai in the markets dining area.

All in all, with so many tourists/backpackers around I would just sit and watch the young tanned world go by. ( Good for the male and female eye )


*EDIT - Just read the dates/days.... perhaps next time *

Whoops.

[fisho mcspaz]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I had a ball up in Queensland. I'm in the process of writing about it on 'Fisho's Frolics'.

[woodublieve12]

my bro lives in Pt douglas... loved it...

[Felch]

I just got back from a week in Cairns with the family. Sensational place, and had a great time.

Went out to Green Island for a day, and checked out the Barrier Reef. Kids loved it, were even lucky enough to see a few turtles. Drove up to Port Douglas for a daytrip also. Nice part of the world. Stopped at Palm Cove on the way there.
Took the train up to Kuranda, which was an experience with a very energetic 2 year old - the trip is over an hour, past some awesome scenery. I wasnt impressed with the actual town of Kuranda - reminded me of a hippy version of Hahndorf. The Skyrail cable car trip back was excellent though.
We have some good friends up there, so they took us to Lake Morris on Saturday. Its where Cairns water supply comes from, and its a 10km drive on very winding, narrow bitumen. Worth the trip though.
Due to me having to work, the wife and kids were there for 4 days before i got there, so they visited the croc farm and did a fair bit of shopping and stuff without me.
We stayed in a villa/cabin at the Coconut Resort - a huge Big4 caravan park, a couple of kms south of Cairns. Fantastic place for the kids, 2 pools, a water park, mini-golf and a playground/jumping pillow-thingy.
Only downer for the trip was my eldest daughter falling over at the water park and smashing her front teeth. She knocked out one, which was a baby tooth luckily but she cracked one of her adult front teeth down the middle. Took her off to the dentist, and he fixed it pretty quick AND pretty cheaply.
I loved Cairns, and could easily see myself living there if the right job came along.

[Psyber]

...Only downer for the trip was my eldest daughter falling over at the water park and smashing her front teeth. She knocked out one, which was a baby tooth luckily but she cracked one of her adult front teeth down the middle. Took her off to the dentist, and he fixed it pretty quick AND pretty cheaply.

The split up the middle is a bad sign, but I hope it doesn't go the way mine did.
Eventually the nerve died, then the enamel flaked away gradually, and the filling in the split kept falling out.
Plastic facings held it together for a while, but the tooth inside broke away piece by piece ultimately to gum level.
A spike up the root to hold a prosthetic tooth lasted a year or so, then the root split.
End result: a Titanium implant and new prosthetic tooth attached.

Mind your that process went on over about 18 years - but I'd hate to add up the money.
I wouldn't have bothered had it been a back tooth.

Back to the topic - I've always wanted to go to Cairns, but I've only been as far north as Bundaberg.
I'll get around to flying up some time so I'll save the tips that come up in this thread.

[Drop Bear]

I just got back from a week in Cairns with the family. Sensational place, and had a great time.

Went out to Green Island for a day, and checked out the Barrier Reef. Kids loved it, were even lucky enough to see a few turtles. Drove up to Port Douglas for a daytrip also. Nice part of the world. Stopped at Palm Cove on the way there.
Took the train up to Kuranda, which was an experience with a very energetic 2 year old - the trip is over an hour, past some awesome scenery. I wasnt impressed with the actual town of Kuranda - reminded me of a hippy version of Hahndorf. The Skyrail cable car trip back was excellent though.
We have some good friends up there, so they took us to Lake Morris on Saturday. Its where Cairns water supply comes from, and its a 10km drive on very winding, narrow bitumen. Worth the trip though.
Due to me having to work, the wife and kids were there for 4 days before i got there, so they visited the croc farm and did a fair bit of shopping and stuff without me.
We stayed in a villa/cabin at the Coconut Resort - a huge Big4 caravan park, a couple of kms south of Cairns. Fantastic place for the kids, 2 pools, a water park, mini-golf and a playground/jumping pillow-thingy.
Only downer for the trip was my eldest daughter falling over at the water park and smashing her front teeth. She knocked out one, which was a baby tooth luckily but she cracked one of her adult front teeth down the middle. Took her off to the dentist, and he fixed it pretty quick AND pretty cheaply.
I loved Cairns, and could easily see myself living there if the right job came along.

My missus and spent a week up there at the start of the year. We both loved it, and like you mate, could easily see ourselves living there.

[Booney]

I too have been up there, several times now as the mother-in-law previously lived up there and the Grandmother-in-law lives in Cape Tribulation, just near Cow Bay in the Daintree. This beach is about 300m through the rainforrest from their place. Stingers Nov-Feb and big Saltys sitting off shore if you dare swim out far enough. Estuary ankle biters at the fresh water inlets...



Depending what time of year you go makes you think twice about moving up there. Go in the middle of January when it is at its peak humidity wise and you might just think twice.

All in all though, a beautiful part of the world and I agree with all the sentiments above.