In and around Cairns

Lovely views in Cairns

We had such a good time exploring around Cairns over a couple of days that we decided to stay an extra night. The area has a lot to do, a lovely friendly vibe, beautiful scenery and great weather.

Actually, scrap that last one because just as we decided to spend some extra time enjoying the outdoors in Cairns the weather gods decided it was about time our adventure finally saw rain again. So we've sadly packed up today and continued our journey south.

But I can tell you the things we enjoyed doing before the rain set in!

The drive from Port Douglas to Cairns has got to be one of the most stunning stretches of road in the country. Forget the Great Ocean Road, I'd rather do this one. Would be nicer in a sports car of some sort, but Suzy Q handled herself pretty well and loved the vistas of beach, rainforest and mountains.

First stops for us before hitting Cairns proper were Skyrail and the Armour and Artillery Museum. At first glance, both seemed rather touristy and I wondered whether we were going to feel as if we'd had a genuinely unique experience. Much to our delight, we ended up loving both!

The Skyrail carried us along 7.5 kilometres of cableway in a gondola up over the mountains to the town of Kuranda. There were lovely views over the top of the rainforest along the way and two stations where we jumped out to do walks through rainforest with kauri pines that are hundreds of years old and to view Barron Falls.

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Kuranda itself is basically a town setup for tourists and we had just a fleeting look at the typically cheap markets before heading to the butterfly sanctuary for a beautiful hour or so watching tropical colours flutter around us. Evie was so excited when a Ulysses butterfly landed on her despite not wearing her butterfly outfit that day. Fun stops together with the sheer excitement of riding on a cable car, proved to be a wonderful day out.

As did the Armour and Artillery Museum. Lukas found the brochure for this at the chocolate and cheese factory in the Atherton Tablelands and, to be honest, I probably would have given it a miss had we not seen it standing tall next to Skyrail.


It was setup by an individual with a passion for collecting cool things like tanks and surface-to-air-missiles and who must have very deep pockets to privately finance it all. Everything has been beautifully restored and apparently most of it is actually in operational condition.

We eagerly booked in for the ride on the APC which was seriously good fun as it rumbled through the carpark out into the back paddock and took us up, down and over hills, creeks and anything else in its way. We scored the museum unanimous 10/10s and I surprised myself with the amount of photos I wanted to take of tanks and guns!

Jami and Pa came along for the APC ride too

A genuine Russian surface-to-air missile on the back
of a truck, would have loved to seen the paperwork for
importing this one!

 

Racing thongs at the waterpark

 And in the centre of Cairns we had a ball (before it started raining) exploring the waterfront. There was gelato, there was a fantastic waterpark and there was the most beautiful lagoon surrounded by parkland perfect for barbecues and picnicking. The big boys loved the vibe of the city and were terribly sad that the rain bought an end to our exploring. Definitely a place to remember for future travels......

Pick the real children.....

Gorgeous fish statues in the lagoon