in-all-places: Between the reef and the forest: Cairns Australia

Cairns: coral reef and rain forest

We arrived here from Sydney and the warm weather was more then a blessing announcing that what started as a perfect holiday in Sydney was to be continued.

Cairns is a provincial city bigger then it seems; is cosy and it can be easily mistaken for a small, laid-back seaside town except that there are no beaches.

What makes Cairns a truly wonderful holiday destination: beautiful sunny days, a nice esplanade, a lagoon so you can swim, fancy hotels and plenty of restaurants, bars and alike and crowds of travellers coming and going to snorkel and dive on the coral Reef and to explore the Rain Forests. Maybe this is why the very present post is more about the outdoor activities than about the city itself!

After two days to get accustomed to the city and get some tan we booked our day out to the Great Barrier Reef with a company providing nice trips for small groups and it was perfect; the crew was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and we had plenty of snorkelling time at two great location: Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Outer barrier Reef. And the reef is spectacular!! It was one of the most memorable day of my life!

You can read all details of the fabulous adventure in my review here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Seastar_Cruises_Reef_Day_Trips-Cairns_

As for the Rain Forest we chose a trip to the nearby town Kuranda: up to Kuranda by Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and back by train - the full name being Kuranda Scenic Railway.

The trip started at Skyrail’s Smithfield Terminal, located just 15 minutes drive from Cairns city. We were collected from the hotel by the cable company minivan, on board on a comfy cabin in no time and we had a (approximately) 90 minutes/ 7.5km trip over the fascinating rainforest.

On the way back, the railway is 37 km and it takes more or less same time - both ways offering spectacular views of waterfalls, tunnels, mountains, rivers and gorges and of course - the forest.

With this splendid landscape the two stops on the way up plus the one on the way down were more then enough to allow us to add some spectacular shoots to our photo portfolio. We end up in the central train station, 10 minutes walking distance from our hotel. And another splendid day!

Of course there is more about Cairns: diving, beautiful beaches 10 minutes driving into Smithfield direction, botanical garden …and of course swimming pools and good books!