Cairns and the Barrier Reef

The city of Cairns, at the base of the Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia, is known as the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. However, don’t let that title make you think the reef is all the area has to offer. We spent a wonderful couple of days in town and out exploring the surrounding area. One note on pronunciation – we were coached on pronouncing “Cairns” correctly – ‘The R is silent…’ (Not sure that help us that much… the more we tried, the worse we got.)

Because the area has such a strong draw for international tourists, there is a pleasant array of different restaurants. We had no problem finding places to eat, especially down along the wharf. After dinner one evening we headed over to the ‘Night Market’, located between Abbott Street and The Esplanade. The market is a colorful experience and has just about anything you might want. Julie found the ideal ‘Australia hat’ with the required kangaroo embroidered on the front.

High Adventure

Most of our traveling companions headed for Kuranda via the old scenic railroad and returned by the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway one morning. Julie and I went climbing in the morning and white water rafting in the afternoon. So, where does one go climbing in downtown Cairns? To the casino, of course. We headed across the street from the Cairns Pullman Hotel to the Reef Hotel Casino and up to the third level. They have an interesting center there called the Zoom and Wildlife Dome that sits above the Casino. Koalas, snakes, crocodiles and a huge variety of birds populate the wildlife portion of the dome. Above all that are several levels of climbing lines, ladders, walls and such.

We got harnessed up and clipped in our safety lines and we were off. We had a great time climbing above the exhibits, even the crocodiles. (Thankfully, as we traversed the zip-line above the crocodiles, they were not actually leaping and snapping at us as the brochure showed.)

Once we were at the top of the dome, several stories above the floor, we headed outside. For the daring, you get a great view of the city, the harbor, and the surrounding terrain. If you really trust your safety equipment you can lean back and dangle over the empty space between you and the streets below. Oh, yeah. That was a rush!

White Water

After lunch (we were hungry after all that climbing), we headed for the Barron River for some more adventure. We started off just below the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Dam with some safety training.

With helmets and life jackets in place, we pushed off. Our guide, Yoshi, had us run through procedures and instructions for paddling a few more times before we hit the rapids. At this time of the year, the river only has Class 3 rapids, but that was sure enough for us. We paddled, got tossed around, bounced the raft off rocks and generally had a great time. While no one from our raft ended up in the water by accident, some other rafters weren’t so lucky. We did leave the rafts a couple of times to ‘aggressively float’ through some of the less demanding sections. One section sucked you down under the water and spit you out the other side. That was awesome.

The water and weather were perfect. In the end, as we were slowly floating to the exit point for the rafts, Yoshi explained that crocodiles were not an issue in the Barron River. At that point, we were floating under a large section of overhanging trees as Yoshi explained that the real danger was from pythons dropping into rafts from overhanging branches. We quickly paddled back to the middle of the river. The Barron River rafting experience definitely gets two thumbs up!

Great Barrier Reef

The first thing you have to understand about snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef is that you have to get there first. It took us two hours to get to the reef via ‘fast catamaran’. Great Adventures has a semi-permanent platform we used as the base. Because there was some risk of jellyfish, we put on ‘sting-suits’ made of lycra before getting in the water. (The suits are very flattering… at least that’s what we were told). The water was nice and the abundance of coral and fish was incredible.

In addition to snorkeling, Julie took a ride on a semi-submergible that she described as amazing. I went out the second time after lunch and was rewarded as the light overcast cleared and the sea was lit up with bright sunshine. Whoa! Here I’d thought the morning was great; there are no words to describe to a variety of life and color! When the ship’s horn sounded at 3:30, signaling our return, we grudgingly climbed back on board.

Farming – Crocodile Style

With Julie’s farming roots, we were looking forward to visiting a crocodile ranch. Hartley’s Crocodile Adventure fit the bill. Floating along on the placid waters we were questioning the need for the steel cage material on the sides of the boat. Then we were told that it was feeding time and some red meat was hung over the side on a section of rope. There was a splash and a monster of a crocodile leaped out of the water and snapped his jaws shut on the meat. I found myself asking if the steel was going to be strong enough to keep that guy out if they ran out of food.

They raise crocodiles here for food and their hide. We had crocodile several times in northern Australia and it was pretty good. Crocodile hide is valued and fetches a pretty penny when used in footwear and women’s handbags. Fortunately, I didn’t need a new handbag.

Hartley’s also had a python demonstration that I took advantage of since I’d never had a python around my neck before. It was interesting, but I’d only recommend it in a supervised environment. The skin was not as rough as I expected, but I could sure feel the muscles under that skin. I was careful not to tick it off.

A Definite Must Do

I hope this gives you a good overview of our time in the Cairns area. There is so much to do here, not just the barrier reef. This northeast corner of Australia is a definite must see if you make it to Australia, we certainly enjoyed it.

More photos from Cairns can be found here.