A Week in North Queensland | Australia
After exploring the wonders of Uluru and the Red Centre, I was off to discover more of Australia’s natural wonders this week. I headed to Cairns, the start or end point of most people’s East Coast road trips between here, Brisbane and Sydney. This was my jumping off point to see the Great Barrier Reef, another of those world-famous sights I’ve known of for years. But I also wanted to explore the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest tropical rainforest in the world! So, I decided to split my week in north Queensland between Cairns and Port Douglas, hiring a car for a few days to travel between them.
Cairns
I didn’t spend all that much time in Cairns really! I arrived off my flight from Alice Springs late at night then spent the whole of the next day on my Barrier Reef trip. There was a little time to explore that evening, plus half an afternoon when I came back from Port Douglas. The waterfront is the busiest part of town for tourists, near the marina where the reef tours depart. Nearby you’ll find Cairns Esplanade Lagoon, a free outdoor swimming pool. It was pretty busy every time I passed it!
There’s an observation wheel and then a boardwalk along the waterfront. This was actually quite interesting because when I saw it morning and evening on my reef day, the water reached all the way to the edge of the park. But when I passed mid-afternoon on my last day, the tide was out, revealing a huge mud flat! While this maybe isn’t the prettiest view, mud flats are a whole ecosystem unto themselves, and there were some helpful information boards to explain this.
The surrounding streets had the usual assortment of restaurants, shopping and tour booking offices you’d expect from a tourist town. The Cairns Aquarium is pretty big and has a restaurant that shares a wall with one of the largest tanks, though I didn’t visit. I did pop into Cairns Central a couple of times too. It’s just a big shopping centre, not particularly noteworthy, but a handy place for some errands in between the smaller towns!
Great Barrier Reef
Anyways, on to the main event! The Great Barrier Reef stretches for a huge distance down Australia’s northeast coast, so you can visit it from numerous locations. Cairns is probably the most popular choice, with an abundance of boat trips to choose from. It was a little overwhelmingly deciding on one! I had done my research in advance though. Some of these companies have floating rafts out on the reef, like mini-resorts to spend the day on, with options for snorkelling, diving, glass-bottom boats and dining. Some also offer half-day trips only, which normally means just time for one snorkelling session or activity.
I opted for this one that was just snorkelling or diving from a boat instead though, as I didn’t fancy the resort-vibes of others. It also means that the company changes where it goes every day, based on the weather and conditions, and also stops single parts of the reef getting potentially damaged by too many visitors. They also do a lot of conservation work, including coral planting, helping re-release injured turtles, and supporting a shark conservation charity. And they’re one of the last locally-owned reef tour operators in Cairns! The diving option was an add-on and pretty expensive and I’ve never been too sure that I’d like being underwater so deep for so long. So, I stuck to snorkelling only!
Snorkelling Day Trip
The boat tour was a full-day experience, departing bright and early from the marine. Most tours, including this one, take you to the outer reef, which is a 2-hour journey from shore. And a bumpy one at that! I never used to get seasick, until the Drake Passage on the way to Antarctica took me out. Now, it varies whether I do or not… Luckily the boat had seasickness pills available onboard, though I still felt a bit nauseous on both journeys. And I was far from the only one!
Anyways, enough about that. Our morning and afternoon followed the same format, snorkelling in two locations, with lunch served onboard in between. Everyone got kitted out with snorkelling gear and in stinger suits, since it’s jellyfish season! We were given an approximate area to stay inside at the rear of the bottom, with crew both in the water with us and watching from on deck in case anyone strayed too far or got in trouble. The Barrier Reef is actually made of hundreds of small reef systems and we were at Hastings Reef. We could snorkel above the first location, but alongside the walls of the second (it was too shallow above).
The Reef
Below the surface, an underwater world of colours and shapes greeted us. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t say it was any better than other places I’ve snorkelled, such as Belize, Bali and Hawaii. One of the guides mentioned later that these weren’t their top locations but were the best for the day’s conditions. It was a shame that such a legendary reef didn’t “blow me away”. But I still enjoyed the day overall!
Everything is tinged blue when you’re underwater so it doesn’t look as vibrant as photos you may have seen – those have been edited to turn up the saturation! I knew that beforehand though, so managed my expectations accordingly. I don’t have any sort of underwater camera either, so you’ll just have to rely on my words here…
There were fish with bright yellow noses or long electric blue tails. Huge blue and purple parrot fish, which I definitely saw pooping, and tiny pearly ones, almost translucent. There were delicate rose pink fish or ones covered in leopard-print spots. Little black fish streaking through the crowds, and fish such a pale blue you almost wouldn’t see them at first. There were shades of fluorescent pink and green, broken up with thick black stripes. And of course, the iconic orange and white clownfish!
The coral was no less stunning either, swaying and undulating in the currents. Big crinkly brain coral in shades of pink, red or orange. Spiky tree-like coral with blue frosted trips. Massive green sheets laying on the rock like cabbage leaves. Pretty purple coral that looked like a field of lavender… And don’t forget the giant clams!
Kuranda
The next part of my week in north Queensland saw me pick up a rental car and leave Cairns for a few days. I was headed north to Port Douglas, which is only about a 1.5-hour drive. Since the car gave me a bit of extra flexibility, I decided to take a short detour to Kuranda on the way. This is a little town up in the hills, surrounded by rainforest. As you should expect from a rainforest, it was a little wet while I was there!
A lot of people visit as a day trip from Cairns, on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, with the option of adding a cable car ride over the forest. The town is definitely geared to tourists, with lots of crafty, souvenir shops and places to eat. I’ve heard the best time to go is later afternoon – once all the tour buses leave and it’s much quieter!
I set off on one of the walking trails, leading me out of the town centre and down to the river. The water level was pretty low considering how wide the river bed seemed to be. I passed underneath the cable car here as well! Then my walk took me into the forest, weaving through the thick plant life of the undergrowth. It was so dense I wondered how they even hacked out the trail in the first place! My route was actually a couple of trails combined that took maybe just over an hour to loop back to town. There, I browsed the shops for a bit – however some tour buses had now shown up so it was very busy! I then hopped back in the car to continue my drive to Port Douglas.
Daintree Rainforest Day Tour
My Daintree day tour entirely took up the next day and I’d chosen this one since it departs from Port Douglas, and included the river cruise and Mossman Gorge as well. It was a small group too, a dozen of us in our mini-bus. We started off with the longest drive, taking the car ferry across the river (the only way to reach the forest) and then the winding roads up the steep hillsides. The Daintree is all off-grid with little to no infrastructure, and it definitely felt very remote and wild out here. All of the homes and accommodation out here have to be self-sufficient.
We drove all the way to Cape Tribulation to start with, famous as being “where the reef meets the rainforest”, the thick tree cover spilling right down to the edge of the sand. It was overcast but not raining too, making everywhere feel very rugged and moody. Then our guide took us on an interpretive walk, following an easy boardwalk trail through the forest. It was definitely great to do this with a guide, as he could tell us so much more about the flora and fauna of the rainforest than I’d have known on my own. While this wasn’t my first time in a tropical rainforest, knowing that this is the oldest surviving one on earth is pretty spectacular!
Crocodile River Cruise
Next up we were hopping aboard a river cruise – in search of crocodiles! There’s only one company licensed to operate this in the Daintree, and he’s been running it for years so he knows his stuff. The river is pretty wide and the forest stretches down to its banks, with mangrove roots climbing down into the water. This is where we were looking to spot the crocs! They like to hide in the shade here, especially heading into the hotter summer months now. Winter is actually a better time to see them, when they climb onto shore to warm up in the sun. It took us a while, cruising up and down tributaries, but eventually we saw a male and a female, in separate locations. Of course, we admired from a safe distance! But I was glad to tick another Australian animal off my wildlife spotting list.
We headed to lunch after that, in one of the jungle lodge accommodations. Followed by ice cream at the Daintree Ice Cream Company. They have unique flavours every day, using rainforest plants I’d never heard of. I got the tasting cup to try a few and would highly recommend!
Cassowary Spotting
While driving between our locations for the day, we were also keeping our eyes peeled in the dense jungle for more wildlife. Specifically, cassowaries. These are large, flightless birds, which almost still look a bit like dinosaurs! Long legs, large black-feathered bodies and distinctive blue and red faces with a horn-like casque atop their heads. You definitely don’t want to get kicked or head-butted by one of them! They look a bit scary but our guide said they’re only dangerous if you provoke them to feel threatened. Otherwise, they’re pretty chilled.
They live in the wet tropics, such as the Daintree, but are quite elusive so there’s never a guarantee of spotting one. We lucked out after lunch though when an adult and juvenile crossed the road ahead of us. I managed to snap some quick photos, through the window and the trees. Our guide explained that this would be an adult male, as it’s the men who raise the chicks. I was thrilled that we got to see them!
Mossman Gorge
After ice cream, we departed the Daintree, catching the car ferry back across the river. We had one more stop to make on the way back to Port Douglas though, at Mossman Gorge. This is a popular scenic spot not too far from Port Douglas. So popular, they had to stop letting people drive all the way up to it a few years back – now you have to park further down the valley and take their shuttle bus! A lot of people swim here but our guide cautioned against it due to the strong river currents.
Disembarking the shuttle bus, we followed the walking trail through the forest. On the way, we spotted this cute little lizard clinging to a branch. I would have totally missed it if someone else hadn’t pointed it out! The trail leads to a lookout point above the gorge, where you can see the river tumbling down over the rocks, amidst the vibrant green rainforest. There’s also access to a little sandy stretch of shore (where people swim from) where we hung out for a while enjoying the scenery, before it was time to depart.
Port Douglas
Now, it’s perfectly possible to visit Kuranda, the Daintree and Port Douglas all as day trips from Cairns. Though it would be a fair amount of retracing yourself back and forth! And it’s a very long day to the Daintree from Cairns. All of which are reasons I decided to stay in Port Douglas for a couple of nights. That, and a change of scenery, rather than a whole week in Cairns! I also lucked out as it was almost the start of their low, rainy season, so the hostel was pretty quiet. I ended up with a whole dorm to myself for 3 nights! A welcome break from weeks of shared accommodation throughout my Australia trip.
It’s a small town, so I parked the car at the hostel the entire time and walked instead. The main street has plenty of shops and I had a browse in some of them. I have to limit what I can buy since I need to travel light. Heading to the park at the north of town, I joined the walking trail along the steep cliff tops around the edge of the peninsula. Trees surrounded the path, offering shade from the hot sun, but I got a few blue ocean views too. The trail led me to Four Mile Beach, which runs down the eastern coast. I lounged on the beach and took it easy for the afternoon. It’s been such a busy few weeks that some relaxation time was probably overdue!
Cairns Botanic Gardens
When I left Port Douglas, I had all day until the car hire was due back in Cairns. I felt I’d seen all of what Port Douglas had to offer though, so after a leisurely morning waiting to check-out as late as possible, I headed south again. This time, I broke up my drive at Ellis Beach, just north of the popular Palm Cove. This was mainly just to stretch my legs and it’s a convenient stop right off the main highway. The weather was lovely and there was a good view of Double Island just off the coast.
As I reentered Cairns, I stopped at the Botanic Gardens next – they’re just a little too far from the town centre to walk to, so going with the car made sense! I had a very nice lunch and iced coffee at the cafe here too. The gardens include a palm house, a sort of ‘prehistoric’ forest showcasing plant species from the Gondwana mega-continent, and a little creek running through the centre. There were also several wild turkeys strutting around! The gardens spread to the other side of the road, where there is a boardwalk through a rainforest, plus a small bamboo forest, and all the way to a couple of small lakes. I didn’t do the entire walkway but easily spent an hour or so here, until dropping off the car and spending the rest of the day around Cairns Esplanade.
Spirit of Queensland Train
Throughout my Australia trip, I’ve been trying to take ground transport over flights where it makes sense to do so. My only rail experience (aside from the metro railway into Brisbane) so far has been the Overland Train from Adelaide to Melbourne. While operated by a different company, Queensland has a similar long-haul train – the Spirit of Queensland – that runs the length of the coast from Cairns to Brisbane! I was heading to Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays, so I could take the train as far as Proserpine, then a bus connection to Airlie. So of course, I booked it!
The train was a bit busier than the Overland had been, so I had an aisle seat and a neighbour for the duration. The scenery was mainly countryside and farmland, including fields of sugar cane, a large export for Queensland. The seats had entertainment screens (like on a plane) but they were a bit old and faulty – I ended reading almost 2 e-books on my phone instead! There was a meal service too, with the option to pay for a hot meal delivered to your seat for lunch and/or dinner, plus a cafe car open throughout the journey.
Sadly, the train ended up very delayed – first because we had to wait for police to escort a non-ticketed passenger who refused to get off. And then again later due to a wildfire blowing smoke on the tracks. So I was pretty exhausted by the time we got to Airlie Beach, almost 2 hours late, but I’m still glad I tried out another train journey!
A Week in North Queensland
After a week exploring the natural wonders of north Queensland, I definitely understand why it’s such a popular area! Both the Great Barrier Reef and the Wetland Tropics are UNESCO World Heritage sites (as well as Uluru and K’gari Island – I ticked off a lot in just a couple of weeks!) due to their significance in the natural world. While the reef was maybe not as spectacular as I’d envisioned, I still enjoyed my snorkelling trip and am glad I got to see such a legendary location. And the Daintree was fascinating to explore, and all the more special for how old it is. Plus I’m still delighted I got to see a cassowary! They’re unique and fragile locations and it’s so important that we conserve and protect them.
It was also nice to have a bit of relaxation time off work, especially after so many weeks of travelling. That’s a theme that would continue in Airlie Beach, which is also the last stop of my entire Australian trip!
