Destination Cairns - Cairns Travel Guide

About Cairns:

There are some places in Australia where you go to chill out and take it easy. Cairns is definitely not that place. Welcome to Cairns - The Adventure Capital of Australia!
Cairns is all about hard core action of every kind so get yourself ready to go, go, go! Whether it’s skydiving, hanggliding, hot-air ballooning, scuba diving, snorkelling, white-water rafting, sea kayaking, bungy jumping, or exploring the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns will not let up until you’re ready to go home.... and that’s just the day time.
At night, your partying antics will rise to new heights with more fun and more fantastic pandemonium than you can imagine!

Find out more about the HISTORY OF CAIRNS at the bottom of the page

Attractions & Activities

Featured CAIRNS ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES

Free Stuff:

1. Walk along the Esplanade and people watch.
2. Red Arrow Walk – get fit amongst the trees in the fresh air with the Cairns locals.
3. Visit the Cairns botanical gardens.
4. Visit one of Cairns’ many weekend markets.

Stuff Under $20:

1. Take the bus tour to Palm Cove – gorgeous beach north of Cairns.
2. Have lunch on the Esplanade – far too many great places to choose from.
3. Art Galleries – Cairns has loads to see
4. Go on a Cairns Food Tour

Stuff Over $20:

1. Raging Thunder White Water Rafting – will get your heart racing!
2. Scuba Dive The Great Barrier Reef – learn to dive on one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
3. Sky Diving – Sky dive on to Mission Beach.
4. Two Man Sports Rafting with Foaming Fury.
5. Cape Tribulation – take a trip overnight to see stunning rainforest.
6. Port Douglas – take a drive through the rainforest.
7. Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park – take a trip through Australian history

Restaurants & Bars

Good Cairns Eats:

• The Night Market is Cairns' answer to China Town with multicultural culinary delights for under $10. A great way to spend an evening.
• During the day, a stroll along the Esplanade will provide a number of cafes and kebab shops offering some great breakfast and lunchtime specials.
• Looking for some dinner, just heap up Shield Street. There are lots of choices from traditional pub grub to Indian and Italian. A couple of the local bars also serve $10 Meal Deals to backpackers. Or why not head to Rhinobar for a FREE meal, just get a voucher - see below for details.
• If your wallet is feeling particularly heavy why not try The Salt House on the marina and rub shoulders with Cairns finest. While the prices are steep...the food is definitely to die for.

Good Cairns Bars:

• RhinoBar Cairns - Rhinobar on Spence street is one of Cairns' leading party bars with theme nights and great drinks deals. Expect a big night if you venture here! Stay in any Nomads hostel to receive your free meal with a purchase of any drink – or just collect a voucher from one of many tour operators in Cairns. Open till 3am weeknights and extra late Friday and Saturday's for Extra fun till 5am. Check out the RhinoBar facebook page.
• Green Ant Cantina - A big favorite with locals and backpackers in the know is the Green Ant Cantina. Located right behind Cairns Central Shopping Center, this pub offers great prices and great food! Plus they offer great live music and Sunday is Open Mic night!
• City Place - If people watching is on your agenda check out City Place which has a collection of bars for everybody's taste with 2 for 1 deals on offer regularly.
• The Pier - For the more discerning drinker the Pier has a range of different open air bars where you can enjoy a cold beer and watch the sunset on the Esplanade.
• Backpacker Bars - Fancy a game of pool.... why not relax at the Serpent Bar at Nomads Cairns backpackers... chill out at the huge resort pool or even work up a thirst with a game of volleyball.

History

The history of Cairns dates back about 40,000 years when it is thought Aboriginals may have first migrated to the area. However, Cairns' more famous history starts in 1770 when Trinity Bay was discovered by Captain Cook.

One hundred years later Governor William Wellington Cairns established a new port at Trinity Inlet. As roads into North Queensland were unreliable, Cairns importance as a port to the developing area, especially gold fields further inland, was evident. Today some of the suburbs are actually named after steamboats, which settlers depended on for supplies, including Kanimbula, Manunda, and Manoora.

Image shows Horsedrawn Cabs on Cairns Wharf 1912 (wikimedia.org)

Cairns rapidly expanded thanks to mining and agriculture in the area and was proclaimed a town in 1903 and a city in 1923. During WWII, Allied forces occupied Cairns in order to protect Australia from invasion. After the fall of Singapore, the fear of invasion was so severe that many left Cairns, leaving only a population of 700. Cairns began to rebuild itself in the 1950s, and tourism became a major aspect of the city’s rebirth - although commerce and agriculture remain significant industries throughout the region.

Today Cairns remains a small city with a population of just over 150,000. A sense of Cairns history can be gained by a trip to Kuranda by scenic train. This train was constructed in an effort to improve life of miners in the region. The railway was also important to defense in WWII and to agriculture and timber industries.