DeziGal

With its international airport, Cairns is the jumping board of a variety of activities within one of the most diverse and intricate ecosystems in the world. It is where the Great Barrier Reef meets tropical rainforests which in turn lead to the famed Australian outback. This ecosystem of rainforests, low lands, coral reefs, and the outback is home to thousands of indigenous species from Kangaroos and Alligators to Cockatoos and Angelfish.

Cairns, like Hawaii, can be very commercial with its yellow arches and Kmart superstores, but flanked on either side by mountains the ocean it does have that lazy island feel. Tropical flora - palms, ferns, banana, temple lily - in the foreground with sugar plantations stretching to the base of the hills somehow subdue the effects of hasty construction.

Cairns is ideal for transit to one of the reef islands but also good for 3-4 days to explore the area's various habitats.

Where to Stay

What to eat:

For fish and chips that the local favor, try Sheridan Gourmet Seafood or Captain Cook Fish and Chips, next to one another on Sheridan Street. Here you’ll get amazing burgers, sea food baskets full of calamari, fish, scallops, mussels, and the works. You can choose your fish and either get it battered or crumbled over heaps of fries and a variety of sauces. The ambience isn't worth a mention but the food is delish! Try the crumbed pineapple as a side. $

Award-winning ThaFish on the Marina next to Shangri-La’s Tides is great for seafood. The entire menu revolves around – yes fish and seafood, served in styles from all over the world – thai to English. Try the fish cakes with spicy sauce, fish crumbed with coconut sauce, and prawns in shallots with rice and papadum. $$$

Tides has a great spread for breakfast and Ba8 has fantastic bar food. Both at the Shangri-La.

What to do:

Day trip to the Reef: Ocean Freedom takes small groups (25-30) on a spacious and well maintained bi-level 20 M luxury cruiser. Leaving at 8:00 am from Cairns Marina, they are the first one to get to the Outer Edge of the Upolu Reef, one of the better spots for sightings. You’ll reach the first destination in just over two hours and see the waters miraculously turn a tempting aquamarine blue vs. the more sinister indigo around the harbor. Snorkel or dive until lunch time at your leisure and come back to a decent smorgasbord lunch. $90 scuba lessons with a personal instructor are available for first timers. This is truly a great mini-dive experience if you haven’t done it before. The instructors are amazing and will literally hold your hand throughout the ½ hour in the water. They are so exceptional, that by your second $40 dive, you may feel brave enough to go hands free with the instructor by your side. You’ll go down to about 9 m to the floor, lift a few sea cucumbers with your bare hands, and spot at least 50 different varieties of marine life from fairly large to miniscule, and feel a part of God’s most prized aquarium. After lunch, relax on one of the multiple decks, while whizzing off to the next destination – a tiny white sand island which emerges everyday for a few hours during low-tide. It’s a beautiful and unbelievable sight; a small patch of cream surrounded by progressively darker blues. You’ll be transported the island via a small motorboat and then snorkel back to the big boat. The most amazing thing in this half of the trip is seeing how the ocean shelf develops. At first you’re in less than 6 feet of sand, swimming amongst the fish, and by the time you reach the boat the bed is at about 30 m. Enjoy the beautiful ride back home while munching on an assortment of deliciously fresh fruit, cheeses, crackers, and pastries. You’ll be back in Cairns at 4:30.

Verdict: exceptionally attentive staff, great for mini-scuba/dive experience, good spot on the outer reef, young crowd, lots of above average food, spacious and clean boat! Mostly attracts Americans and Europeans under 30. This is a company that’s not just in it for the money – their people love what they do and it shows! Try and get Hailey, Lee, Jason or Beck. Local Booking 40514066/ www.oceanfree.com.au

Wilderness Eco Safari with Steve Watt: if you like to travel in a small group with a highly passionate and knowledgeable guide, then pick this for a tour of the rainforest. You’ll travel with Steve, in one of his Toyota 4WDs (for the best views, try and get the front seat if you’re traveling solo). A passionate travel manager turned nature freak, he talks non-stop from 8-5pm from everything about ecosystem and all that makes it to the Australian version of Lassie. You’ll pass through sugarcane plantations at the base, before ascending through the semi-dry bush (type of vegetation) which suddenly turns to a lush rainforest. At the top is an agrarian tableland where you’ll stop lousy breakfast of muffins and coffee. See a few giant stranger figs and cedars before heading onto some thicker rainforest. Steve will point out hundreds of different plants and animals the course of several intermittent walking tours. See the planet’s first plants dating to over 300 million years, along with giant Iranian ferns, red cedars, stinging trees, silver pines, black bean trees and more. Have a smorgasbord lunch on lake in a pine plantation before heading of further into the rainforest. Steve will take you where no other tour company is allowed – and truly we didn’t see any tourists after lunch. All the while telling you stories of the forests – some scary ones too. Leaving the thick jungle at about 4000 feet, start descending on the other side again encountering the bush. Once on flat land, you’re sort of in the outback with temperatures soaring to about 10 C hotter just minutes after leaving the tropical canopy. See massive termite nests in martian forms, lizards, and kangaroos. leaving the outback brings you to the farming community known as Mareeba that grows mangoes, citrus, melons, and most regular veggies. Stop at a farm from some produce before heading back into cairns via a different route.

Verdict: small group of 7-12; extremely knowledgeable guide; great for seeing how th

Sailing to the Low Isles: this is recommended only if you haven’t sailed before or you cannot engage in activities like snorkeling or diving. Sailaway is brand new boat but the owners are just interested in recovering the cost. They booked 35 people on a boat meant for 10. Not to be discriminatory, but most of them had silver hair. While a company cannot chose its client based on age they can tailor the words to attract a certain demographic. anyways, nobody wants to be stuck on a boat -- its the worst feeling. the sail itself to the low isles is nice. The snorkeling sucked. you're lucky if you see two fish. Lunch was nice but expected for the price. Go with another company if you're there for what's underneath the ocean not for what's over it.