In fact, the Cairns city is regarded as the fourth most popular destination for worldwide tourists in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Tourism plays a significant role in Cairn’s economy. A large number of Australian holiday makers make a beeline to this place. Thus the Cairns International Airport has become the sixth busiest airport of Australia in terms of foreign and domestic passenger movements.
A wide array of touring options is available in this city. The main tourism body of Cairns is the Tourism Tropical North Queensland. It receives annual monitory aid from the Cairns City Council for the marketing and promotion of Cairns Tourism.
You can stay either in the hotels, motels, luxury resorts or the backpacker’s hostels, dine authentic Australian cuisine in the famous restaurants, stroll past the boutique stores, visit the varied places of interest or indulge yourself in activities life golf, bungee jumping, parasailing, white water rafting and Great Barrier Reef excursions, wild trails and et al.
History of Cairns
Cairns is situated on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on a coastal tract between the Great Dividing Range and the Coral Sea. This land was inhabited by the Aboriginal peoples for about a thousand of years before the advent of the white settlers in this region.
It was, the first European who reached North Queensland on his first Voyage of Discovery in June 1770 on his ship the HM Bark Endeavour. There is a constant debate about this discovery. It is said that the Dutch Explorers arrived at the western side of Cape York about almost one hundred and seventy years before.
Captain Cook’s journey through the Great Barrier Reef was not barrier-free. His HM Bark Endeavour was stranded on a coral reef and the crew managed to hitch to the shore and found a river where the ship was beached. Later this river later came to be known as the Endeavour River and the town that developed on its banks came to be known as Cook town. Interestingly other geographic features were named as Hope Island, Cape Tribulation and Weary Bay, reflecting the mood of the Captain Cook and his crew.
After hundred years, white settlement took place and the discovery of gold by James Mulligan and the early explorers led to the development of the northern areas of Cairns.
Cairns, named after Queensland's first Irish born Governor, Sir William Wellington Cairns, was officially constituted on1876. Gradually the tent city started developing and the first railway line was established which serviced the Atherton Tableland.
Finally the awareness of the Great Barrier Reef created a boom in the tourism industry and in 1984 the setting up of the international airport helped in the conversion of the inert town of Cairns to a flourishing and vibrant city of today.
Cairns Sightseeing
Welcome to Cairns, you are invited to a spectacular journey be a part of Queensland. The city has come a long way from the early developments of 1876 to the present Avatar. The city with a population count of 128,284 according to the census of 2005 is home to the best natural sites of Australia. The city enjoys close proximity by road with Brisbane and Sydney. Cairns is the only area in the world that is home to two World Heritage Sites side by side, Greet Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest. To the east of the city lie The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Coral Bays and the Tropical Islands, to the west lies the Rainforest creeping up the mountains, to the north lies the Wet Tropics rainforest and the World Heritage National parks and to the south Rugged Ranges interspersed with waterfalls and lakes lie in close submission!
Cairns has taken good care to ensure that you enjoy the sites in the best possible way so it has started the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. The cable gives you a bird's eye view which you can enjoy at an unhurried pace. Cairns is surfeit with Quality Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts, souvenir shops and floating Hotels. There is a man made saltwater lagoon and artificial beach put on a crowded promenade.
Cairns National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries
Cairns National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are a number of conserved grounds recreating the natural habitat and environment for the host of wild animals and birds to live in. these promote an awareness in the minds of the natives and showcase the rich biodiversity for the international tourist. Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Cairns is a crocodile conservation park and a tourist attraction around Cairns. It gives the visitors a tour of the natural habitat of crocodiles and such reptiles and holds crocodile feeding and entertainment shows. Wild World - The Tropical Zoo, Cairns is a zoo with a difference.
The visitors are allowed to pat and feed the inmates- kangaroos, dingoes and koalas. Guides enlighten the guests with lectures on the life cycle and feeding/ sleeping habits of each creature and guests are proffered a glimpse of the exotic wildlife housed here. Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Cairns is a veritable paradise for animal lovers and conservationists. Catch a glimpse of endangered species such as the Boyd's forest dragons, parrots, water birds, fishes and green tree frogs in these marshlands and natural rainforests. Cairns Night Zoo provides the perfect blend of a truly Australian night out complete with barbeque, music and dance and the opportunity to learn about the exotic nocturnal creatures that inhabit the region.
Billabong Sanctuary, Cairns looks into the conservation and breeding of a variety of estuarine animals and birds starting from koalas, to crocodiles, Southern Cassowaries to wombats, the sanctuary has it all. A trip to the Billabong Sanctuary is imperative for any visitor to this region. Daintree National Park, Cairns, is one of the country's leading national parks, encompassing a sprawling 76,000 hectare area and home to the most spectacular selection of flora and fauna. Deemed world heritage site the sylvan rainforests of this region are the perfect getaway in North Queensland.
Cairns Festivals & Events
Cairns, located in the Queensland province of Australia, holds some of the most spectacular festivals and events in the country. Ranging from horticultural events to food and wine festivals, from cultural shows to sporting events, the festivities of this city are famed worldwide and tourists and visitors to the region schedule their itinerary to coincide with some of these awesome events. While the Cairns Tropical Garden Show attempts to bring gardening and horticulture close to the layman by promoting gardening gadgets and equipments, schools and holds magnificent displays in May every year, the Cairns Show Wine Awards, held in the last weekend of June provides recognition to the various categories of luxuriant wines produced in Australia every year.
Both these events hold out awards and merits in the respective spheres. Companies producing garden pumps and such gizmos ensure they put up a stall in the Cairns Tropical Garden Show while the leading wine manufacturers consider it a privilege to enter their brand in the Cairns Show Wine Awards and winning is the archetypical feather on the cap. Festival Cairns is probably the highlight of the various events held in this city.
Three weeks of cultural and sporting revelry and a number of events covering categories such as family, films, sports, music and performing arts puts Cairns, the natives and their culture and heritage under international spotlight. Iconic performances by national and international artists and fireworks display top off the grand finale.
Getting There
Cairns is a small city but a popular tourist destination in northeastern Australia. The city is an important gateway to the world-famous Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is well-connected by air, rail, road and sea to almost all major cities of Australia. Several direct international flights from countries of Asia-Pacific region and Europe fly to Cairns. The city is also serviced by sevral cruiselines.
Getting to Cairns by Air: The Cairns Airport is a major airport of Australia handling both domestic and international flights. Ranked fifth busiest airport in Australia in terms of international passengers, it is serviced by almost all major international and national airlines. There are direct flights to Cairns to and from United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and many other countries of the Asia-Pacific. Direct or coonecting flights are available from Carins to all major cities of Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth.
Getting To Cairns By Train: Getting to Cairns by train is also a very smooth affair. Cairns is apart of Queensland and as it is known to all that Queensland has an excellent railway system within its land. The main rail route of Queensland is the Sunlander and the Queenslander which links up the coastal towns of Brisbane and Cairns. In addition to these there are a plenty of other routes which operate from the Queensland. The orient Express trains and Cruises operate special luxurious service from Brisbane to Sydney and Cairns. The system of railpasses in Cairns is very handy. Rail services are very cheap here and there is nothing to worry about the safety of your journey as Cairns is a very well governed city.
Don’t worry about how to move to your desired destination after getting down form the train. There are plenty of buses and taxis available at the railway stations which will take you to the nearest hotels or guest houses of your choice. Cairns is the heart of Australian continent, so its railway connectivity is praiseworthy. One can take a coach from Brisbane or Sydney or any of the important cities of the continent in order to reach Cairns, as it’s a part of the Queensland Railway Service.
Getting to Cairns By Road: Cairns being one of the most important cities of Queens land the road connectivity of the place is excellent. The Bruce Highway and the Captain Cook highway are the two most vital roads which connects Cairns to the different parts of Queensland. The tourist may also avail these roadways if they are coming down to the city by road. The Bruce highway starting from Brisbane ends at Cairns on the corner of the Mulgrave Road and Sheridan Streets, after running for more than 1700 kilometers. The point where the Bruce highway ends begins the captain Cook Highway which runs till Port Douglas, about 80 kilometers northwest. So if you are planning to visit cairns from the northwest , getting to the city by road will be a nice idea. The Kennedy highway and the Gillies Highway are the other two roadways which links northern Cairns to Kuranda township and Gordonvale to Atherton respectively. Apart from these major roadways there is a dense network of other roads which are maintained by the Queensland State Government Transport Department and the Cairns City Council , connecting the central city with its suburbs. Getting to Cairns by road is not a problem if you have the right kind of Vehicle to serve you.
Getting to Cairns By Sea: Another very good option of reaching Cairns is by the waterway. If you are a sea lover and would love to spend some carefree hours on the deck then you can always make your journey memorable by coming over to Cairns on a ship. Getting to Cairns by ship is not a very popular idea, but still many of the tour operators arranges for this in order to provide their clientele with an exotic view of the land and also its adjoining waters. The Cairns sea port is the place where most of the renowned tour operators have their check in desks situated at the Reef Fleet Terminal. The port of the city is very well maintained. As its both used as a Passenger as well as freight port thus the security is very much functional at the Cairns sea port. Though you wont get a huge number of passenger ships coming to Cairns but some of which do turn up at the ports are quite luxurious. Its better to go through a travel guide before planning a journey by sea to Cairns. Getting to Cairns by ship is not quite easy as the number of ship services are very limited. Its better to book a trip beforehand if you have made up your mind to reach there by sea.
Hotels in Cairns
