Nobody wants to fly to the other side of the world without good reason, but
Australia provides plenty of them. Even one small corner of this huge
country has plenty to lure Britons off the little island we call home and
onto that longest of long-haul flights.
London to Cairns is one of the quicker routes to Australia. Sydney-bound
planes have another three hours to go when they skirt past the northern tip
of Queensland, and their passengers are missing out on a huge range of
activities if their only glimpse of the region is through bleary eyes from
38,000 feet.
The region can entertain all sorts of itineraries, from a two-day stop on a
grand tour of Australia to a more relaxed exploration of its many
attractions. The Great Barrier Reef has been the area’s traditional big
draw, pulling in snorkellers, scuba divers, sailors – as well as plenty of
deckchair-based observers.
And that’s the way it seems to be in Queensland. If you’re not hurtling your
way down a hill on a mountain bike or floating into the air in a hot-air
balloon, you'll be flat out by the pool, or on the beach, or on a massage
table in a rainforest spa.
When to go: Northern Queensland has a tropical climate, with a wet
season from November to May and a dry, sunny season from June to October.
June and July are cool overnight but warm (mid 20s) during the day, while
January can be very hot and humid, with spectacular downpours.
Cairns and attractions
Cairns began life as a mining settlement during the gold rush of the 1870s,
but its importance declined when an easier routes to the sea were
established, and until comparatively recently it remained a small, sleepy
backwater. Its fortunes began to change as tourism grew and Cairns became
the gateway of choice for the Great Barrier Reef. The arrival of the
international flights in the 1970s boosted the city's profile and visitor
numbers, helping it to become what it is today: a city of 130,000 people,
many drawn by the region's climate and jobs in the tourist industry.
The city has benefited from ambitious local authorities determined to make
Cairns a destination in itself, rather than just a convenient place to stay
while visiting the reef or the rainforest. To that end they've invested
millions in smartening up the previously uninspiring waterfront, building a
tree-lined promenade and a large, public, lagoon-style swimming pool. At low
tide the sea retreats to expose a large area of mudflats – not particularly
beautiful, but a haven for wild birds.
The town itself is laid back and low rise, with wide streets arranged on a
gridiron layout. The shopping is pitched towards tourists, and the city
centre has the pleasant air of a gentrified outback town.
Apart from the region's big attractions, Cairns itself offers plenty to keep
visitors amused. the botanical gardens, zoos (see below) and crocodile park
show off the local flora and fauna, while the Tjapukai Cultural Park gives
an insight into Australia's Aboriginal heritage. As well as drawing
attention to the injustices inflicted upon the country's original
inhabitants by British settlers and early Australian governments, the park
also presents examples of Aboriginal art and culture and gives visitors a
chance to demonstrate their skills (or lack thereof) with a spear and
boomerang.
Shangri-La Hotel, Cairns Marina: from £79 per person, per night
Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park: adults £13, children £6
www.tjapukai.com.au
Great Barrier Reef
The reef remains the area's prime attraction, and it's easy to see why.
Apparently visible from space, the reef's vast underwater ecosystem is
equally impressive from the closer quarters of a small aircraft. Just under
the surface, the bright, intricate structures that make up the reef blend
into one another, forming milky patches in the vivid waters of the Coral
Sea.
Ocean Spirit Cruises operates tours to Michaelmas Cay, a small reef island two
hours from Cairns on a speedy catamaran. The white sand and clear blue sea
give the island a paradisial appearance, although the colony of birds make
noisy (and smelly) neighbours for sunbathers. The main attraction, however
is under the water.
The Great Barrier Reef is home to the greatest diversity of flora and fauna
anywhere in the world, including 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of
coral, and 4,000 species of mollusc. There are even 500 different species of
seaweed. Plenty of this biodiversity is visible once you’ve donned a snorkel
and mask: the fish seem to have got used to sharing the water with daily
boatloads of tourists, and rarely grace their visitors with more than an
incurious glance.
If snorkelling has whetted your appetite for a more in-depth exploration of
the reef, Ocean Spirit also offers an introductory scuba dive. I had never
dived before, but the crew provide basic training and all the necessary
equipment, so I felt that I was in capable hands as I rolled into the water.
After a first few panicky moments I managed to relax and regulate my
breathing, following the instructor as she led the way under the boat and
through a shoal of large, white fish.
Straying further from the boat, we drifted over weird and wonderful corals,
ranging in form from skeletal white pipe-cleaners to dark red, leathery
domes. Towards the end of the half-hour dive, the instructor introduced us
each to a clownfish, better known to Disney fans as Nemo. The tour also
caters for those who prefers to keep a barrier between themselves and the
sea life. The tour includes a trip in a semi-submersible – basically a boat
with a glass underbelly, in which you can sit and watch the fish while a
guide talks you through what you're seeing.
Ocean Spirit Cruise to Michaelmas Cay: adults £79, children £39 including
snorkel equipment, semi-sub, lunch and a glass of sparkling wine on the
return trip. Introductory scuba dive: £40 extra
www.oceanspirit.com.au
Dunk Island
Dunk is one of about 900 islands and cays in the region of the Great Barrier
Reef. Many are uninhabited and without vegetation, but behind its sandy
beaches, Dunk is covered with dense rainforest. Its only settlement is the
Voyages resort, and its only inhabitants the guests and staff who stay
there.
There is a bus-and-catamaran link from Cairns, but the quicker and more
exciting way is on board a light aircraft. Hinterland Travel’s 12-seater
Cessnas fly from Cairns to Dunk Island up to three times per day, and the
company can also arrange private charters. The 45-minute flight follows the
coast south from Cairns, low enough to allow a clear view of the towns and
beaches below, before turning left towards Dunk, swooping around the island
and landing at the smallest and most civilised airport I’ve been to. There
are no more than 20 paces from the aircraft door to the airport exit.
Once checked in, guests can choose between activities that range across the
spectrum of exertion from poolside sunbathing and lying on the beach to
tennis, squash, mountain biking, horse riding, water skiing and kayaking.
Somewhere in between lie the rainforest footpaths that criss-cross the
island, although more adventurous visitors are warned that walking all the
way around the island “is not physically possible”. Now there’s a challenge.
If all that sounds like too much hard work, other activities are more
self-indulgent. A sunset cruise around the island requires no more energy
than you need to lift a glass of sparkling wine and a mouthful of cheese and
biscuit.
Voyages Resort, Dunk Island: from £66 per person per night, based on two
adults sharing, including breakfast. Children under 12 sharing a room with
parents stay free. Other meals and most activities are extra.
www.dunk-island.com
Catamaran transfers: adults £10 each way, children £5 each way
Air transfers: adults £40 each way, children £20 each way
Palm Cove
Palm Cove, just north of Cairns, is a picturesque beach-front village of
resorts and spas, ideal for those recovering from the area’s more strenuous
activities, as well as those whose idea of a holiday is to get away from
anything remotely strenuous.
The attractive, low-rise hotels, most of which offer self-contained
apartment-style accommodation, are arranged along a street that spans the
length of the beach. Many have restaurants or bars at the front, so that
guests can admire the sun, sand and sea as they eat and drink.
Aside from the palm-fringed beach, restaurants and swimming pools, Palm Cove
also prides itself as a spa destination. Most of the hotels have in-house
spas that offer a range of indulgent, relaxing treatments, ranging from hot
stones and Indian massage to facials and manicures.
Sebel Reef House and Spa: doubles from £78 per person per night, based on two
people sharing, including breakfast
www.reefhouse.com.au
Port Douglas
Port Douglas is about two hours further north along the beautiful Captain Cook
Highway, which winds its way along the coast and is an attraction in itself.
You arrive to discover a resort town whose attractive boutique-style shops
cater for the tourists drawn by its greatest asset, Four Mile Beach.
The beach impresses with its width as well as its length – with the tide out
it's about 100m wide, a huge ribbon of sand backed by rainforest and bounded
by two headlands to the north and south. The powdery coral sand is white and
almost silky when dry, but hard and flat as clay where the sea has washed
over it. The solid surface attracts walkers and cyclists, while the
sunbathers stick to the upper reaches of the beach that the tide doesn't
reach.
Mantra Treetops: doubles from £57 per person per night, based on two people
sharing, including breakfast
www.mantratreetops.com.au
Hot-air ballooning
If your jetlagged body is still waking you at unearthly hours in the morning,
a dawn hot-air balloon ride will put your extra time to good use. A minibus
will collect you from your hotel at about 4.30am to make the most of the
early morning’s calm winds and cold, dense air – both prerequisites for
ballooning. The bonus is that you get to see the sunrise.
The launch site was in Mareeba in the Cairns Highlands, about an hour’s drive
from Cairns. On arrival, the crew inflated the balloon and we all piled into
the basket, glad of the warmth from the burner on a chilly, misty morning.
The sky was brightening as we took off, and soon the sun crept above the
horizon to gild the thin layer of mist below us.
In the peaceful interludes when the burner was switched off, the pilot pointed
out sugar-cane plantations and mango farms that dotted the flat,
reddish-brown landscape. We were joined by a handful of other balloons as we
drifted along, rising and falling as the pilot sought out air currents that
would take us towards a suitable landing spot.
As the sun climbed higher and started to warm our faces, we began our descent
towards the layer of cold, heavy air sitting above the ground. Adopting the
brace position that we’d been taught before take-off, we gritted our teeth
for a juddering return to earth and felt a bit foolish as we slowly,
gracefully and almost imperceptibly touched down. Then it was time for a
very welcome breakfast of bacon, eggs and as many trimmings as possible.
Click
here for a slideshow of ballooning images
Half-hour flight with Hot Air: £75 including pick-up from hotel and breakfast
www.hotair.com.au
Daintree Rainforest
North Queensland boasts two World Heritage Sites lying side by side: the Great
Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. Unlike many of the world’s
rainforests, the Daintree is easily accessible to even the least adventurous
of travellers, with options including a serene scenic railway journey and a
canopy-top cable car, as well as tours in four-wheel-drives and on foot.
The Skyrail cable car gives an excellent overview of the forest as it rises up
from the outskirts of Cairns. The 7.5km journey is broken by two stops, at
which viewpoints, short exhibitions and guided tours help to give an insight
into the rainforest. The exhibitions are aimed primarily at children, but
walking in the forest, even on tourist-friendly boardwalks, is an inspiring
experience.
Some of the trees are more than 3,000 years old and the forest as a whole has
been growing for 110 million years. There is certain something prehistoric
in the appearance of the lawyer vine, which puts out barbed fronds and
latches on to surrounding trees as, Spider-Man-like, it tries to winch its
way towards the sunlight.
Everything in the forest is geared towards reaching the light that filters
through the canopy: the guide tells us that some species of tree found here
can lie dormant for hundreds of years until an old tree falls over and a gap
opens up. Then the young tree will awake and shoot up to fill the gap as
quickly as it can.
An alternative route up (or down) is the Kuranda Scenic Railway, opened in
1891 as a way of transferring people and goods between Cairns and mining
operations in the highlands. Using refurbished rolling stock built in 1909
and 1910, the train trundles its way through 15 tunnels, around 93 curves
and past two waterfalls as it transports sightseers through the rainforest
between Cairns and Kuranda.
If merely travelling through the forest isn’t enough, there are several places
where you can spend the night. Silky Oaks Lodge, near Mossman, has 50
treehouse-style cabins arranged among the trees so that each provides a
sense of seclusion. The rooms have a balcony and hammock, and all are within
earshot of the Mossman River. Walking through the grounds of the lodge,
which is certified as ecologically sustainable by Ecotourism Australia,
you’re likely to encounter some of the local wildlife, including an
occasional glimpse of the large and strikingly blue Ulysses butterfly.
Skyrail: adults £16, children £8 one-way
www.skyrail.com.au
Kuranda Scenic Railway: adults £16, children £8 one-way
www.kurandascenicrailway.com.au
Silky Oaks: doubles from £125 per person per night, based on two sharing,
including breakfast
www.silkyoakslodge.com.au
Wildlife
Famous and infamous in equal measure for the diverse and occasionally
ferocious animals that populate the country, Australia is defined by its
wildlife in a way that few other countries are. The national coat of arms
consists of a kangaroo and an emu, but koalas, wallabies, crocodiles,
alligators, sharks and giant spiders are equally emblematic of the country.
Kangaroos are plentiful to the point of being a pest whose numbers need to be
controlled, and visitors who head into rural parts are likely to see them in
the wild, while crocodiles and alligators are now protected from the hunters
who once preyed upon them. There are, however, still places to see them in
their natural surroundings. Tropic Wings runs bus tours of the Daintree
National Park and Cape Tribulation (see below), which include a
crocodile-spotting cruise on the Daintree River.
Our guide managed to pick out about five crocs on the banks of the river,
ranging in size from a 30cm hatchling to a 4m adult. From a distance of
about 10m, the lazy-looking crocodile was hardly living up to its fearsome
reputation, but we were vividly warned that it could, if it so desired,
shoot off the bank, into the water and over the side of the boat and there
would be nothing we could do to stop it. Thankfully, it seemed content to
remain on the bank.
Crocodiles are also a notable presence at Cairns Tropical Zoo, which
specialises in keeping animals that are local to the area. The crocs on
display here have all ended up in the zoo because, in the wild, they were
upsetting their human neighbours. One had eaten a local police chief's dog.
While interacting with the crocodiles is not encouraged, some of the less
intimdating species are happy to share their enclosures. Visitors can pet
and feed the kangaroos, and have their picture taken with a cuddly kangaroo,
or a less cuddly snake.
Cape Tribulation and Daintree Eco Experience, operated by Tropic Wings: adults
£60, children £30
www.tropicwings.com.au
Cairns Tropical Zoo: adults £12, children £6
www.wildworld.com.au
Cape Tribulation and Alexandra
Inside the Daintree National Park, across a cable-pulled car ferry, is Cape
Tribulation, so named by Captain Cook in 1770 when his ship ran aground on a
nearby reef. Just north of the headland is a huge sandy bay, whose gently
sloping coastal shelf has led to the formation of a wide beach and shallow
waters. The rainforest runs right up to the coast, with the vivid green
leaves and gnarled, ancient-looking roots of mangroves fringing the beach.
Behind the beach, boardwalks and hiking trails offer the opportunity to get
deeper into the forest.
Day trips to Cape Tribulation are available from Cairns and Port Douglas, and
these offer an efficient way to see the area for those who are short of
time. If you've got more than a day to spare, though, taking the time to
explore will give you a better feel for the area.
Cape Tribulation and Daintree Eco Experience, operated by Tropic Wings: adults
£60, children £30
www.tropicwings.com.au
Food and drink
Excellent raw ingredients and a fusion of European and Asian influences have
combined to bless Australia with an enviable selection of foods.
Red Ochre, in Cairns, offers a “taste of Australia” menu that includes smoked
ostrich, crocodile and prawn wanton, pâté and steak of emu and carpaccio and
sirloin of kangaroo. Crocodile is, as you might have guessed, somewhat
chickenish, but kangaroo is more like a gamier version of beef and very
tasty. Despite being low in fat and plentiful, kangaroo meat has yet to
catch on in mainstream Australian cuisine.
That’s not surprising, given what else is available. Fresh fish and other
seafood is ubiquitous and delicious, and the high quality of the beef, lamb
and chicken on offer shines through the unfussy preparation favoured by most
Australian chefs. Add in the influence of Asian cooking and refreshingly
fruity local wines and it's hard to go wrong.
Red Ochre Grill: Australian tasting menu, £28 per person for three courses
www.redochregrill.com.au
