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This is a great fun resort that offers far more than just coral and brightly
coloured fish, says Frank Partridge. WHY GO NOW?
THE tropical weather is improving now, so while rainforest actually looks
its best in the rain, you'll be assured of lots of sunshine.
TOUCH DOWN
WITH no direct flights between the UK and Cairns, the fastest options are
from Heathrow: via Tokyo on Japan Airlines or out to Singapore on Qantas and
connecting there for its Australian Airlines subsidiary. Emirates flies via
Dubai to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Cairns Airport, being
hurriedly enlarged to meet demand, is 7km north of the city centre.
Australia Coach (00 61 7 4040 1000) runs a shuttle service to Lake Street,
with a single fare of A$10 (£4.50). If there are a few of you, it pays to
take a taxi for about A$18 (£8.50).
GET YOUR BEARINGS
THE focal point is the redeveloped Esplanade, which runs alongside the
harbour and the Coral Sea. Shops, restaurants and cruise agents abound. The
tourist office, which labours under the name of Tourism Tropical North
Queensland's Discovery Centre, is at number 51 (00 61 7 4051 3588), 8.30am-6.30pm daily. Beware of the unofficial
information kiosks displaying the international 'i'. They're glorified
travel agents trying to sell you things, having been awarded the magic
symbol by doing a short tourism course.
CHECK IN
THE Shangri-La on The Marina occupies one of Cairns' best locations.
Luxurious, spacious and minimalist, it has a superb outdoor pool complex.
Of the numerous spa resorts in the vicinity, Cairns Colonial Club at
18-26 Cannon Street (00 61 7 4053 5111) was
built 20 years ago in colonial style, with ornate awnings in its cool, airy
lobby. The rooms lie amid tropical landscaped gardens, with three pools and
an outstanding restaurant, Jardine's. Double rooms start at A$167 (£75),
excluding breakfast.
Gilligan's Backpackers at 57-89 Grafton Street (00 61 7 4041 6566) boasts a "complete five-star backpacker
experience", and is as good as its word, with excellent facilities at a good
price. Alongside the four and six-bed dormitories are clean, modern doubles
with en suite bathrooms, air-conditioning, balcony, fridge and safe, costing
A$84 (£38), excluding breakfast. Gilligan's also has a beauty salon, pool
and the largest open-air TV screen in Queensland.
TAKE A HIKE
DON your trainers and stride out along the magnificent boardwalk. This
runs parallel to the Esplanade, passing the enormous man-made swimming
lagoon with its imported beach. At low tide, the view is disappointing:
an expanse of mud extending towards the sea. But between September and
March, this tidal zone attracts thousands of birds, and almost as many
bird-watchers, training their binoculars on feathered visitors that come
from as far away as Alaska and Siberia. The best viewing point is between
Florence and Minnie Streets.
LUNCH ON THE RUN
THE ever-busy Esplanade is the obvious choice for fast food, but if you
have time to sit down you can choose from a host of restaurants along
Shields Street, known as 'Eat Strip.' The Stumbling Goat on the
corner of Spence and Grafton Streets (00 61 7 4041 4788) does lunch specials
for A$10 (£4.50).
WINDOW SHOPPING
THE teeming Night Markets take place from 5pm each day on the Esplanade,
featuring jewellery, crafts, fashion and an international food court. Things
start winding down by 10pm. For opals - something of a speciality in Cairns
- try the branch of Evert's at 85 The Esplanade
(00 61 7 4041 3466; www.evertopals.com.au).
AN APERITIF
TIDES, part of the
Shangri-La Hotel complex at the Marina, is an
elegant venue for cocktails, refreshingly removed from the tourist trail.
Near the thick of the night-time action, The Lagoon Lounge, above
Mangostin's Restaurant at 65 The Esplanade, has fabulous views out to sea.
DINING WITH THE LOCALS
'UPMARKET bush tucker' is one description of the food at Red Ochre Grill at 43 Shields Street (00 61 7 4051 0100). The herbs, berries and spices
that once fortified the Aborigines in the bush give the modern menu an
exotic twist - anyone for chargrilled kangaroo with sweet potato fritters?
The Marina boardwalk has a line of fish and Italian restaurants.
SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH
ST MONICA'S Cathedral at 183 Abbott Street is a revelation. The
redbrick exterior is unprepossessing, but inside it's delightfully laid out,
and features the remarkable Creation Windows: the largest themed
stained-glass windows in the world, or so the claim goes. The windows record
the earth's history from the explosion of a supernova to the arrival of
humans in Australia. Services are held at 6.30am and 10am.
OUT TO BRUNCH
THE Boardwalk Café at the Marina serves huge Aussie breakfasts
(A$13.50/£6) all day. The Botanic Gardens Licensed Café (00 61 7 4053 7087)
is lively and unpretentious, gloriously situated among the tropical fronds.
CULTURAL AFTERNOON
THE Tjapukai Cultural Park (00 61 7 4042 9999; www.tjapukai.com.au) is
Australia's first Aboriginal tourist attraction. It moved a decade ago from
the mountains to a large site at Caravonica, 15km north of Cairns; a shuttle
bus picks up visitors from all the main hotels and hostels. The fare is
A$21.50 (£10). The park presents a continuous performance of theatre, dance
and art that vividly traces the history of the 'rainforest people'
(Tjapukai) from Dreamtime to the present. Allow at least two and a half
hours for a visit, which costs A$30 (£13.50). It opens 9am-5pm daily.
TAKE A RIDE
ALSO at Caravonica, you find the Skyrail cableway (bottom right), which
provides one of the world's great rides, its gondolas sailing above the
rainforest-covered uplands to the hill town of Kuranda. There are two stops
on the 7.5km run, where you can take a guided boardwalk among the
500-year-old kauri pines, and visit an interpretation centre to fathom some
of the mysteries of this World Heritage Site, which contains a third of
Australia's plant species.
Either return the way you came, or take the scenic railway back to
Cairns. Allow a minimum of three hours for the Skyrail trip, which costs
A$52 (£23) return. Reservations: 00 61 7 4038 1555; www.skyrail.com.au. Open
8.15am-5.15pm daily.
A WALK IN THE PARK
CAIRNS' rapid development makes it easy to forget that it was once
covered by tropical rainforest, but a pleasant reminder is at the Flecker
Botanic Gardens (14) on Collins Avenue (00 61 7 4044 3398), where ferns,
orchids and palms abound. Across Collins Avenue, a boardwalk leads you
through the tranquil Centenary Lakes. Open 7.30am-5.30pm from Monday to
Friday, opening an hour later at weekends.
TAKE A VIEW
BUY a card at the shop in the gardens and take one of the marked trails
to the Mount Whitfield Conservation Park, where you might see a tree
kangaroo, and will certainly enjoy the best view of the city and ocean.
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Shangri-la
Hotel The Marina Cairns
