Cairns
WHO
Our family of four traveled to Cairns for two days of our two week road trip in Australia. Averhy was 15 and Eden was 12 when we took this trip.
WHAT
Here is our packing list for our entire 12-day trip to Australia. The clothing items are all per person. Our trip included both summer and fall temperatures, and we decided to bring our own snorkels for the Great Barrier Reef. I used the Ziploc bag method to pack for this trip, as well as the clothing folder. We used one carry-on suitcase and four backpacks (Sky’s magic backpack, the Helena Camelbak, my camera backpack, and Eden’s UnderArmour school backpack.) If we did this entire trip again, I would not bring the snorkels, and would have packed half the number of tshirts because we were able to do laundry twice during the 12 days. Because we were in Cairns for two days, two Ziploc bags contained all of our shirts/socks/undies for those days, plus an additional Ziploc bag for our swimsuits. Shorts were in the clothing folder. We went out to eat at a nice restaurant one night, so Sky’s nicer shirt and my dress were in the clothing folder also.
passport
camera/lens/cards
chargers (phone, car, camera)
SJCam/memory cards
power adapter
headphones
Trtl pillows
2 shorts
8 tshirts
1 hiking pants
2 tshirts for hiking
3 jeans
snorkel
sunglasses
basic toiletries
2 long sleeve shirts
2 nicer shirts
1 dress
10 underwear
3 bras
10 socks
1 swimsuit
Kindle
1 puffy coat
2 sweatshirts
1 tennis shoes
1 flip flops
1 nicer shoes
1 water shoes
1 baseball cap
WHEN
We were in Australia the first two weeks of August 2019. We decided to go at that time because it worked well with our summer vacation schedule. August is technically winter in Australia, but Cairns is fairly close to the equator, so it felt like summer to us. Temperatures were in the low 80s. August was a great time to visit Australia because it was not the busy tourist season. In Cairns, the crowds were fairly small at all of the locations we visited, with the exception of the downtown “Eplanade” area where we ate dinner both nights in Cairns.
WHERE
We like using AirBnB whenever we can, and whenever it is less expensive than a hotel - which was the case in Cairns. We stayed at this cute cottage in a quiet neighborhood.
During our time in Cairns, we visited the places marked by yellow stars on the map. Some of the roads getting to Kuranda were very curvy, and this time Allyson got to learn how to drive on the left.
WHY
We initially decided to go to Australia because NextVacay.com alerted us to a cheap round-trip flight to Sydney. After booking the initial flights, I researched different ways to see the Great Barrier Reef because that was on my bucket list. I soon learned that Australia is a lot bigger than I thought, so rather than driving from Sydney to Cairns (which would have taken 2 days), we decided to fly.
HOW
Day 1: Kuranda and Barron Falls
Koalas are protected, so there are only a few places where you are allowed to interact with them. It was my goal for our girls to be able to hold a koala, and I’m glad we decided on Kuranda Koala Gardens. Many of the animals are allowed to roam freely, and the staff members were helpful and informative.
Birdworld is attached to Kuranda Koala Gardens, and we purchased entry to both attractions. Birdworld was so enjoyable that we ended up staying there until closing time! I would definitely recommend it.
There were hundreds of exotic birds flying freely within the large enclosure. The girls were able to hold several birds simply by extending their hand next to a bird on a perch. One highlight was seeing a cassowary.
Next we drove to nearby Barron Falls, which is a huge waterfall in the rainy season… but it was just a trickle when we visited because it was winter.
The hike to the falls was an elevated path through the rainforest. Walking near the middle layer of the rainforest was a very different perspective than walking at the base of the trees!
Day 2: Ellis Beach, Balancing Rocks Beach, Mossman Gorge, Four Mile Beach, and the Esplanade in Cairns
After getting breakfast at the awesome farmers’ market in Cairns (only open on weekends) we drove north toward Daintree Rainforest, stopping at several beaches on the way. The first was Ellis Beach, where the water & sand created a suction effect on our feet!
Further up the road we stopped at Balancing Rocks beach and added our own cairns to the collection. We spent nearly an hour here, admiring the stacks of rocks and building our own precarious piles of stones.
Our next stop was Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest - one of the oldest continuous rainforests in the world, and a World Heritage site.
To visit the gorge, you have to park at the visitor center, pay an entry fee, and ride a shuttle bus into the rainforest. There are also several walking tour options, but we chose to explore on our own. This area was more crowded with weekend visitors, so we climbed on rocks and waded in the chilly water for only about an hour. We decided to avoid the crowds and head to Four Mile Beach a little earlier than planned.
We stopped at a grocery store to get things to make a picnic lunch, and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Four Mile Beach.
The beach was incredibly wide, with shallow water that reached way out into the ocean. We played in the sand, collected shells, and walked a full mile down the beach and back before the sun started to set.
After getting cleaned up, we drove downtown and walked around, checking out souvenir stands and restaurants. Just like the night before, the area was crowded with weekend tourists.
After dinner, we walked to the Esplanade Lagoon and were surprised to see huge fruit bats in all the trees! We could hear them munching on the fruits, and occasionally they would fly past us, swooping from one tree to the next. A surprising way to end our two days in Cairns!
Final Tips
Driving on the left side of the road takes a little bit of getting used to… we liked to say “sliiiide to the left” anytime we were starting to feel nervous about the traffic on the right side of the car!
If you’re traveling from the USA to Australia, be prepared for a LONG flight… but depending on when you leave, you might be traveling in darkness the entire flight, so it’s easier to sleep. We used Trtl travel pillows, and they were okay. Not quite as comfortable as the ads make them look, but they did the job. Do you have a travel pillow you love? Let me know in the comments below!
