Where is Kuranda and Cairns Australia

Cairns, Far North Queensland

Cairns is located approximately 1700 klms (1056 miles) North of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia.

Cairns sits on the East Coast of the Cape York Peninsula and is bounded by the Great Dividing Range to the West and the Coral Sea to the East.

Cairns was originally founded in 1876 and named after the Queensland Governor of the time, William Wellington Cairns. In those days Cairns served as a staging point for equipment and supplies which serviced the Gold miners heading for the Hodgkinson River in the remote Far North.

A vast sugar cane industry later grew up around the city and it became a large central port for the export of gold, minerals, produce grown on the nearby Tablelands, and of course sugar cane.

These days, although there is still a lot of sugar cane grown on farms in the area which employs a large number of people on a working holiday in Australia, it is also more well known as a popular entry point to the Great Barrier Reef.

There are many attractions in Cairns. These are a few of my favourites:

• The Sky Rail gondolas which take you from Cairns to Kuranda on the Atherton Tablelands. This is a great day trip (if you don't mind heights) as you can spend the day wandering the tourist markets at Kuranda.
• The scenic railway from Freshwater to Kuranda via the Barron Gorge lookout. It is my favourite way to see the country side while in Cairns, and you have the option to return to Cairns on the Sky Rail if you wish.
• Tjapukai is one attraction that I haven't seen but would love to go to. It is an Aboriginal Cultural centre which puts on shows both during the day and at night. I have heard that it is fantastic!
• Cairns Lagoon is a wonderful family destination near the CBD where both children and adults can enjoy the atmosphere, the playgrounds and water activities.

Cairns has an enormous range of accommodation options.

I can personally recommend Lake Placid Tourist Park which is located at Caravonica, if you are camping or caravanning, or if you are looking for clean and comfortable cabin accommodation. It is an extremely well kept park with beautiful swimming pool and undercover bbq area. They have $2 meal nights where they do the cooking, and everyone gets together and enjoys a meal and each others company around the pool.

Of course there are plenty of other options to check out from backpackers to 5 star resorts both in Cairns CBD, on the Northern beaches such as Palm Cove, and on the Resort Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.