Hi Everyone, ๐
We spent 4 days in Cairns after spending some lazy days in Gold Coast. It was a mixed trip for us personally. Our camera died again after it started working for a while so most of the pics you see in this post are i-phone photos. And second, someone stole my new pair of sunglasses on the boat during our trip to Great Barrier Reef.
But other than that if you are travelling to Australia, Cairns should be on your must visit place. The place has very Kerala vibes to it but there are so many unique things to do. Our friends helped us a bit with the itinerary for this trip so that was brilliant. So here is your list of must do things in Cairns and what all we did.
- We stayed at Alamanda Cove,which again is a gorgeous apartment style hotel and the only hotel that is located right on the beach. I’d highly recommend it. The staff was brilliant and very helpful. It is located in the Palm Cove area. It isย an amazing hotel with gorgeous swimming pools, perfect location and stunning apartments but there are a lot of other hotels as well that you can pick on the Palm Cove. That area is unlike any area that is out there. It is breathtakingly beautiful. The ocean, the palm trees, the weddings on the beach, the sky, the sunsets, the gorgeous restaurants and gelatos.. it was perfection.
- Cairns Esplanade Swimming Lagoon : We could not get in the ocean because there were jelly fish in the sea. So they have gorgeous huge swimming pool area, which they have given a feel of ocean complete with white sand. It is such a lovely place to spend a lazy afternoon just taking dips in the pool and then lying on the grass later on. Oh! can do it all over again.
- Kuranda Scenic Railway and a visit to Kuranda Village: Honestly it was a a very slow and not very scenic ride. ๐ But it is a part of their history. Can be skipped really. And Kuranda Village is just actually a shopping arcade where you can buy things made by aboriginals..but you can never be sure. Love the mango smoothies there. ๐
- The Sky Rail Rainforest Cableway: OMG! a must do. The scariest and most adventurous cable car ride we have done. It is a long ride with 2 stops in between. We just took a one stop and rest of the time we were hanging up riding on a cable car. I don’t even know how many times I would have told Sanjeev how much I love him just in case I die during that crazy ride. ๐ ๐
- Hartleys Crocodile Adventuresย : One heck of a scary thing to see but you cannot not do it if you are visiting Australia. They take you inside the quiet spooky marshes of crocodiles on a boat, tell you about crocodiles living there, do snake & croc shows and OMG! you could hug a koala there. The most epic thing was hugging that cute little koala. his name was Pasta and he literally just clung on to me. I wanted to bring it home. ๐
- Great Barrier Reef : Of course. You CANNOT come back from Australia without doing the GBF. We were a bit unlucky during this trip. It is a day long trip where they take you on a cruise and do diving or snorkelling. The day we did this trip the sea was so rough that it was really difficult to swim. We signed up for diving but later chose to do snorkeling. ย Snorkeling was absolutely gorgeous and a fun thing to do. As rough as the ocean was on the top, it was the most magical and stunning at the bottom. It’s almost a miracle you are seeing with your eyes. For a second you wouldn’t even believe that something like this exists. We also did a helicopter ride above the great barrier reef- no words.
Some tips for doing great barrier reef.
- If you are not a very good swimmer it is best to do snorkeling than diving. Plus always go by your instinct on how you feel at that moment. They may not refund you the diving money but your life is more precious than anything. The same evening we got to hear about someone passing away because some issue occurred in her oxygen tank. ๐
- Choose to go to the ‘Outer Reef.’ Some cruises take you only till the inner reed and the scenery is not so great.
- Taking a sea sickness tablet prior to sailing is always a good idea.
- It is a good idea to wear your bikini inside your clothes. they have changing rooms but it would save you from the hassle.
- Don’t carry anything expensive because they really don’t have any lockers on the ship and anyone can come and sit on your seat.
- Carry your own towels.
- Wear something short and something that you can easily take off. If you are not comfortable wearing bikini, they also have wet suits that cover you from top to bottom so no worries. Still wear a swimsuit inside not your regular under garments. ๐
You can book all the activities from your hotel desk. They always have nice tour options that cover many activities in a day. You can pick and choose things according to your convenience and budget. ๐ย Also keep sometime to relax and enjoy the gorgeousness that Cairns has to offer. It took me long to put this post up because there were just too many photos to share. Also don’t forget to watch the little video. ๐
I would be back in a few days to show the very gorgeous Perth with you all. Looooods of love! Mwwaaah!!
Video :
Shirt Dress, Gold Sandals : Zara ; bag : Gucci
Maxi Skirt, Top : Maison Scotch. Sunglasses : Celine
Denim : Frame Denim, Tee NeuW ; sunglasses : Dior, bag : acne studios
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