The Esplanade is a colourful place with a mixture of everything from takeaway food stalls to fine-dining restaurants. At night it comes alive with tourists from all corners of the globe getting together for a walk or a meal. Close by the Pier Marketplace has over a hundred shops and the famous 'Mud Markets'. It overlooks Marlin Marina where game fishing boats and pleasure craft enjoy a sheltered mooring. Cairns offers many cultural and natural attractions including art galleries, theatres, cinemas, parks and a botanic garden, a casino and lots of entertainment night and day.

Tropical North Queensland is an exciting place to visit. The wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, gondola rides over the rainforest, scenic trains to Kuranda Village, the beautiful waterfalls on the Tablelands plus scores of wonderful beaches.

GREAT BARRIER REEF
Cairns is the largest tourist centre along the Great Barrier Reef and the main departure point to the outer Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. It is a centre for a whole host of other activities - not only reef trips and scuba diving - such as white-water rafting, canoeing, horse riding, outback 4WD safaris and skydiving. Because the reef is closer to the mainland here, Cairns is particularly popular for scuba dive trips. There are two popular islands close by: Fitzroy and Green Island, both of which attract lots of day trippers. Fitzroy Island has good diving water right offshore and the Great Barrier Reef itself not far out. Green Island, 27 km northeast of Cairns, is a true coral cay with beautiful beaches and corals.

CLIMATE
Our winter from May to October is relatively dry and temperatures somewhat mild. Average temperatures of 18 to 24 °C during the day and 12 to 18 °C at night. Summer brings most of the rainfall and an average temperature of 30 °C.