Aussie East Coast: Cairns

The Adventure of a Lifetime!

Dates of Travel:

4 - 8 April: Melbourne
8 - 11 April: Sydney
11 - 17 April: Brisbane
17 - 22 April: Cairns
22 - 30 April: Gold Coast

Doing the Aussie East Coast!

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Cairns

Spaceship Campervan

Our home for the next 6 days

We rented another Spaceship in Cairns after our wonderful experience in New Zealand. Check out this link on some tips and why I choose the Spaceship Campervan in New Zealand!

Rainforestation Nature Park

Address: 1030 Kennedy Hwy, Kuranda QLD 4881, Australia 

Tel: +61 7 4093 9033 

Opening Hours: 9 am - 4 pm 

Tickets: Big Nature Package (includes Koala & Wildlife Park, Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience and Army Duck Rainforest Tour) - Adult - $47, Child - $23.50 

Website: http://www.rainforest.com.au/

Explore Australia's World Heritage-listed tropical rainforest at the Rainforestation Nature Park in Kuranda. The park is set on 100 acres (40 hectares) of pristine rainforest within five minutes of Kuranda village, accessible from Cairns by road or by the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway or the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

Learning how to throw a boomerang 

This is the Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience! Get an insight into the world's longest-living culture, that of the Australian Aborigines. Hear the Dreamtime stories, watch a corroboree (traditional dance) performance and learn how to throw a boomerang or play the didgeridoo.

Army Duck!!

There’s no better way to see the rainforest than in an Army Duck. This all-terrain, amphibious World War II Army Duck will have you driving down dirt tracks and cruising the waterways. As you traverse part of the property on your unforgettable 45-minute rainforest tour, the knowledgeable guide will point out and explain the native flora and fauna. If you're lucky, he will point out humongous spiders and cute turtles to you!

Take a walk with the keepers along the boardwalks at the Koala and Wildlife Park for a close-up view of Australia's unique native animals. See crocodiles, wallabies and the shy cassowary foraging for food. You can have your picture taken holding a cuddly koala or even a small crocodile at an additional cost!

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, is the largest living thing on Earth, and even visible from outer space. The 2,300km-long ecosystem comprises thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands made of over 600 types of hard and soft coral. It's home to countless species of colourful fish, molluscs and starfish, plus turtles, dolphins and sharks.

We booked a total of 3 dives. All snorkelers and divers will have to board the same boat and they will seat you differently for different briefings.

at the reef

The entire journey out was rather choppy and many people felt sick. G included. There's an indoor air conditioned and an outdoor area. Naturally, once the waves start hitting, the waves will be choppy and everyone sitting in the air conditioned area had to move outdoors.

lunch!

Buffet lunch was provided and it was scrumptious! I went all out with coffee, pasta, ham etc, and since G was quite sick he couldn't finish his food. So I helped! *pig icon*

duving gear

It was quite different diving in Australia and South East Asia as you had to gear on and off yourself (naturally, please do not expect too much) and in SEA, there's boatmen who will help you gear on and off! They will even wear your flippers for you. It was also perhaps due to the shear number of divers.

so beautiful

It was such an amazing experience! We got to see turtles, stingrays, nemos, super giant clams as big as my body, and tons of cute fishes and sea cucumbers! There was a total of 3 dive sites with each dive lasting from 45 mins to 1 hour!

last photo before we dock

Milla Milla Falls

Address: Millaa Falls Rd, Millaa Millaa QLD 4886, Australia

road to milla milla

 Millaa Millaa Falls is a heritage-listed plunge waterfall at Theresa Creek Road, Millaa Millaa, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 December 2005.

beautiful scenery! 

 We went to Milla Milla Falls and it started raining. We decided that since we intended to swim and get wet anyway, a little rain will not stop us! What we did not expect is the cold from the falls and the wind! It was so cold we decided to go have lunch at the near by town first and wait for the rain to stop.

milla milla falls

 So we had a wonderful lunch of scones and tea and headed back to the falls once the rain stopped. However, to our disappointment, it started raining as soon as we arrived! We decided to just brave the cold and go for it since we were tired of waiting.

us and milla milla falls

It was beautiful, despite the cold. G actually swam to the falls itself and i just stood with the water up to my knees cos it was too cold, half the time screaming at him to be careful or he might get cramps.

Platypus Park

The Australian Platypus Park is home to a thriving platypus population. These wonderful creatures can be found in a spring fed pond surrounded by lush tropical vegetation.

still raining!

It was still raining when we visited. Because it was still raining, sometimes we were unsure if the ripples in the water were from the rain or Platypus. Nonetheless, the park boasts of it's 99% viewing success rate and indeed we managed to catch a glimpse of the animals!

Platypus pons

Gallo Dairyland

Address: Atherton Malanda Rd & E Barron Rd, East Barron QLD 4883, Australia
Phone: +61 7 4095 2388
Website: http://gallodairyland.com.au/
Hours: 9:30AM – 4:30PM

Gallo Dairyland

Gallo Dairyland is a family owned and operated business. Today the farm spreads across 1000 acres of rich red volcanic soil growing sugarcane and milking on average 350 cows twice a day. It is a licensed cafe, animal farm, cheese factory, chocolate factory, and dairy farm!

Chocolates!

 We decided to stop for lunch in their cafe and had 2 coffees, a cheese platter and some seafood platter. The cheese platter was generous and it came with lots of crackers and fruit!

cheese platter

 They also have free roaming animals like turkey and chickens!

Turkey

You get to pet and feed the calfs and they will lick you in return!

animal nursery

my new cow friend

Curtain Fig Tree

trail around the curtain fig tree

The fig tree is from the strangler fig species Fichus virens. The curtain effect results from one tree leaning against another tree on a 45-degree angle. The strangler vine then grew along the oblique angle of the leaning tree, dangling 15 metres to the ground to create the curtain affect

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Aussie East Coast Series:

Melbourne

Sydney

Brisbane

Cairns

Gold Coast