View of Cairns City

    Cairns Esplanade Lagoon

Great Barrier Reef

Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef represents some of the finest and most exotic scuba diving and snorkelling in the world. Whether your interests lie with diving and snorkelling day trips, live aboard cruises and extended diving expeditions to the Ribbon Reefs and Cod Hole, learning to dive, or advanced diver training for certified divers, North Queensland's Great Barrier Reef, and Diving Cairns, can meet all of your diving holiday needs.

Inner Reefs

These reefs are accessible by day boats and offer safe diving in shallow waters. Due to the regular flow of water due to strong tides between the mainland and reef, whip and fan formations are common. Small colourful fish are also plentiful in these shallow waters.

Between coral bommies, stingrays are abundant and even the odd Dugong has been spotted feeding on the sea grasses. Birds are plentiful because of the islands and cays around.  These sites are recommended for easygoing casual dives.

Outer Reefs

Reefs on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef offer bigger variation in species, plus underwater canyons and gorges cutting mazes through the coral. The water in this area can also be clearer than shallow water.

These sites are recommended for all divers. Experienced divers will appreciate the wide range of corals and wildlife, while inexperienced divers will be treated to a truly remarkable trip that will set a foundation for future exotic dives.

Fishing Cairns

Come to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland for some of the world's best estuary, river, fly, reef and game fishing. The perfect fishing holiday or vacation for the recreational fisherman and angler. Catch that barramundi, fight that mackerel, have the game fishing adventure experience of a lifetime.

Cairns is the Black Marlin capital of the world. Schooling in the waters off Cairns, large marlin spawn here each year, and no where in the world is there such an aggregation of large game fish.

Many fisherman coming to Cairns target the heavy tackle marlin fishing. Black marlin are massive fish, and grow to be over 1,000 pounds - "granders". Black marlin are exciting fish to catch and keen anglers come from all over the world to try their hand at black marlin sports fishing.

Cairns is home to many marlin fishing boats and sportsfishing charters; mothership trips, smaller boats with liveaboard, extended charters and day trips. For fishermen on a budget, we recommend the liveaboard trips. Many charters also offer snorkeling and diving as part of the fishing trip.

Cairns Tropical Zoo is the largest and most diverse wildlife attraction in Tropical North Queensland and is set amidst six hectares of tropically landscaped gardens. The zoo is home to hundreds of native and exotic species, many of which are indigenous to our northern wet tropics.

Cairns Tropical Zoo has broken the mould of traditional zoos by creating opportunities for you, the visitor, to interact with our animals. There are numerous opportunities during the day to get close, touch, feel and make some new animal friends. Our philosophy is that personal interaction with animals encourages a greater understanding of native wildlife and promotes the need to preserve their natural habitats.

The Rainforest Habitat near Port Douglas is a wildlife park of the future and world leader in mixed immersion exhibits. It is situated on eight acres of land that has been recreated to provide a window into our natural environment.

Visitors can wander through four different and unique environments that depict over 180 species of the surrounding rainforest, wetlands, woodlands and grasslands.

Regular guided tours are an essential part of the park's focus on biological conservation, as are guest's interaction with wildlife within the sanctuary.

The Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary covers over two hectares. There are two open-air exhibits; guests become an insignificant observer amidst the intricate performance of wildlife. Boardwalks intertwine through the canopy and rainforest floor of these environments, providing an exhilarating and educating journey for all.

Heritage Listed Rainforests

The Atherton Tablelands is home to World Heritage listed rainforests, national parks, mountains, rivers, lakes and waterfalls. It is also rated as one of the richest agricultural plains in Australia. If you enjoy bush walking, bird watching, wildlife tours, hot air ballooning, water skiing, fishing, or just lazing around and enjoying the scenery, the Atherton Tablelands has something to offer you. 

Also, the Daintree Rainforest north of Cairns in Tropical Far North Queensland Australia is one of the most diverse and beautiful examples of Mother Nature in the world. It is home to the largest range of plants and animals on earth, an area spanning approximately 1200 square kilometres.

The Daintree Rainforest is over one hundred and thirty-five million years old – the oldest in the world. Approximately 430 species of birds live among the trees, including 13 species that are found nowhere else in the world.

For tourists, this unique corner of the world offers an outdoor holiday that few other places on the globe can match. There are hiking trails, scenic lookouts, camping sites, picnic tables and swimming holes to be explored in the Daintree.

Golf Courses

There is a selection of world class golf courses in the  area.  Needless to say, they are all tropically landscaped in accordance to the environment in which they are located. The high rainfall in the area means the playing surfaces are always lush and green. Golf carts are available at almost all golf courses in the area so you don't have to worry about trekking around a course in the tropical heat.

The Mulgrave Rambler and Sugar Mill  Tour

'The Mulgrave Rambler', takes passengers on a journey on a steam driven sugar train along a tramway which takes passengers from the town of Gordonvale, crosses the Mulgrave River a number of times, passes through sections of rainforest and crosses a couple of roads before reaching its destination at the Orchid Valley, a substantial orchid nursery.  The journey includes a visit to the Mulgrave Sugar Mill which started operations in November, 1896. The first mill in the area was the privately owned Pyramid Mill on the upper Mulgrave River which started crushing in 1885. It had failed within a decade. The Gordonvale Mill replaced it as the main sugar mill in the district. By early 1898 a railway line had been constructed between the town and the port at Cairns.