Location
FREE things to do in and around Cairns
Atherton Tablelands
The tablelands are cooler and less humid than the coastal areas all year round, so definitely the place to go if you need a cooler break. You will find yourself surrounded by extinct volcanos, waterfalls, farmland and the heritage listed Wet Tropics. The area is full of farmland growing a huge variety of food, many of which can be bought at small road side stalls, so remember to take some cash up with you!
The road to explore the Tablelands is a loop full of exploration from Cairns – either drive up the Kuranda Range and down the Gillies Range, or vice versa.
To drive the northern route, up the Kuranda Range and down the Gillies, follow the Cairns Western Arterial Road north to Smithfield. Follow the signs for the Kuranda Range and Mareeba.
Potential stops along the way depend on how you wish to spend your day.
Cultural and historical:
- Visit Heritage buildings and the Avenue of Honour at Yungaburra. Yungaburra is located 720m above sea level. The pub is unmissable as you enter the town with its extensive presence in the main street
- The post office was built in 1924 for the post master and his family to reside in. Now it is privately owned, although still operating as a post office.
- Mareeba Heritage Museum.
- Herberton Historic Village – you will need a full day to explore this one.
Art and craft:
Tablelands Regional Gallery; Old Post Office Gallery; Foyer Gallery, Artistree Gallery in Yungaburra.
Natural beauty day trip:
Barron Falls; Davies Falls; The Cathedral Fig (a towering 500-year-old strangler fig tree nestled in the Danbulla State Forest) and Curtain Fig; Lake Eacham; Lake Barrine. Both lakes are volcanic crater lakes.
Shopping day:
Kuranda markets, Crystal Caves, local markets at each of the towns, roadside stalls selling fresh from the farm fruit and vegetables.
- Kuranda
- Atherton
- Yungaburra
- Malanda
- Mareeba
Swimming day:
Stoney Creek; Davies Creek; Lake Tinaroo; Lake Eacham; Little Mulgrave. (more information is given on each of these in waterfalls and rivers section.
Camping week:
Lake Tinaroo, Mareeba showgrounds, Malanda, Yungaburra.
Hiking and adventure:
Geological wonders trail which takes you to
- Mt Quincan Crater
- Mt Hypipamee Crater
- Bromfield Swamp
- Hasties Swamp
- Hallorans Hill conservation park
Davies creek:
Hiking, swimming, mountain biking, camping.
Yungaburra, the heart of the Tablelands, was established in 1890, and is listed by the National Trust of Queensland with many of the original buildings still in use. Walk the Old Town Loop and experience local history (view map).
Peterson’s Creek meanders past the village and is a haven for wildlife. Watch for platypus, tree-kangaroos, wallabies and a large variety of birds (view map).
Farms with café:
- Tea plantation – Nerada Tea Rooms
- Coffee plantation – Jacques
- Gallo’s operational Dairy Farm
- Shaylees Strawberry farm
For more information and photos on the Atherton Tablelands, please visit our Atherton Tablelands page which you can find HERE.
Babinda Boulders, Golden Hole and Josephine Falls
When we left Cairns, it was a nice sunny April day, but that did not last. The rain did however cool the day down. We went to Babinda Boulders first. There were people swimming in the water when we arrived. I have since been told that crocodiles have been seen in these water’s, so please remain vigilant. We did not choose to go swimming, rather we walked down the path to the end to check out the falls. You are not allowed to walk in the falls as it is slippery and dangerous and more than 20 people have lost their lives here. We stayed on the correct side of the fenced area and enjoy the falls respectfully. It really is a beautiful area. The rain was starting to set in and we still had two areas close by we wanted to check out.
We had lunch in Babinda at a local café where we ordered the works burgers and they were delicious and huge.
On the way to Josephine Falls there is a turn off for Golden Hole. Be sure to go down for a look as it is very pretty. There are crocodiles in this area and plenty of warning signs advising not to go swimming. We walked down to the water and around the freshly mowed grass area with its large boulders. We walked up to the top of the hill, not sure if it led to a hike, but it is private property once you reach the top of the grassed area.
Next was Josephine Falls. You walk up a well-kept path for about 15-20 minutes. You can go to the falls here and this is where the “slide” is found, essentially a slippery rock where you can slide into the deeper water. You can also choose to walk further up about another 5 minutes to the top where there is a deeper pool. It was raining when we were here, but it did not stop the many people who were there to enjoy themselves.
An unadvertised pleasure in Babinda is Clyde the local crocodile. Please treat Clyde with respect and acknowledge that he is a wild animal and he can kill you. To respectfully see Clyde, travel along Clyde Road Babinda to the Russell River. Clyde likes to sit in the sun on the southern side of the bridge.
Do not attempt to go any closer to Clyde than the bridge.
Please do not ruin this for others to experience by being stupid for a selfie.
If you keep following Clyde Road past the river, you will find a Deer Sanctuary.
For more information and photos for the Babinda Boulders, Josephine Falls and Golden Hole, please visit our Babinda Boulders, Josephine Falls and Golden Hole page which you can find HERE.
Big Things
Captain Cook:
An 8 metre statue stood on Sheridan Street for 50 years, but was removed in 2022
Its new custodian is Martin Anton, the owner of a Far North Queensland demolition company.
Mr Anton said he would like to return the statue to a public space if its integrity allowed and he could find a suitable location, but at this stage he had no concrete plans.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-18/cairns-captain-cook-statue-finds-new-home/100918772
The Big Crocodile
Located at Hartleys Creek Adventures, Wangetti.
Named Big Ted.
https://www.crocodileadventures.com/
The Big Marlin
Located in the carpark at Stockland shopping centre in Earlville.
It stands 10m tall.
https://bigthingsofaustralia.com/the-big-marlin/
The Big Scout Hat
Can be found on Grafton Street Cairns
The building is listed in the Queensland Heritage register, but the hat was added in 1982.
Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens are north of Cairns. There is a beautiful Rainbow Gum tree there, opposite where the arrow walks start. There are several walks from here. Walks can be guided or you can grab a map and go for a hike by yourself. The guided walks include: Bird walks; Heritage Tours; or A Friends of the Gardens Guided Tour (https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/experience-cairns/botanic-gardens/tours-walks).
You can do a loop through the gardens or take one of the Arrow Walks. There is Red (grade 3, 1.5km), Green (grade 4, 3km), Blue (grade 4, 6km) and Yellow (grade 3, 1.9km) Arrow walks (https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/search?query=arrow+walks&collection=CRC-2021&form=simple&scope=&profile=_default ). (There is a PDF document with more information and a map).
For more information and photos of the Cairns Botanical Gardens, please visit our Botanical Gardens page which you can find HERE.
Cairns Esplanade
The esplanade has a swimming lagoon, a safe swimming area with a lifeguard and no crocodiles. This is also an area to walk your dog, catch up with a friend for coffee, have a family BBQ at the free BBQs, let the kids play in the playgrounds, watch a local busker, visit the memorials paying tribute to our fallen soldiers, attend an active living fitness class, or admire the free public art such as the Woven Fish or the Telescopus.
For more information and photos on the Cairns Esplanade, please visit our Cairns Esplanade page which you can find HERE.
Cathedral Fig
At the top of the Gillies Range Road in the Danbulla National Park is a magnificent 500 year old strangler tree with a 300m boardwalk around the 72m circumference.
Danbulla State Forest Drive, Yungaburra.
For more information and photos on the Cathedral Fig, please visit our Cathedral Fig page which you can find HERE.
Crater Lakes National Park - Lake Eacham - Lake Barrine
Lake Eacham – A 10-minute drive from the Curtain Fig will take you to Crater Lakes National Park, home to two volcanic lakes – Eacham and Barrine. Both are surrounded by walking trails through lush rainforest. Our favourite was Lake Eacham and we visited there a few times, each time stating that we must return with a picnic lunch and swimmers/floating rings/snorkels etc. but we left the area before doing so. This is on our to do list when we return.
There is a Freshwater Crocodile that has been living in this lake for the last 15 or so years. Freshwater Crocodiles are not the ones you need to worry about. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. The Queensland Government site can provide you with further information.
For more information and photos on the Crater Lakes, please visit our Crater Lake pages which you can find HERE for Lake Barrine and HERE for Lake Eacham.
NOTE – Photos have been lost of this location, even though we visited multiple times. Unfortunately current images are from google. Images will be updated as soon as they are located. If anyone has an issue with us using these images in the meantime, please let us know and they will be removed.
Curtain Fig
A large fig tree in the Curtain Fig Tree National Park, it stands at approximately 50 metres tall and has a circumference of 39 metres. There is an elevated 180m boardwalk that circles the tree allowing you to admire its beauty from all angles while protecting its fabulous root system. At night time you might be lucky enough to see a Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo, or other nocturnal animals. The Curtain Fig Tree was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 December 2009 and is located 2kms from Yungaburra on Fig Tree Road.
For more information and photos on the the Curtain Fig, please visit our Curtain Fig page which you can find HERE.
Gordonvale area
Drive south from Cairns and when you get to Gordonvale turn right onto Gillies Range Road. Turn left at Downing Road and cross Peets Bridge. This area can flood significantly, so please do not head up here if there is heavy rain anticipated. Around the bend it turns into Goldsborough Road. This is a really beautiful area so take your time and enjoy the drive. Follow the road and you will find a camping area. You can book an overnight stay through www.parks.des.qld.gov.au. This is a great area for swimming and hiking, but please be aware that there can be crocodiles up here, so make sure your children are supervised at all times and you need to remain vigilant of your surroundings.
On Gillies Range Road if you drive past the Peets Bridge turn off you will find a pub called the Mountain View Hotel. Go in and have a look at the Historical photos on the walls; it was quite interesting to find out that this is where the traffic would wait (the bottom gate) back when the road up to the hinterland was only one lane; two way traffic did not begin until 1959. Gillies Range Road is the windiest road in Australia, it is 19kms long and has 263 corners with an elevation change of 800 metres. There is a lookout at the top of the range and if you wanted to go to the Cathedral Fig Tree, it is not that far (5kms) out of the way.
The area behind Mountain View Hotel is called Little Mulgrave and it was one of our favourite spots to take our inflatable tubes and relax in the water on a hot day. This area can get quite busy on a hot day but if you drive along Little Mulgrave Road, you will notice paths that you can follow down to the water and hopefully you can find a section that you can have to yourself. Be sure to check the area for crocodiles and take all your rubbish with you when you leave.
For more information and photos on Gordonvale, please visit our Gordonvale page which you can find HERE.
Hiking
We did a lot of hiking trips. Please be sure to take:
- sunscreen
- bug repellant
- sturdy shoes
- water
- healthy snacks for energy
- downloaded maps on your phone
- and, tell someone where you are going and when you should be back
I purchased a fantastic little book called Walks, Tracks and Trails of Queensland’s Tropics by Derrick Stone that detailed more than 150 of the best walks, tracks or trails in Queensland’s Tropics, located within the coastal strip between Rockhampton and Cooktown and included easy to interpret maps.
A couple of tracks we did were:
Jumrum Creek – https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/jumrum-creek
Barron Gorge – https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/barron-gorge/journeys
A lot of the waterfalls involve hiking, be sure to check the distance and grade of the walk before embarking.
DANGERS TO BE AWARE OF WHEN HIKING.
Stinging tree – https://www.cairns-hinterland.health.qld.gov.au/about-us/news/new-study-highlights-trees-painful,-lingering-touch
Wait-a-while trees – https://travelnq.com/dangerous-tropical-rainforest-plants/
Not to mention wild animals and changes in weather.
Arrow walks – There is Red (grade 3, 1.5km), Green (grade 4, 3km), Blue (grade 4, 6km) and Yellow (grade 3 ,1.9km) Arrow walks (https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/search?query=arrow+walks&collection=CRC-2021&form=simple&scope=&profile=_default
We will be making a page specific for hiking, please be patient while we find all the great material we need to populate this page.
Lookouts
There are numerous lookouts in the Cairns region. We found it quite amusing that a number of the lookouts have massive big trees blocking the look out.
Ones we visited included:
Kuranda range – Henry Ross Lookout.
The Edge Lookout
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway
White Rock Lookout
Barron Gorge Power Station
Barron Falls, Kuranda
Wrighs lookout, Kuranda
Crystal Cascades
Devils Pool, Babinda
Copperlode Dam and half way along the same road is White Rock lookout trail head.
Campbells Lookout – We visited this location one evening and we thought it would be lovely to go there one morning and watch the sunrise. Please note that the gate does lock and you need to allow for that extra time to get there before the sun rises. We did not know that we would have to walk approximately one km and we missed a lot of the sunrise. It was still utterly beautiful, but not what we hoped it would be.
Mareeba
We did a full day trip up to Mareeba. First stop was Jacques coffee plantation for a cup of coffee. This is a small local plantation that grows their own delicious coffee. It was interesting seeing and learning how coffee is made.
Next stop was the Heritage Museum, which is conveniently located as you enter Mareeba. We did not realise how much was in here and could easily have spent many more hours here reading and learning. We were there that long that we decided to have lunch at the cafe.
Next stop was the Coffee Works as I had seen so much signage for the shop that we just had to have a look. If you need some new tea cups, coffee or chocolate, pop in for a look.
Last stop for the day was Granite Gorge. This place is just beautiful and we wish we had taken the camper up and spent the night. There are animals galore ranging from birds, to lizards and snakes, pigs and a pony, and the local rock wallabies. You can buy some food when you pay the couple of $ for your entrance to the park. The wallabies are cute and not really interested in you if you aren’t going to feed them Lol. We walked around the rock, first up to the left (west) where we saw a heap of turtles swimming in Granite Creek, then down to the east there is so much to explore including signage to dinosaur tracks. It was a really hot day and we did not have ample water on us to keep exploring, so my advice is that if you go to Mareeba, make a weekend of it and take ample water for hiking this area.
BTW – Google tells me that Mareeba is not part of the Atherton Tablelands, but it is part of the loop up the Kuranda Range to the tablelands and then back down the Gillies to Gordonvale, so i believe this section fits here. Happy to have you agree to disagree with me.
For more information and photos for the Mareeba region, please visit our Mareeba page which you can find HERE.
Northern Beaches
Holloways Beach, Trinity Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove and Ellis Beach.
Ellis Beach is so pretty and definitely worth a visit. There is a surf club there if you fancy a nice lunch overlooking the beach.
Walk from Clifton Beach to Palm Cove along the beach – Double Island and Double Island Reef is off to the north east.
Some of the beaches have lifeguards and stinger netting so you are able to go for a swim in safety.
For more information on the Northern Beaches, please visit our Northern Beaches page which you can find HERE.
Port Douglas
This would have to be one of the most beautiful drives in the country. You have tropical rainforest on one side of the road and the ocean and Great Barrier Reef on the other side. Don’t forget to stop at Rex Lookout on the way up. Markets are in Anzac Park every Sunday from 8am-1:30pm.
For more information and photos of Port Douglas, please visit our Port Douglas page which you can find HERE.
Redlynch, Kumerunga, Caravonica and Freshwater area
A couple of must see areas north of Cairns include:
Lake Placid (Crocodiles have been seen here).
Crystal Cascades and Fairy Falls.
Stoney Creek – swim under the waterfall.
Check out the bottom of Barron Falls and the hydro-station.
For more information on this area, please visit our Redlynch, Kumerunga, Caravonica and Freshwater area page which you can find HERE.
Shopping centres
Shopping centres can be really good time wasters, especially on a rainy day. Who doesn’t love a bit of window shopping.
The local shopping centres in Cairns are:
Cairns Central
Earlville shopping town
Smithfield shopping centre
(each of these have a movie theatre, although they do cost money, i though i would mention it here anyway).
Rusty’s markets – every Friday, Saturday and Sunday – great for local produce and food, or just a wonder through.
DFO Cairns
(photos from google)
Waterfalls
One of my favorite things about the tropical north is the abundance of waterfalls.
Barron Falls (Din Din) – Amazing during/after the wet season
Davies Creek Falls – (Din Din National Park – Swim in the infinity pool atop of the falls and pitch a tent at the campgrounds)
Davies Falls (in the Mount Hypipamee National Park)
Emerald Creek Falls – Didden West Forest Reserve – 10 min walk from the carpark.
Carrington Falls
Malanda Falls (easy to get to and there is a caravan park right next to it)
Dinner Falls
Millstream Falls (the widest single drop waterfall in Australia – Ravenshoe – Queenslands Highest Town)
Little Millstream Falls – near Ravenshoe
Papina Falls – 15 mins from Millia Millaa Falls
Millaa Millaa Falls – (There is also a lookout – one of the busiest of the waterfalls, plan your day to account for this)
Zillie Falls (7.5 km from Millaa Millaa)
Ellinjaa Falls (3 km past Zillie Falls – my favourite of the three)
Souita Falls
Mungalli Falls (14mins from Millaa Millaa Falls)
Wallicher Falls (a 500-meter walk from Tchupala)
Tchupala Falls (Not far from Nandroya Falls is Tchupala Falls (pronounced Chu-par-la), A great spot to stop for a swim on your way down the Palmerston Highway)
Mena Creek Falls – Paranella Park
Josephine Falls – near Babinda
Halls Falls – Tucked away in Herberton Range Conservation Park, a 15 minute walk from the car park
Nandroya Falls (a 6km round trip to Nandroya and Silver Falls)
Mungali Falls – the highest waterfall on the tablelands
Clamshell Falls – Bahana Gorge – Gordonvale (on our list when we return)
Windin Falls (on our list when we return) – 3 hr return hike
Stoney Creek – Kumerunga
Crystal Cascades – Redlynch Valley – a series of swimming holes and an easy walking track next to the water’s edge
Fairy Falls – access from the carpark at Crystal Cascades – be careful of stinging trees in this area.
Hartleys Creek Falls – (on our list when we return – The track leading up to the falls is roughly 7.5kms return and travels through World Heritage Listed Wet Tropics Rainforest, so make sure you pack those runners and plenty of water. Note: Crocodiles may be present in the brackish water further down the creek, nearest to the Captain Cook Highway and swimming here is not permitted.)
Vision Falls – (300m from Lake Eacham – wrong time of year when we went and there was not much water)
Murray Falls – Between Tully and Cardwell
McKenzie Falls – on the way to Ravenshoe (need a 4WD) in the Tumoulin Forest Reserve.
My top three waterfalls
Fairy Falls
Ellinjaa Falls
Barron Falls – the difference between low and high is amazing and we saw both.
Waterholes include: Cardwell Spa Pools; Babinda Boulders; Goomboora Park Redlynch.
Updates to this page will show names of each waterfall/location/etc. Please stay tuned while we continue working on our page.
For more information and photos on Waterfalls, please visit our Waterfalls page which you can find HERE.
*please note that we are still in the process of naming each of the pictures on this page.
4WD Tracks
The best 4WD trip we did was our trip up to Cape York, but you can find details on that trip in another post.
For more information on 4WD tracks please see National Parks and State Parks website HERE.
A couple of day trips we did were:
- Black Mountain Road
- Davies Creek
- Tumoulin Forest Reserve
- overnight trips to the Daintree and Cape Tribulation
For more information on 4WDing in the area, please visit our 4WD page which you can find HERE. * please be patient while we populate this page with some amazing information for you.