Cairns at first glance

To fall with the door into the house, which is a poorly translatable Dutch saying meaning: to get to the point. Cairns is quite a boring town. There is enough to do if you have some money or your own transportation, but for a nearly flat broke backpacker with just flip-flops as mode of transport like me it can be a bit dull.

Daytrips are the entertainment of choice of you want to keep yourself busy. And there are loads of them. Come visit the Atherton tablelands, do a crocodile sighting tour, come deep sea fishing, bungy jumping, zoom the dome, skydiving. Just do it! Awesome deals right here! Reef trips, scuba diving, maxi yacht sailing, booze cruises, Green Island, Fitzroy Island, Lizard Island. Come do it now!! Touters try to lure you in, signs with the latest deals shout at you as you walk past, flyers seduce you with bright colors and Photoshop enhanced pictures. It is definitely tourism that reigns here in Cairns. And if tourism is king then capitalism is queen.

All the big car brands have a shop here. Big showrooms displaying cars polished to perfection. Every fast food chain is present. Souvenir shops which are mainly focused on the Asian tourists, selling the exact same stuff as their neighbor. Bright letters on the window in English and Japanese promote stuffed koala bears, boomerangs and knock off Uggs. Night stores with ridiculous prices run by Indians named Manjit or Leo, tattoo shops all over town. Yes, you have arrived in Cairns. Tourism Central of ‘far north’ Queensland.

All this, off course, is made possible by the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Cairns is ‘THE’ place to depart from in order to see this wonder of nature. Every morning a small fleet of tour operators set out to spend the day on the reef. Pristine blue waters, an abundance of marine life and hopefully the sun on your back make for a great experience. If you really want to experience the GBR there is the option to go on a live aboard trip. 3 days and 2 night will be spend on the reef. The destination will be the more untouched outer reef, which boasts clearer waters and bigger marine life. This is the trip of choice for the avid scuba diver or for people who would like to get their scuba certification on the most famous reef in the world.

All this you can do during the day. At night the souvenir shops and travel stores close their doors and the clubs and pubs open theirs. There is party pretty much every night. Pub crawls, karaoke nights, 2-4-1 deals, $7 jugs of beer, Wet T-shirt competition, Mr & Mrs Backpacker contest. Bring your friend, make a friend! Have a good time! Get drunk. Get laid. Get some kebab!

I realize that after reading this, it doesn’t seem a very accurate conclusion to call Cairns a boring town. But yet again it still is. The daytrips are quite expensive and going out every single night is too costly and wreaks havoc on your body. There is no beach to chill at during the day, just mud flats with crocodile warning signs. The place to go enjoy the day without spending anything is the Esplanade. It is a very well maintained park that stretches the length of the bay form North Cairns all the way down to the city center. Bright green laws dotted with palm trees, giant fig trees and other tropical shrubbery. It includes a lagoon where you can cool of and swim, a skate park, beach volleyball courts. Muddy’s, one of the coolest public children’s playground I’ve seen and public BBQs every 500 meters or so. 

It is also the place to go and exercise. The Esplanade is about 3km long and makes for a perfect morning run. There are public exercise stations which turns the area into a big green public gym.

For me it is the best thing about Cairns so far. Before it becomes too hot, I go for a run along the water’s edge while taking in the beauty of the with rainforest covered hills on the other side if the bay. The sun just peering through the clouds, a thin slither of mist drifting low past the hill side, lighting up silver where the sun touches it. A range of birds foraging on the mud flats during low tide, little crabs running around looking for their own grub but avoiding the lighting fast strike of the white herons.

It can be quite peaceful and serene during those early hours. But it doesn’t last. As soon as King Tourism and Queen Capitalism wake up and take over, Cairns turns into the expensive boring town again. But the fact that you are in the tropics watching the ocean underneath a palm tree makes up for a lot and can make life very enjoyable and rich.