#PalmCove and #Cairns in Queensland, home to the #GreatBarrierReef 

Jason and I were fortunate to visit Australia 6 years ago and spent nearly a week here during our first trip. We loved it so much that we decided to make another stop this time around.  
Based on our previous post, we spent 3.5 days in Cairns and at one of the first Northern beach resorts in Palm Cove.

Trying to adjust to the 15 hour time difference has been quite an adjustment. We found ourselves waking up at 4:30, 2 hours before sunrise and nearly 4 hours before the nearby Rising Sun cafe. We watched the sun rise from the beach outside our resort and then spent the mornings walking the miles and miles of sandy beaches of the Coral Sea. 

Now walking the beaches sounds safe enough but you need to be alert. At certain times of the year/day in the shallow lagoons on the other side of the beach for the “salties” crocodiles that dwell and breed in the area. If that doesn’t sound scary enough, you also need to be cautious of the stingers (jellyfish) in the water.  

The first activity we did was a trip to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventure Park. Home to over 3000 crocs on display and for farming. While here we watched the attack show, took a boat ride in the croc lagoon and got to watch them feed. Pretty interesting afternoon and learned a lot of interesting (and scary) things. 

We knew we wanted to get out to the reef again on this trip so we decided to book a day trip to Green Island, about a 50 min boat ride away from Cairns. The sea that day was a bit rough but armed with my dramamine and sea bands we headed out for the afternoon. Once we arrived we made our way to the beach and snorkeled. Not the best snorkeling we’ve done but still managed to enjoy ourselves and see some fish.

We struggled back and forth with what to do for our last day in Queensland. We didn’t have the luxury of committing 10-12 hours for a trip to the Daintree Rainforest so instead opted for a trip the Kuranda village on the cable sky rail. We did this the first time we came here and decided to do it once more this time in reverse. It takes about 1.5 hours to get up to the top with 2 stops to get out and walk through the rainforest to see the waterfall. Once you reach Kuranda village you have time to explore the village and shops before making your way back down via the scenic railway. The train takes 2.5 hours to get down and crosses through tunnels and over bridges as you make your way to the highlight for a stop at Barron Falls.  

Overall we really enjoyed visiting Queensland. IF we ever make it back here (Jason said it would be at least 10 years before coming back) I’d love to visit the Daintree Rainforest, which is believed to be the oldest, and Paronella Park to see the castle ruins and waterfalls.