Backpacking Australia : Darwin to Cairns

 

After our 7 day tour from Adelaide through the Outback, we arrived in Darwin with our tour company Groovy Grape. Finally, some civilization at last and no more sleeping in tents or huts with creepy crawlies roaming around!

Personally, I loved the tranquillity of Darwin after what had been an adventure filled week. If however, you are looking for somewhere with lots to do during the day Darwin is not for you. Darwin is great for strolling around, doing some shopping and has a vibrant nightlife. From Darwin we flew to Cairns, a journey that only takes a couple of hours. If Darwin is for relaxing, Cairns is a pretty city with adventures aplenty for all. 

Although it can be a little bit more pricey, I recommend staying at the YHA here. It has a fun atmosphere, has spacious rooms and does airport pickups. It has an area for sitting chatting to new people, a tour booking office and movie nights.

Cairns waterfront

Cairns is situated at the heart of the Great Barrier Reef and there are many excursions available departing from the Reef Fleet Terminal. The boat I went on was called Reef Experience and included meals, all equipment needed for snorkelling and some very friendly staff. If you want to do scuba-diving then be prepared to pay extra.

My boat

 

 

If you are new to scuba diving, like I was, it can be pretty daunting to do it out in the open sea. You have to hold onto a rope which is attached to the boat and do your safety checks. As you look down there is absolutely nothing below you for what seems like miles. This put me off and I ended up coming straight back up and not completing the dive.

During high tide, Cairns has no beach but being a coastal location it has many beaches around it. To keep you cool during the hot summer, it has a lagoon situated at the Esplanade. With green spaces nearby in which to sunbathe, this makes for a very popular spot amongst locals and travellers alike. I much preferred this to a beach anyway!

The amazing lagoon

 



The Esplanade is also very popular and has free areas for a Barbie, an activity the locals can't get enough of.  As you stroll through the city, you will notice that the locals are very into their fitness. If you want to work off all the food eaten in your Barbie, you can use the fitness installations located along the Esplanade. They are free of charge and a standard feature in Australian cities.


There are many more things on offer here including shopping, doing hot balloon tours, visiting the Outback and taking a stroll along the Marina. At night, you won't be disappointed either with many options in terms of restaurants and pubs. For some crazy shenanigans head over to Gilligans where they do drinking competitions. My personal recommendation would be The Woolshed as there is a fun party mood, happy hours and table dancing. It is slightly tamer than Gilligans too.


I've yet to meet anyone who did not enjoy their time in Cairns, in fact I wish I had stayed longer. You could easily spend a week here before moving on. I would go as far to say that it's one of my top 5 locations in Australia.

Useful links ( these are not sponsored in any way!):

https://www.yha.com.au/hostels/qld/cairns-and-far-north-queensland/cairns-backpackers-hostel/

http://reefexperience.com.au/

http://www.thewoolshed.com.au/

https://www.gilligans.com.au/

Previous Backpacking Australia posts:

http://pourquoiviajartheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/backpacking-around-australia-before.html

http://pourquoiviajartheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/backpacking-australia-adelaide.html

http://pourquoiviajartheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/backpacking-australia-adelaide-to.html

http://pourquoiviajartheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/backpacking-australia-alice-springs-to.html