Things to do
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Daintree Rainforest
North of the Daintree River, reached by a cable ferry, lies lowland tropical rainforest that has grown continuously for tens of millions of years and meets the reef at the coast. Boardwalks at Jindalba and Marrdja keep the ground intact. Estuarine crocodiles rule out swimming in the rivers, and the wet season from December to March floods the roads.
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Fitzroy Island
Continental island forty five minutes by ferry, with granite slopes, rainforest and fringing coral, so snorkelling starts straight off the beach. Nudey Beach is a short walk over the headland, and the summit track climbs through forest to a lighthouse view. A turtle rehabilitation centre runs short tours. Day tickets and a resort both exist, and the afternoon ferry back fills.
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Great Barrier Reef
The coral off Cairns is part of the most extensive reef system in the world, and you can float over it from a moored pontoon without ever learning to dive.
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Kuranda
Mountain village above the coast reached two ways: a heritage railway that switchbacks past Barron Falls, and a cable car running low over the canopy. Markets, a butterfly sanctuary and koala gardens fill the village itself. Taking the train up and the cable car down avoids repeating the same view. The place empties once the afternoon services stop running.
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Port Douglas
An hour north along a coast road cut into the headlands, this resort town offers reef boats, a Sunday market by the inlet and a long patrolled beach backed by palms. Restaurants concentrate on Macrossan Street. It works as a calmer base than the city for the reef and the Daintree, and marina boats leave early enough to make transfers worth arranging the night before.
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Cairns Esplanade
Mudflats and stingers keep swimmers out of the sea in town, so the waterfront lagoon fills the gap: a saltwater pool on the foreshore, patrolled and free to use. A boardwalk runs north past fitness stations and barbecue plates, with wading birds on the mud at low tide. Night markets and restaurants sit across the road. It is where the town gathers after work.
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Cape Tribulation
Where rainforest meets the reef, Cook named this headland for the trouble his ship found offshore in 1770. Beaches, a mangrove boardwalk and the climb up Mount Sorrow make the stop, and the sealed road ends just past it, with the Bloomfield Track beyond needing high clearance. Crocodiles and stingers limit swimming. A night at the cape beats a long day return.
