If I was to travel to your part of the world where should I go she asked?
Hmm with kids or without I asked her back.
With kids naturally can’t leave those little tackers home to fend for themselves.
Well, then I said I have the unique perspective in that I live in the mountains of far north Queensland but Cairns, the great barrier reef is literally at my doorstep. I use Cairns like a tourist most weekends when the husband is at work it’s so close just a day trip is enough to recharge us. So as someone who travels solo with kids a lot it. Where we go to and visit has to be sensitive to my impatient needs meaning it has to be close and it has to be entertaining if it doesn’t meet those it won’t meet me.
So my top places to go when in FNQ when travelling with kids some are free others are not.
Let’s get the costly ones over with first.
Green Island is a must with little kids its just 40 minutes away so no long trip on a boat. I recommend travelling with a smaller company over a larger one. I found the more major companies cater for big groups, and I liken them to cattle trucks so a smaller company will be fewer people but the same inclusions. Now you can either choose to have lunch included in your package, take your own or buy on Green Island. But because I am honest taking your own while can be like a recognisance mission will pay off because apparently food on an island is expensive. Sandwiches, salad and drinks are perfect to take. In terms of the length of an excursion to the island if you have smaller kids I would do just a half day rather than an all day pass but that’s my kids. I like Green Island because it has a beach, a small reef you can snorkel plus lots of other things provided by the resort. This is awesome if the kids find they aren’t fans of snorkelling or swimming in the great big blue.
My favourite attraction for Cairns, however, is the Cairns Lagoon, Muddies and the playground in the tree. My boys and I do this circuit a lot it’s where we spent Christmas last year when the husband was rostered to work. It can be as expensive or as cheap as you like. We take a packed lunch along with my little burner to make coffee, and the kids take their scooters and swim gear. The beauty of Cairns Esplanade is you can start at one end such as the fig tree playground and scooter/ walk your way to the end at the skate park. With stops in between at the lagoon for a swim and muddies playground. The walk in its self is a few kilometres long so when determining where you might stop for lunch take that into a count. We eat or BBQ at any of the free BBQ’s and picnic spots then up and back having a second swim in the lagoon. Finishing it off with 50 cent ice cream from Mcdonalds that sits directly across from the lagoon. Saturdays are our favourite days to do the lagoon because the council runs a market and has live music playing most weekends. {check the council website for confirmation}
Now the biggest secret of FNQ is the Atherton Tablelands. It’s the food region of the north we can grow anything here in our volcanic soils. Starting at Smithfield you will drive up the Kuranda Range road driving through Heritage listed rainforest. Then stopping at Kuranda you can do the Kuranda markets and visit the Barron Falls lookout spectacular during the wet/summer season when rains here have been at full pelt. Then following the Kuranda-Mareeba Rd to Mareeba you can stop at a variety of local producers outlets Emerald ice creamery, the Golden drop mango winery. Then hitting Mareeba an outback town of 6800 people visits my favourite Mareeba coffee stop. Mareeba coffee works grow and produce their own coffee exporting locally and all over the world. They also make their own chocolate. From there you can travel on to Atherton stopping at Mount Uncle Distillery for a tropical wine tasting on the way. Atherton is the hub of the tablelands a service centre for surrounding farmers and producers. When I first arrived it was small and country and 15 years later it still has that country town feel that I fell in love with. Once you have eaten my favourite is Gallery 5 for their BLT, walked the streets or even done the mountain bike trails {olmpic standard} you can drive to Gallos Chocolate factory to do some cheese tasting or more chocolate tasting. Then driving to the little town of Yungaburra via the Curtain fig before heading down the Gillies Range back to Cairns.
So that’s what you would do she said.
That’s what I do do and it never gets old.
xx Deb
