Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4-15, A$60 (US$39) families. Tickets allow return entry for 3 days. Daily 8:30am-5pm. Closed Christmas.
Transfers from Cairns available through All In A Day Tours (
&
07/4032 5050
). Free parking.
Royal Flying Doctor Visitors Centre
The Royal Flying Doctor Service
(RFDS), the free aeromedical service that provides a “mantle of safety” for all
Outback Australians, has a base in Cairns. Tours of their center are run every 30
minutes from 9am to 4:30pm. You can also watch a film, attend a talk on how
the service began, browse through memorabilia, and board a former RFDS
plane. Allow about 45 minutes.
1 Junction St., Edge Hill.
&
07/4053 5687.
Admission A$5.50 (US$3.55) adults, A$2.75 (US$1.80) children,
A$17 (US$11) families. Mon-Sat 8:30am-5pm. Closed Sun and public holidays. Bus: 6 or 6A.
Wild World—The Tropical Zoo
Get a dose of your favorite Aussie
wildlife here—some kind of talk or show takes place just about every 15 or 30
minutes throughout the day, including koala cuddling (have your photo taken
for an extra A$13/US$8.45), saltwater crocodile and lorikeet feedings, and cane
toad racing. Lots of other animals are on show, too, like kangaroos (which you
can hand-feed for A$1/US65¢ a bag), emus, cassowaries, dingoes, and native
birds in a walk-through aviary. The park also runs a nocturnal tour, in which you
can see many of the more elusive creatures on show. To take the park's 3-hour
Cairns Night Zoo tour, book by 4pm that day, earlier if you want transfers. The
evening starts at 7pm and includes a wildlife spotlighting walk, where you can
pat a koala and a possum and feed kangaroos; a stargazing interlude; a barbecue
dinner with beer and wine, billy tea and damper and supper; and dancing to an
Aussie bush band.
Captain Cook Hwy. (22km/14 miles north of the city center), Palm Cove.
&
07/4055 3669.
Fax 07/4059
1160. www.wildworld.com.au. Admission A$24 (US$16) adults, A$12 (US$7.80) children 4-15. Cairns Night
Zoo experience (daily except Fri and Sun) A$109 (US$71) adults, A$55 (US$36) children 4-15. AE, DC, MC, V.
Daily 8:30am-5pm. Closed Christmas. Bus: 1B. Cairns Night Zoo transfers from Cairns through All In A Day
Tours (
&
07/4032 5050
) or from Port Douglas with Night Zoo Tours (
&
07/4098 4929
). Free parking.
EXPLORING THE ISLANDS
You don't have to go all the way to the outer Reef to see coral. Less than an hour
from the city wharf, Green Island has snorkeling equal to that on the Great Bar-
rier Reef. Fitzroy Island has rainforest walks, coral accessible by dive and snorkel
boat trips from the island, and watersports. See “Where to Stay,” later in this sec-
tion, for details of the resorts on both islands.
GREEN ISLAND
This 15-hectare (37-acre) coral cay, surrounded by daz-
zling coral and marine life, is just 27km (17 miles) east of Cairns. You can rent
snorkel gear, windsurfers, and paddle-skis; take glass-bottom-boat trips; go para-
sailing; take an introductory or certified dive; walk vine-forest trails; or laze on
the beach. The beach is coral sand, so it's a little rough underfoot. Day visitors
can use one of Green Island Resort's pools, its main bar, casual or upscale restau-
rants, and lockers and showers. Ask beach staff for their recommendations for
the best snorkeling spots. If you don't snorkel, it's worth the admission charge to
see the display of clown fish, potato cod, and anemones at the little underwater
observatory, despite its cloudy old viewing windows. The island has a small
attraction called
Marineland Melanesia
(
&
07/4051 4032
), where you can see
old nautical artifacts, primitive art, a turtle and reef aquarium, and live croco-
diles. Admission is A$10 (US$6.50) adults, A$4.50 (US$2.90) kids; croc shows
are at 10:30am and 1:45pm.
Great Adventures
(
&
07/4044 9944;
www.greatadventures.com.au) and
Big
Cat Green Island Reef Cruises
(
&
07/4051 0444;
www.bigcat-cruises.com.au)
Kids
