Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

276
CHAPTER 6 . QUEENSLAND & THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Where’s the Beach?
That may have been the question visitors to Cairns asked until last year,
but a brand new man-made lagoon right on the Cairns Esplanade has
made it somewhat obsolete now. Swaying palms and sandy white
beaches—the stuff of postcards—are now part of the streetscape, but if
you want the real thing (and are visiting out of stinger season), it’s only
a few minutes’ drive north of the city center.
Heading north from Cairns, you’ll come to Machans Beach, Holloway’s
Beach, Yorkey’s Knob, Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton
Beach, Palm Cove, and Ellis Beach, in that order.
The locals have kept quiet about these beautiful spots for years. At
Machans Beach, about 10km (6 miles) north of Cairns airport, the
esplanade is lined with private homes. The closest commercial beachfront
accommodation north of Cairns is at Holloways Beach.
Holloways, like most of the beaches along the Marlin Coast, is
patrolled and has a swimming enclosure for use during stinger season
(Oct–May). There’s playground equipment for the kids in the beachfront
park, while parents can watch from the shady deck at the beachfront
cafe.
At Yorkeys Knob, new apartment blocks line Sims Esplanade, across
the road from beachside picnic shelters and the lifeguard post; Yorkeys
Knob also has a golf course and marina. The Half Moon Bay Country
Club Golf Course is off Wattle Street, and is well signposted from the
main road into town.
WHITE-WATER RAFTING & OTHER THRILLS
RnR Rafting (& 1800/079 039 in Australia, or 07/4051 7777; www.rnr
rafting.com) and Raging Thunder Adventures (& 07/4030 7990; www.
ragingthunder.com.au) serve as one-stop booking shops for action pursuits in
and around Cairns, including hot-air ballooning, skydiving, jet-boating, horseback
riding, ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) safaris, parasailing, and rafting. Ask them
about multipursuit packages.
BIKING Dan’s Mountain Biking (& 07/4033 0128) runs a wide range of
full- and half-day guided tours in small groups from A$75 to A$135 (US$49–
US$88) per person.
BUNGEE JUMPING Contact A. J. Hackett Bungy (& 1800/622 888 in
Australia, or 07/4057 7188). The cost is A$109 (US$71) per person including
transport to the site, which is 20 minutes north of town on McGregor Road.
FISHING Cairns is the world’s giant black marlin capital. Catches of over
1,000 pounds aren’t unusual around here. The game-fishing season is September
to December, with November the biggest month. Book early, as game boats
are reserved months in advance. Game fishers can also battle Pacific sailfish, dogtooth
and yellowfin tuna, Spanish mackerel, wahoo, dolphinfish, barracuda, and
tiger shark. Reef anglers can expect to land coral trout, red emperor (sea perch),