Cairns

Cairns (ˈkɛərnz, [ˈkænz]) is a city in northern Queensland, Australia. The city originally served as an export port for gold and other mineral resources extracted from mines west of the city when it was founded in 1876 by the then Governor of Queensland, William Wellington Cairns. Over time, sugar cane became the main export product.

Location

Due to its proximity to many attractions, Cairns has become a popular destination for foreign tourists and is considered by many backpackers to be the main tourist destination in Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef can be reached in an hour and a half by speedboat. Green Island and Fitzroy Island National Park are popular destinations for a yacht trip. The Daintree National Park in the north offers visitors the experience of a tropical rainforest. To the west are the Atherton Tablelands. This high plateau offers a cooler climate compared to the tropical heat of the coastal region. There are many attractions in the vicinity that have been specially developed for tourists, such as the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, the Skyrail, a 7.5 km long cable car to Kuranda or the AJ Hackett Bungee Center in the rainforest. Although Cairns is located directly at the sea, the city does not have a direct beach access in the real sense. But there is an artificial lagoon that is filled with salt water and therefore very child-friendly. The beach promenade, which was modernized with a lot of effort, is bordered by a hundreds of meters long mud plain at low tide, on which small mangroves grow. However, a few kilometres further north are some of Queensland's most beautiful beaches (such as Trinity Beach). The botanical garden "The Flecker Botanical Gardens" is located 4 km from the centre. This tropical garden is home to rare plants and flowers: titanium root, orchids and pitcher plants among others.

Flecker Botanical Gardens


The so-called Lagoon in Cairns

Admin

Cairns belongs to the administrative area Cairns Region. In the area of the city live 98.000 inhabitants (2007). The following districts and localities belong to Cairns: Aeroglen, Aloomba, Babinda, Barron, Barron Gorge, Bayview Heights, Bentley Park, Bramston Beach, Brinsmead, Bungalow, Cairns City, Cairns North, Caravonica, Clifton Beach, Deeral, Earlville, East Russell, East Trinity, Edge Hill, Edmonton, Ellis Beach, Eubenangee, Fitzroy Island, Freshwater, Goldsborough, Gordonvale, Green Hill, Green Island, Holloways Beach, Kamerunga, Kanimbla, Kewarra Beach, Lamb Range, Macalister Range, Machans Beach, Manoora, Manunda, Mirriwinni, Mooroobool, Mount Peter, Mount Sheridan, Palm Cove, Parramatta Park, Portsmith, Redlynch, Smithfield, Stratford, Trinity Beach, Trinity Park, Westcourt, White Rock, Whitfield, Woopen Creek, Wooroonooran, Woree and Yorkeys Knob.