The Tropical Top of Queensland

Rusty's Markets

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Hotel | "Fresh fruit and veg from Rusty's Market"

stalls at Rusty's Market in Cairns Photo - Rusty's Markets, Cairns, Australia

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Cairns, being the major tourist destination for package tourists from Europe and Asia as well as a frequent final or starting point on backpacker internaries, abounds in places to eat and drink. Anybody willing to do a spot of self catering, or even just looking to buy some fruit for a picnic or a snack, should make their way to Rusty’s Market. The market is a covered area taking up almost a whole block between Grafton and Sheridan streets on the edge of the main centre of Cairns. It operates from early morning (5am or 6am) on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until the closing time at 6pm (Fri), 3pm (Sat) or 2pm (Sun). The market has over 180 stalls offering mostly fruit and veg...Read More

Rusty's Markets
44 Spence Street
Cairns, Australia 4870
(07) 4051 5100

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Cairns Older Car Hire

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Attraction | "Bangers too old"

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We needed to hire a car for a few days while staying near Cairns as we needed it to get to our host family's place as well as for some local touring. Cairns is chock-a-block with car hire companies, from the big national and international chains to local outfits. The prices offered by local companies are very comparable, with most offering the smallest car with no a/c for about 35 AUD per day and the small economy ones with a/c for about 50-55 AUD per day. We were looking, as usual, for a bargain, and after a positive experience hiring a car from a company called (NOT a nomen omen in that case) rent-a-wreck in Canada, we looked forward to hiring one from Cairns Olde...Read More

We needed to hire a car for a few days while staying near Cairns as we needed it to get to our host family's place as well as for some local touring.

Cairns is chock-a-block with car hire companies, from the big national and international chains to local outfits.

The prices offered by local companies are very comparable, with most offering the smallest car with no a/c for about 35 AUD per day and the small economy ones with a/c for about 50-55 AUD per day.

We were looking, as usual, for a bargain, and after a positive experience hiring a car from a company called (NOT a nomen omen in that case) rent-a-wreck in Canada, we looked forward to hiring one from Cairns Older Car Hire, who offered "backpacker" cars for 29 AUD per day.

Initially, it all looked fine and professional and we were even picked up for free from the town centre (their depot is near the airport, about 10 minutes' drive from the Esplanade).

However, on arrival, and when we could have a better look at a car offered to us, we decided that there one should take economy only so far.

Now, we are not particularly fussy. We drove old cars in the UK for years (and by old, I mean cars well over 10 years old), we hired from the aforementioned rent-a-wreck and we also rented an older (about 8 years old) car in New Zealand later on. So we don't expect shiny, new vehicles with all mod cons.

But what Older Car Hire was offering was a Ford Laser that was not just past its youth, but a real old banger. I don't know much about cars, so I can't judge its age accurately, but it seemed to be pushing twenty years old and with over 30,000km on the clock and noticeable rust all over the bodywork it didn't look particularly reliable at all. Considering the fact that Australia doesn't have a MOT as we know it and the fact that the legal blurb made a lot of references to "having regard to it's [vehicle's] age" (yes, that's the punctuation in the original) we became rather dubious about the whole enterprise. Add to the fact that the excess on that thing was supposed to be 1,000 AUD (I am not sure about car prices in Australia, but the whole car was surely worth much less than that) we decided to pass.

The people at the Older Car Hire didn't really like it: they were rather brusque and rude, tried to manipulate us or threaten into actually going through with the transaction and when asked about another, newer car, were not very forthcoming (the cheapest other option they had was 65 AUD per day, and as such much more expensive to what competition offered).

We walked out in a huff, and rented a newish Hyundai Getz down the road for 50 AUD per day.

All in all, not recommended, although maybe worth considering if you are looking for a long-term hire and are working on an extremely limited budget. For us, the risk of a breakdown and doubts about safety were not worth the price reduction for the few days we needed the car. Read Less

Member Rating 1 out of 5 on October 3, 2010

Cairns Older Car Hire
432-434 Sheridan Street
Cairns, Australia
(07) 4032 0366

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Atherton Tableland

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Attraction | "Tropical Heights"

Barron Falls Photo - Atherton Tableland, Cairns, Australia

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Atherton Tablelands or Cairns Highlands is the name given to an upland area west of Cairns, a popular destination for a day or weekend trip and one of the many reasons why Cairns is such an attractive base for touring the local area. On a hot day, the cooler and drier uplands (the tablelands are at an altitude of 400 – 1100 metres) provide a welcome respite. The area easily affords a few days of leisurely exploration, especially if you are into bush-walking, but at the minimum there are two circuits around them, each taking a whole day. The northern part covers Kuranda, Atherton and Yungaburra, while the southern part is the so-called waterfall circuit, with Millaa Millaa being the most...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 3, 2010

Atherton Tableland

Cairns, Queensland

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Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises

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Attraction

the reef as seen from the semi-sub Photo - Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises, Cairns, Australia

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One of the main attractions of coming to Cairns is the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is where the Reef is relatively close to the shore and even the outer reef is fairly accessible for those wanting a day's diving or snorkelling Still, the outer reef trip involves two hours each way on a boat and will set you back at least 500 AUD for a family of four (or around 200 AUD per adult). An alternative for those who want to either save money or don't feel up to all this time on a boat (or both) is visiting one of the inner reef locations. Green Island is a coral cay located off the coast near Cairns and can be reached in about 45 minutes catamaran ride. The island itself is a resort: you can stay o...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 3, 2010

Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises
Reef Fleet Terminal, 1 Spence Street
Cairns, Queensland, Australia 4870
(07) 4051 0444

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Chilled out tropics

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The Esplanade at Cairns Photo - Cairns, Australia

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Cairns is one of the most popular destinations in Australia. Located in the northern part of the Queensland coast, very much in the tropics, it's always hot, usually sunny and abounds in the exotic appeal (palms, sea, sun) without the usual health, crime and culture shock hazards of other tropical locations. Safe tropics for Europeans, then, and for Asians probably the nearest place where they can sample the European culture.We spent a week in Cairns, staying in a "granny flat", or a self contained cabin in the garden of our kind hosts' house: the grounds around abound in banana plants, vines and other very tropical trees around us, gekkos on the ceiling and similar; the pool is just acros...Read More

Cairns is one of the most popular destinations in Australia. Located in the northern part of the Queensland coast, very much in the tropics, it's always hot, usually sunny and abounds in the exotic appeal (palms, sea, sun) without the usual health, crime and culture shock hazards of other tropical locations. Safe tropics for Europeans, then, and for Asians probably the nearest place where they can sample the European culture.

We spent a week in Cairns, staying in a "granny flat", or a self contained cabin in the garden of our kind hosts' house: the grounds around abound in banana plants, vines and other very tropical trees around us, gekkos on the ceiling and similar; the pool is just across the drive.

It's great to be able to stop and rest a bit as we had grown tired of moving every two nights: a week in one place, and without getting into our hosts' way too much is just great. We hired a car for a few days (one has to, occasionally) and also did a few touristy things, which had a net effect of putting us well over budget, but again, some things are touristy for a reason.

Cairns itself is a bit strange, a town that originally grew on a gold and mining boom, but since the discovery of the Reef for the tourism industry it has became a bit of a visitors' Mecca. Despite being very much a tourism centre, Cairns doesn't - not quite - feel like a tourist trap. Yes, a tour agent can be seen every two doors on the main drag and every kind of experience is for sale, but it's all rather unhurried, quite friendly and without much of a hard sell.

The tourists are as much fun to watch as the wildlife (and there are interesting birds, including egrets and pelicans on the mudflats by the promenade), especially the Japanese who engage in strange, loud, group rituals that are hard to comprehend as much because of the language as the cultural barrier. But Cairns is also the starting and finishing point for many backpackers, and there are hordes of beautiful 20-something things of both sexes sauntering up and down the streets, sitting by their "for sale" campers at the Esplanade carpark and looking down at the family vacationers and packaged tourers alike.

Strangely for a popular Queensland coast location, Cairns has no beach (apart form the tiny artificial ones by the town's lido, or The Lagoon on the Esplanade). Instead, it has a muddy inlet, mangrove swamps and lovely semi-circle of curly-haired mountains that surround it.

But the real attractions are not in Cairns but around it: the coast, the reef, the rainforest and the hills: the town is a starting point and a base for many day trips into the surrounding countryside, notably the Atherton Tablelands, Daintree rainforest and of course the Great Barrier Reef. Other destinations include Cooktown and for the more intrepid, the Cape York Peninsula. Read Less

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