Cairns is such a favorite destination for millions of visitors each year – and here’s just 10 reasons why – oh and they are in no particular order.

1. The feel of the air – I’m not sure what it is exactly but I suspect it’s the humidity that creates a unique feel in the air. I smell and feel it immediately after getting off the plane and long for it once I arrive back in Victoria.

2. The abundance of activities to do – from skydiving… scuba diving… jet skiing… abseiling… yachting… tree climbing… sky railing… sea walker helmet diving… fly boarding… paddle boarding… helicopter riding… snorkeling… sky walking… horse-riding… hot air-ballooning… and white water rafting.  I just feel like a kid in a lolly shop. I think the lolly shop may be that little bit kinder on my purse however.

3. The Great Barrier Reef – could there possibly be a more beautiful place than the Great Barrier Reef? With around 900 islands, including coral cays such as Green Island and Heron Island, along with the Whitsundays’ sand islands, it’s truly the most amazingly beautiful place I have experienced.  I can’t begin to describe the serenity that you feel when you dive off a boat and swim among these islands.

4. The sea turtles are a favorite of mine; the sea turtles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef include the green turtle, loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, flatback turtle, leatherback turtle and the Pacific Ridley turtle. My favorite spot for this was Green Island, where they come up so close.

5. The presence of the crocodiles – although I have only seen these majestic creatures at the Hartley’s Crocodile Adventure Park (thank god), and would only want to see them there, I love seeing them in real life as opposed to on some television documentary. They are eerily fascinating.

6. The Palm Trees – Palm trees are an instant connection to Tropical North Queensland for me.  They are everywhere in Cairns and make a stunning photo with the ocean in the background.  The locals who have them in their gardens however, say they are very high maintenance which surprised me.  There’s always a cost I guess.

7. Kuranda Village & the Tropical Rainforest – Every time I visit Cairns I love a ride on the Skyrail gondola up above the rainforest canopy to Kuranda Village. It’s what Cairns is all about to me, tropical natural environments.  I love a good amble around the market in Kuranda Village, it has some pretty unique things to buy and I like bringing back something as a memory of this gorgeous village.

8. Cairns Boardwalk – The Cairns boardwalk has such a chilled out, ‘I am on holidays’ feel about it.  People are scattered all around the beautiful pool and on the green grass just having fun times.  Restaurants and cafes are full of friendly staff and food options are abundant.

9. The Cairns Nightlife – Streets are always buzzing, the nights are warm and bars and eateries are plentiful. I love to go to the Pier Bar and Grill when I am in town, the view is amazing and food and atmosphere perfect for my taste.

10. The many events and markets to see – Cairns seems to be a hub for some pretty cool events and always has lots of markets on.  I’ve managed to be there for the Cairns Show, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair and the Mareeba Rodeo, all usually held in July.   There are also many markets I love going to.  The Cairns night market is my favorite and it’s open every day of the year from 5pm.  I love the clothing, jewellery and food.  Again, it’s one of the many things that makes Cairns my favorite destination.

My Cape York tour was amazing… I had to admit my husband was right, this hurt…

It is not often that I fess up to my mistakes, especially when it involves also admitting my dear husband was right.  In all our forty-two years of marriage, I would imagine this has only occurred a couple of times, so this revelation is BIG!!!

We are the kind of couple who spend way too much of our time bickering about the small things, so when we disagreed about going to Cape York, it was no big deal, just the way we ‘rolled’ – as my daughter Kylie would term it.  However, this time felt different.  Normally I could outsmart him with some real facts, and where necessary, some slightly twisted facts.  Combine this with some emotional outbursts and I’d come out getting what I wanted.  This time he seemed to have done his research and even pre-empted my response and gathered enough facts to combat me.  I was totally out of my comfort zone here.

Our discussion, bordering argument, about a trip to Cape York arose a month in to our trip up north.  We were just lazing about the beautiful Lake Placid Tourist Park when a bus arrived to take a group of guests from the park to Cape York.  The excitement in my husband’s eyes, as he began to tell me that he had discovered the Tourist Park could book us on one of these trips to Cape York, in just a couple of days, was quite infectious.

Having said that though, my image of Cape York was 4WDs going through lots of water, then driving up steep rocks only to nose dive down the other side.   I figured this type of travel was for the adventurous at heart, and definitely not for a sixty-three year old woman who had freaked out on a chair lift at the Melbourne Showgrounds only a few years prior.

I started with what I thought would be a definite road block, “we can’t leave the caravan and car, too costly to store.”  Immediately he fired one of his prepared facts – Lake Placid Tourist Park would store this for us, free.  Ummm that didn’t work so I proceeded by expressing my concern around us getting bogged off the beaten track in the middle of nowhere.  Surely he knew that I would not cope with that AT ALL!!  He then spent much effort assuring me that the tour bus drivers were all experienced and that being bogged would only be a problem if we attempted it on our own, which we both agreed was not an option for us.  After a few more unsuccessful attempts on my behalf, to convince him that Cape York wasn’t for us, he ended with a new tactic….he strategically brought up that my upcoming luxury spa booking was something I had wanted and how he had been happy to go along.  It was only fair that I accommodated his needs as he was doing for me, that’s what couples do apparently, it is called compromise.  I couldn’t argue with this.

So there I was two days later, savoring every last sip of my delicious coffee at the Croc Café in Lake Placid Tourist Park, reluctantly awaiting our bus to Cape York with my overly excited husband……..

And here I am now, passionately wanting to share with everyone, how much I genuinely loved our trip to the northern most tip of Australia.  It was such a unique experience enriched with history and natural beauty.  I felt more connected to nature than ever before in my life.  The land is unspoiled and diverse and the wildlife and bird-life seemed to follow us up close the entire trip.  It felt spiritual.  Actually walking out to the sign that says ‘YOU ARE STANDING AT THE NORTHERNMOST POINT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT’, where the oceans meet and overlook the unspoiled Torres Strait Islands, was definitely something I will never forget.  The WW2 ruins were my husband’s favorite experience and mine would have to be the breathtaking Fantastic Fruit Bat Falls (shown in image).  Thank you to my dear husband for taking me out of my comfort zone and making me realise, I too am an adventurer at heart.  Cape York is now the beginning of many more of these types of adventures for us….that’s not to say that I am not also looking forward to my upcoming luxury spa experience, it’s all about balance hey!

Make the decision to go there, you won’t regret it!