Cairns

14 - 18 June 2025

We left Etty Bay and decided to make our first stop Eubenangee Swamp just north of Innisfail. There is a walking track that meanders along the river before climbing to the top of a grassy hill for a view of the swamp - one of the most important wetlands in the Wet Tropics of Queensland. 

Fabulous views of the swamp after a bit of a climb

After our walk we decided that Bramston Beach would be a good spot for lunch as we were already half way there. We found a nice park where we had a picnic and then went for a short walk on the beach. 

We arrived in Cairns and set up at a caravan park that we have stayed at several times before. Although it is about 20 minutes from the Esplanade the grounds and adjacent creek have lured us back a number of times. Unfortunately the weather forecast had changed to include a day of very heavy rain.

On Sunday we drove to Catanna Wetlands and walked along many of the tracks. This is always a good spot for birding, and a lovely place to go for a stroll. There are a number of bird hides, as well as tracks around the lakes and through the grasslands. 

You know you're in Far North Queensland

We had chosen Cairns as our destination so I could attend a medical appointment which took up all of Monday morning, then it rained in the afternoon. On Tuesday, when some very heavy rainfall was forecast we decided to take a chance and go into town to visit the spot where an owl was likely to be seen, as well as to go to the Esplanade. We met up with a couple of local birders who were more than happy to share their knowledge of the owl's habits, including exactly where it would most likely be seen. It wasn't in residence that morning, but Mick was hopeful he might be able to spot it on a future visit.

As it was morning tea time, we drove down to the Esplanade for ice-creams at our favourity gellateria. From there we went for a bit of a walk and spotted a couple of Nankeen night-herons. Mick didn't have his camera so we had to walk back to the car to get it. Fortunately one of the birds was still there and happily obliged by posing to have it's photo taken.

The rain had held out and we were able to get out again in the afternoon to pick up some more supplies for our journey into western Queensland. We set off on Wednesday morning, which was Mick's birthday, with a plan to stay somewhere with a pub where we could have dinner and a couple of drinks to celebrate. 

We left the caravan park and before heading "up the hill" towards Kuranda, drove down to have a look for the owl again - and there it was, just waiting to have it's photo taken. Mick figured that was a good birthday present. From there we finally left Cairns, on our way to stop off in Ravenshoe.

Cairns

 21 - 23 March 2025

North Queensland has had much more rain than is usual for a wet season and Townsville and Ingham seem to have received most of it. We waited anxiously for the Bruce Highway north of Ingham to reopen and set off as soon as we could. We were aware that with even a small amount of extra rain the road could be closed again.

We decided to scrap our plans to stay at Mission Beach as they were in for a heap of rain too, and instead headed straight for Cairns. We made it through Ingham and could see that the water was only just below the level of the road when we passed the Seymour River which flows into the Hinchinbrook Channel from the Herbert River. There was so much water around!

We stopped in Cardwell for lunch as has become our tradition and then continued on to Cairns. This time we chose a caravan park quite close to The Esplanade so Mick could get down to do some birding. Although we thought about heading to his favourite birding spot as soon as we were set up, it was getting quite late, and we were both exhausted after a long and busy day.

Blue skies at last - for a short while anyway

We did managed to get to a few spots for some bird photography the following day, including the Cairns Cemetery, which was only a block away, as well as the Botanic Gardens and, of course, The Esplanade. We revisited The Esplanade on Sunday morning before returning to the Caravan Park to pack up and finally make our way to the Atherton Tablelands.

Cairns – Lake Placid

24 July – 4 August 2024

Finally it was time to get serious about finding a builder to build our new home in Atherton so we headed to Cairns for at least a week – and ended up extending when we realised we needed more time that we had thought.

In addition to visiting display homes and talking to builders, we made a number of visits to The Esplanade for its wonderful birding, as well as Catanna Wetlands and a few other favourite birding spots. We also enjoyed a visit from a friend who lives in Mossman.

We always have to visit The Esplanade

Who would have thought the old cemetery
would be such a good spot for birding

The weather wasn’t in our favour and the drizzling rain had started to have us thinking about moving on, even though we were still a long way from being able to select a builder. We decided that a move to the dry part of the Atherton Tablelands was in order so we headed “up the hill” to Granite Gorge, just out of Mareeba.

Cairns

30 September – 4 October 2023

It’s a relatively short drive from Yungaburra to Cairns so we stopped in Kuranda for a look around and a coffee. Towing the trailer makes parking a challenge but there are a number of long vehicle parking bays one street back from the main street. We were early so found one easily. Disappointingly, when we returned later, every other spot was taken by a single vehicle.

We drove down the Kuranda Range and arrived at the caravan park in time to set up and have lunch. This park allows check-ins for powered sites from 11:00 am – very convenient and helpful. We had stayed at this one before and chose it again as it is on a creek, has lots of shady trees and a lovely pool.

Mick had a number of things on his Cairns wish list so we had a fairly full schedule planned, most of it involving photographs of birds. We started with a drive to the mouth of the Barron River at Machan’s Beach. The tide was out quite a long way so Mick had a bit of a walk to get close to the birds there.

On Sunday morning we headed into The Esplanade – always a favourite spot and usually a great place to photograph birds, if the tide is right. It wasn’t, but we had a good morning visiting Rusty’s Market, walking along The Esplanade and having an ice cream. We also did some grocery shopping while we were in town. Later in the afternoon we walked along the creek out of the caravan park and into Goomboora Park. This lovely, “rainforesty” park was being well used by locals to fish, walk, exercise dogs, cycle and play.

On Monday morning we set off early to Catanna Wetlands. Once part of a cane farm, and sand quarry, this environmental park has been rehabilitated into a fabulous network of walking tracks and wetlands, with a number of viewing platforms, bird hides, seats and BBQ areas. We spent a few hours spotting birds and enjoying the surroundings. Later in the day we visited the Cairns Botanical Gardens but the sandflies were biting so we didn’t stay long. After the Botanic Gardens we returned to the Esplanade where Mick met up with some fellow birders – including one he had met on a Pelagic out of Eaglehawk Neck. As always the locals were very generous with their information and shared photos of a rare sighting – a laughing gull. Despite everyone’s best efforts it wasn’t seen again – but they did have lots of photos to prove it had been there.

On Tuesday morning we made another early start – this time to the Mangrove Boardwalk near the airport. We knew from past experience to expect sandflies there so we were well prepared with long pants and shirts, as well as heavy duty insect repellent. Even so they managed to find those exposed parts of the body that hadn’t been smothered in spray. It was still a great walk along the boardwalks above the mangroves. Late in the day, we went back to the Esplanade – again – just in case the Laughing Gull returned. It hadn’t, but it was a nice afternoon there anyway.

We had one more night before returning to Townsville so decided Kurrimine Beach would do us nicely, so that’s where we headed when we left Cairns.