Brisbane, Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, March????

Absolutely NOT! There are soooooooooo many things to see and do in and around Cairns that diving is the smallest portion of them. Its a great time of year and unless you are really unlucky the rain would not be a problem for all your other activities anyway. Do both Cape Trib and Atherton Tablelands by giving yourself time up there and forget about Brisbane - its not worth stopping of in anyway AND YES I LIVED THERE in case there are those people on Fodors who would berate me for saying that about Brissy. Look at this website and do yourself a favour of staying there: www.daintreewild.com.au
Have fun

Highly recommend Ocean Safari if you want to do a half day snorkel trip of Great Barrier Reef. AU$108. Just came from Cape Trib ... Daintree. It was GREAT!

I don't disagree that there is a lot to see and do in North Queensland (Cairns), but ivenotbeeneverywhere is completely off the mark about Brisbane, at least as a base for seeing southeast Queensland. Within 2-3 hours of the city (or even much closer), are gorgeous beaches, beautiful countryside, rainforests, and lots of opportunities for hiking and seeing wildlife. Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast hinterland has the most extensive trail system in Australia. Mt Warning, Mt Barney, Bald Rock, and Girraween National Parks, among others, also offer great hikes and wildlife in abundance. Unlike the beaches of North Queensland, the south Queensland beaches are not protected by the barrier reef and therefore experience big surf, a key component of beach enjoyment, in my opinion.

So if seeing the barrier reef isnt your thing, by no means rule out SE Queensland!

I'd be the last person on earth to attempt to predict weather, but can I say than last March in Cairns region did not have a heavy rainfall at all. Most of it was over in the first week in March, after that it was truly plain sailing on reef where winds were just light breezes, often only of about 6 knots. In fact much heavier rain fell in SE Qld, which includes Brisbane area.


Having lived in FNQ for 17 years now, to me Nov-Mar is the very best time of the year for this area, this is when the rainforests are at their best, this is when wildlife is breeding, waterfalls are flowing, and yes, there will be some humdity about, but easily escaped in a/c accommodation, just about everywhere has a pool where you can to cool off. And if coastal humidity is a problem, the Atherton Tablelands are only a short drive, and should be visited anyway.

Ralph, why would you base yourself in Brisbane? Its better to either stay on the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast area because that 2 - 3 hours from Brisbane can be 3 - 4+ hours depending on the traffic. There are times when the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are 2 - 3 hours away and they are not that far. One accident and you can spend 2 - 3 hours just in the one street in Brisbane. I know that you have visited a few times but please don't assume that that compares with the knowledge of someone who lived there for 20 years.

For the original poster, Australia does not do vehicle accidents very well. Its not like in LA where an accident is cleared away as soon as photographs have been taken. Here in Australia half the Police force of the area have to stand around looking and talking about the accident for about 4 hours while drivers who would like to be on their way sit and wait and wait and wait. That was the reason that I used to factor in 5 hours to drive to Brisbane Airport when I lived about 30 miles away. Since the boffins who design roads put stop lights on a round-a-bout going to the airport a quarter mile drive at various times of the day can take one hour. Yes Ralph I know that they are trying to sort that mess out now but its still not acceptable and that goes for a lot of the areas around and out of Brisbane.

What I meant by "Brisbane" is the general area, in the sense that "Cairns" means Far North Queensland. I wouldnt necessarily base myself in the city itself rather somewhere like the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast or Byron Bay.

Sorry, ivenotbeeneverywhere. Indeed, I have have not lived in the Brisbane area for the 20 or so years you have. Clearly I am not as qualified as you to voice my opinions on this board. How dare I? Visiting relatives in the area 2-4 weeks each year over 25 years just doesn't measure up to the greatness of your experience. I will be sure to defer to your infinite wisdom in the future.

Its not that I expect to have people defer to my "infinate wisdom" as you so put it Ralph but I, who have been to Conn. USA would not EVER suggest that I had a wider knowledge than yourself about that State seeing that is where you live and therefore I would expect that you would have a better knowledge than I would about the goings on there. I have not just spent 20 odd years in and around Brisbane but most of my life which is somewhat longer than that, and yes, I do know more about the area than you do so stop being what we call in Australia, a pussy, and get over it.

The problem with locals is that they often take the area they live in for granted and do not see it from the perspective of a new visitor. That applies to you ivenotbeeneverywhere or whatever your real name is.