Hello fellow travellers,
My husband and I have a month in Australia/ New Zealand from December 16th to January 16th. We are both on our early 50s and are in fairly good physical shae (or we think!)

I am going to break the trip in chunks so as to plan it. We have 1 week's accomodation booked in Cairns from December 21 to the 28th 2006. We plan to make Cairns our base and do day or over night trips from there. Our interests are hiking, snorkelling and kayaking to see the natural beauty of that region of Australia. My husband is an avid photogrpher and birder too. Please send your suggestions and recommendations. All will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Regards,
Rozmin

Of course you would spend a day out on the Great Barrier Reef.

Another day would be devoted to taking the SkyRail up to Kuranda, and perhaps the return Scenic Railway to Cairns. Few tourists seem to take advantage of the walking trails that lead off the two intermediate stations on the SkyRail route. You could make a long day of walking those trails, continuing on to Kuranda (which, IMO, is a bit of a tourist trap), then returning by train. If you like birds, you might want to visit Birdworld in Kuranda.

Another day could be devoted to taking a Daintree Rainforest tour. There are various choices; Chris Dahlberg's Tours along the Daintree River include some tours specifically devoted to birdwatching.
Another choice would be Daintree WIld Tours. Lastly, for birdwatching, check out Tropic Wings.

There are also several hiking trails. A good day-long hike would be to Mount Sorrow Ridge, near Cape Tribulation. Another choice would be to walk from Myall Beach to Cape Tribulation Beach.

You should also spend at least a day in the Atherton Tablelands (besides Kuranda). We enjoyed the Birds of Prey attraction in Atherton, as well as the Crystal Caves. There are some fine waterfalls near Milaa Milaa, as well as some more caves in Chillagoe. Lots of good hiking in the Tablelands too - such as Kauri Creek and Lake Eacham. For birdwatching, check out The Crater, Lake Barrine, and Hastie's Swamp.

There's a good start!

Thanks Alf to ALL your suggestions. Any recommendations as to what tour to take to the Great Barrier Reef? There seems to be so much information available that it is confusing to know what to pick.

Many thanks,
Rozmin

Good advice from Alf, so many think Kuranda is just a street of shops and markets selling Aussie kitsch. If you go to the visitors information centre in Kuranda they'll supply you with free maps showing rainforest walks, you'll see very few people enjoying the magnificent scenery in this Wet Tropics World Heritage area.

Also lots of rainforest hiking a bit south of Cairns in Wooroonooran National Park - Babinda Boulders, Josephine Falls. Mt Bellenden Kerr and Mt Bartle Frere in this area, are the highest mountains Queensland. Recent Cyclone Larry has caused damage here, but rainforest will have recovered by December.

For birdlife and kangaroos in wild, Mareeba Wetlands on Atherton Tableland is also well worth a visit.

Raging Thunder takes kayaking trips from Fitzroy Island, just off Cairns, but is better known for its white water rafting trips on Tully River, south of Cairns.

Reef trips vary enormously and general rule of thumb is "you get what you pay for". Ocean Spirit to Michaelmas cay (also a seabird sanctuary) is excellent - snorkelling from a sand island rather than from a pontoon or off the side of a boat. Reef Magic's pontoon is moored on a a very healthy reef site with easy snorkelling for beginners more competent snorkellers can swim to edge of reef where there's a good drop-off. Both have introductory dives available and semi-submersibles.

hi,
I kind of did alf's tour plan.hiren a car and drove to daintree sprnt 2 days there.Virgin tropics.then head to cape tribulation.this place is awesome.the drive too is mind blowing. all along the coast.the tropical jungle meet the sea.great for photo opportunity.You could go diving off cape tribulation.a 45min sail into the sea you are in the reefs.i took H2O the dive tour operators.great folks to go with.had a wonderful experience.some of teh atolls like 'endine' have not been visited for years.on the way back from cape trib i went to the mossman gorge.incredible place a must see.then to the karunda national park.i did'nt do the outback from there as i planned to do it from sydney.You need you own transport as public transport is few and far between.moreover you can set your owm schedule and your owm boss.driving is pretty safe except its on the left side of the road.

Actually harsha, that's Odyssey H2O and its Undine Reef, not Endine. Just for those who may be trying to look it up. Also visited by Rum Runner out of Cape Trib.

Rozmin - have a look at www.wildwatch.com.au - Jonathan Munro will pick you up at your accommodation in Cairns and tailor birdwatching and wildlife trips to suit you - he has many years guiding experience and will take half day to several days trips to find the birdlife you are interested in photographing.

Meant to add, if you go with Jonathan do book well in advance, he only takes small groups and is often tied up for weeks with bookings.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. It is much appreciated. If anything else comes to mind, please post sugestions. I will keep in touch!

Regards,
Rozmin

thanks for correcting me pat.i gave those names off hand.karunda sure can be skipped

yea cairns is a good place to do whole lot of places from there. daintree forests, mossman gorge, for treks and a stay at the homestays there are all must dos. hiring a car is also a good advice. finally when you want to scuba dive or snorkle do it from cape trib. it is an unforgetable experience right from the start. avoid the rush at cairns.

Wavelength on the reef from Port Douglas. Not as commercial - smaller and less tourists. Worth the visit