We will be in Australia for the second half of May 2008 visiting family in Brisbane and plan to go north for a bit of an adventure as well. This is our plan. I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions for fun things to do at each site (we LOVE to hike, cultural sites and majestic vistas in nature) and on whether or not we have alloted too much or too little time at each place. For some reason, I am having a great amount of difficulting in creating an itinerary for this trip. I believe that is b/c so many places are booked as day trips from Cairns or Port Douglas.

May 19-fly to Cairns, have a peek around

May 20-May 22, Lizard Island (2 nights)

May 22 & 23, overnight Port Douglas, visit Mossman Gorge. Should we stay two nights? Aside from beaches and day trips to the places we plan to visit on our own, are there things to occupy us? Is the beach lovely enough to keep us at peace for a few days?

May 24-25, overnight Daintree and Cape Trib. Where to stay? Is Daintree Village too touristy? Given a preference where would you like to stay and why? Is the vibe really different at these two locations?

May 26, Kuranda via Skyrail & train

We will have a rental car after the Lizard Island portion of the trip and are fairly flexible with our plans at the moment. What do you think? What would you add? Is there anything that you would give a miss too?

Thanks so much for your input. I am going in circles investing online and in library books! We haven't even considered options south of Cairns-should we? It might be a bit of a stretch.

Many thanks!

In the Daintree, look at http://www.coconutbeach.com.au/ Coconut Beach Resort. It's lovely. Personally, I find Daintree Village not all that great as you are right...very touristy.

And this place is to die for...Cockatoo Hill Retreat (http://www.cockatoohillretreat.com.au/) It's run by a French couple who originally intended opening in Bali but decided against it after the terrorist attacks. It's very Balinese, and pretty new. Has received good reviews in classy Australian travel magazines.

The bonus about Coconut Beach is that it will provide transport to Cape Tribulation (if you have no car of your own) and you can walk back to the resort along the beach and through forest trails (takes about an 1-2 hours or so, I guess). But the walk is great. Only thing about Coconut Resort is that some of its very plush cottages are up a steep hill, and if you have trouble walking, I'd ask for a lower down one. It's recently undergone a major renovation.

Cairns is the pits, in my opinion. No decent beach, and chocker block with backpackers and fast food places. But that's just my view.....

"adventuredays": How long will you be in Brisbane for? Have you been there before? Since hiking and majestic vistas are what interest you, don't miss out on some great places within an hour or two's drive of the city.

Mitch-thanks for your suggestions. I had a notion that Daintree Village might be a bit much but I couldn't be certain based on the things that I have been reading. Cape Trib will be our destination. I will have a look at your suggestions on where to stay.

We have revised our itinerary:

Fly from Brisbane, one night Cairns (what do to with one afternoon and evening?)

Three nights Lizard

One night ???? Should we try for Cape Trib or stay in PD or DV on this night?

Three nights Cape Trib

One night???

We should be arriving back to Cairns from Lizard around 4pm. I wonder if this is enough time to make it to Cape Trib or if we should count on staying somewhere in between Cape Trib and Cairns this night?

What are your thoughts on Mossman Gorge?

Ralph-I have been to Brisbane before, many times as my husband is from Brisbane and we have family there. It is a wonderful city. I find it a shame that people often skip over it in their quests for the beaches north and south and for the rainforest. I think it is city with much to offer. If there are any people interested in a great hiking/nature spot south of Brisbane, I would highly recommend Lamington National Park. We had a great time there several years ago-wonderful scenery, great overnight accomodation and some really interesting lizards too!

Mitch:

Me again. Did you have a chance to visit the Cape Trib Exotic Fruit Farm? Apparently, they are also a B & B with two stand alone cottages. We are also considering this as an option. Do you (or does anyone) have any experiences of this place?

I have reservations to stay two nights at the Cape Trib Exotic Fruit Farm in November. It gets good reviews here and on Trip Advisor. The owners have been great to deal with. I'll post a trip report when I get back.

Don't have great expectations about Cape Trib. It's generally chocker block with back packers - though if you like sweet young things sun bathing topless, you'll have a ball. I found it rather disappointing. There is a camping ground there they they inhabit. But that's my opinion. I'd stay in a place like Coconut Resort. That's at least civilized and only a 15 minute drive from Cape Trib.

aventuredays; as your flight from Lizard Island arrives in Cairns at 4.00pm you'll be driving in the dark or near dark before reaching Cape Tribulation. Night falls quickly in the tropics, very little twilight.

So it would be wiser to overnight somewhere before Daintree River (no bridge - vehicular ferry) - you mention Mossman Gorge. There's a nice little B&B there, just before you get to the actual gorge - www.bnbnq.com.au/mossgorg - lovely views of Daintree National Park. See the gorge early in morning before the tour buses hit and you'll still be at Cape Tribulation by mid morning at latest.

Am not sure what you're expecting of Daintree Village but its not the sort of place I'd associate with mass tourism. Daintree village is a pretty little rural village backed by rainforests and is the sort of place which attracts nature lovers - there's an aerial shot of it on www.daintreevillage.asn.au

Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm thoroughly deserves the good reviews; book early, its very popular.

I would just like to endorse what Pat says about Daintree Village.

Yes it is a tiny little tropical Village with a laid-back country atmosphere and is certainly not for you if you are looking for a lively scene. But if you want to escape the hustle and bustle for a while and particularly if you are a nature-lover (the village, Daintree River and it's surrounding valleys is a world-renowned birdwatcher's paradise) this could be the place for you.

In addition to low-key, mainly nature-based tourism, there is a thriving beef-cattle farming community and many of the residents are descendents of the original settlers. In the early days there was a thriving timber industry.

There is a wide range of Daintree River cruises - hop on a boat for an hour or two at any time of the day and you have a good chance of spotting a crocodile (low or half tide is the best time, when the banks are uncovered) or for keen nature-lovers there are specialist dawn and sunset cruises with wildlife expert guides.

A visit to the Timber Gallery is a must - many of their beautiful items are made in the adjacent workshop. And you can pop over the road and watch Liz create wonderful pottery elves and fairies in her Rainforest Gallery.

There are both guided and unguided walks through rainforest to beautiful waterfalls and also a nature habitat.
Lovely winding scenic drives through the Upper Daintree and Stewart Creek Valleys.

In and around the Village there are a number of restaurants and two souvenir shops.

There's a boat ramp and also a free electric barbeque in Pioneers Park in the heart of the Village.

And to stay for a while there's a range of accommodation properties in the Village region - a luxury resort, family cabins, traditional B&B, cottages, self-contained B&B bungalows on a secluded Daintree valley property, also cottages on a host farm, plus budget cabins and caravan park.

Pat has already mentioned the local website at www.daintreevillage.asn.au.

I hope this helps!

Dear Sunbird and Pat:

Thanks for the link to the Daintree website. There is a wealth of information there.

Pat, I will explore your recommendation for the B & B at Mossman Gorge. We are spoiled for choice!

We are also looking for a place to stay on our last evening in the area. Hopefully, we will be waking up in Cape Trib our second to last morning. I would like to take the Skyrail to Kuranda and the train back but I don't believe the restricted train schedule would allow for that given our 16:45 flight time on our last day. We may have to drive to the village. Is it equally lovely to travelling to Kuranda by car? I believe the trains return at 2:30 and 3:30 daily. Is it possible to see the wonderful vistas by car?

Many thanks for all of your suggestions. Our plans are coming along quite nicely thanks to the input from you!

Best!

If you wish to visit Kuranda on your last day and still want to get a flight at 16.45pm I suggest you stay at Lillybank bed and breakfast- 10 mins from the airport and very accessible to Kuranda with various means of transport and tour companies. Try www.lillybank.com.au A very friendly and knowledgeable host will assist you with your day's itinerary.

adventuredays; you will miss a lot of scenery driving to Kuranda; the road is mostly steep, winding and edged with thick rainforest - there's only one parking bay with views over coast.

Margaret, from www.cairnswildernesswalks.com can take you on a lovely rainforest walk near Kuranda and will give you some time in village. If you stay in Cairns area, Margaret will pick you up at about 9am; drive you up the range to Kuranda - you can then come back to Cairns by Skyrail and Margaret can pick you up at Skyrail terminal and drop you at accommodation well in time for your flight. This variation isn't mentioned on Margaret's website; she's very adaptable and a truly professional guide with top local knowledge of flora and fauna of area.

Is it possible to visit Kuranda on the Skyrail via a two way journey and still make our 16:45 flight? We are both early risers. Is this pushing it a bit?

This link will probably tell you:
http://www.kurandascenicrailway.com....ur/timetables/

Have fun