Cairns Tropical North Queensland Australia

Cairns is known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and a sophisticated international travel destination with luxury beachfront resorts and rainforest getaways to suit all types of travellers.

Cairns is a safe destination and the weather adds to the attraction even more especially during the months of May to November when it is winter in the southern states of Australia.

The northern tropics have fairly stable temperatures throughout the year with typical daytime min/max temperature ranges in Cairns of 23 to 31 degree Celsius in mid-summer and 18 to 26 degree Celsius in mid-winter.

The Seasons

Some say Cairns only has two seasons and these are known as The Dry Season (May –November) and The Green Season (December-April).

The Tropical Dry Season period or the southern Australian winter period May to November has always been the most popular time to visit Cairns for people from the southern states of Australia that are keen to escape the bone chilling cold of winter yet, the Green Season is when the region is at its absolute finest.

From around October, November the trees start to bud and come into fruit and flower which then starts a whole chain reaction in the world of Mother Nature, not only in the rainforests, but also on the Great Barrier Reef.

This is the prime time to visit Cairns for Ornithologists to see the spectacular array of birdlife in our rainforests, scuba divers and snorkelers to witness coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef, and the prime time for fishermen from the world over keen to latch onto that monster Marlin or Sail fish.

The animals both on land and in the sea come to life and move about foraging for foods and for a potential liaison with a few friends along the way. In the world heritage listed rainforests of the Daintree and Cape Tribulation the Green Season is the time when you are most likely to see the shyest and most rare of Australian animals running around the rainforest floor and up in the trees with their young.

With the fruiting and flowering in the trees you will also witness massive groups of butterflies of varying types, some with the most brilliant of colours and some equally spectacular birds behind them looking for an opportunity to gorge themselves.

Early on in the Green Season it will at times rain overnight and have a few thunder storms over the mountain ranges but most of the rainfall begins January to March and again most of this activity is in the evening and more localised to the mountain ranges above the rainforests.

When you wake up in the morning the leaves on the trees are a bright green and everything is clean and fresh. The birds are singing and the butterflies are fluttering around making the ambience of the tropics everything that you dreamed it could be.

The oceans of the Great Barrier Reef are a nice warm temperature for snorkelling and enjoying a day out on the reef. Some folks have a big fear of “The Killer Jellyfish” at this time of year but there is a lot of misinformation out there about Jellyfish so if you would like to read a little more about Jellyfish then take a peek here http://www.cairnsattractions.com.au/cairns-jellyfish.php

The Dry Season May to November has some cool evenings and can get quite windy obviously because it is winter in Australia but the days are still beautiful with very little rain. These are the months companies hold major conferences at the Cairns Convention Centre and families and overseas visitors flock to see the Great Barrier Reef and world Heritage Rainforests in their millions.

Cairns Holiday accommodation needs to be booked far in advance as do any of the particular tours and activities that you have on the top of your holiday wish list of things to do on your Cairns holiday due to the high influx of visitors to the region over the same travel period.

Things To See and Do In Cairns

This is also the time of the year that the mighty Humpback Whales and the Dwarf Minke Whales come to birth their calves in the safety of the coral bommies of the Cairns Great Barrier Reef. They normally stay around for several months to the delight of all those guests going out snorkelling and scuba diving. You can even go on a half day whale watching tour to see these gentle giants playing around with each other. The younger male Humpbacks can be very cheeky and inquisitive coming right up along the side of the boat to take a peek at everyone on board.

This is a practise that is in no way encouraged by the Great Barrier Reef boat operators, as it is detrimental to the lives of these animals when they leave the safety of Australian waters, and head back down to the Antarctica where many countries kill them for “so called” research purposes.

Extreme Adventure in Cairns

Cairns is well known as the Capital for Adventure in Australia and the number one destination for extreme activities and outdoor adventure. Just south of Cairns is the mighty Tully River and here you can try Heli Rafting where you are flown deep into the rainforest jungle to the head of a raging river to begin the rafting adventure of a life time over several days.

You can also skydive out of an aeroplane onto a beach or in some cane fields, try a Bungy Jump or go Jungle Surfing, swim with Dwarf Minke Whales and feed huge sharks on the bottom of the ocean. Live aboard a dive boat on the Great Barrier Reef and see the reef in all its glory both day and night.

Take a seaplane out for an afternoon of snorkelling from a solitary sand cay or fly in a helicopter to a remote mountain top with a mountain stream for a swim with your loved one or take a flight up to the Cape for a day of Barramundi fishing in the wild rivers in the middle of nowhere.

There is so much to see and do on your Cairns Holiday you just have to get up here and take a look around.

We bet you will be hooked and make plans to come and visit again.