Cairns, QLD, Australia - Day 1
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Today was the sixth day of our Norwegian Sun cruise. The ship was still underway as we woke up this morning, nearing Australia’s northeastern city of Cairns (pronounced “Cans”). Our ship’s cruise itinerary had to be reworked due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall along the Gold Coast. Our cruise always intended to visit Cairns, but not for a few more days. The change in schedule had quite a few passengers on the ship scrambling to reschedule their planned activities. The line for Guest Services on the ship was dozens of people long all week. No problem for us though; we always book our plans last minute anyway, so we were able to adjust to the new port schedule without any hassle.
Andi and I suspected that one reason we’re arriving in Cairns first is because of Australia’s customs & immigration process. Every passenger is required to get off the ship in Cairns, entering into the country via border security. Airlie Beach, our next port stop after Cairns, doesn’t have a cruise ship terminal so we’re guessing that’s why we didn’t go there first (even though it made more sense geographically).
Fortunately, our stateroom was in the first block of passengers to be called off the ship. Andi and I mentally prepared Tory and Aden for standing in a long line in the heat of the day, but the custom’s process went very smoothly. The four of us simply presented our cruise ship ID card, passports, and Australian customs paperwork to the border agent, and we were welcomed back into the country. The entire process probably took 20 minutes. I joked that we can now say we’ve been to Australia twice (since we left for a few days to go to New Zealand, and now we’re back in Australia again).
The ship didn’t arrive in Cairns until 3:30pm today, so there wasn’t much time for an excursion. Andi had the idea to rent a car for 24 hours in Cairns since the ship planned to dock at the port overnight. He graciously offered to walk to the car rental place to pick up the car while Tory, Aden, and I walked to a frozen yogurt shop in downtown Cairns. Aden and Tory were so happy to have frozen yogurt again! Definitely a theme of our Australian travels.
Andi picked the three of us up at the frozen yogurt shop, and we were on our way to adventure around Cairns. Driving on the left hand side of the road was no big deal for Andi now after our two weeks traveling around Tasmania in a camper.
Our first stop was Woolworths to buy a few toiletries for the ship and some soft drinks. We don’t have the drink package on this cruise, so after five days of drinking only plain water, we were all ready for a Coca-Cola!
Next, I suggested we drive to the nearby town of Kuranda to see Barron Falls. We followed the highway into the Australian hinterlands rainforest. The city of Cairns has a unique geological location situated between Queensland’s Wet Tropical Rainforest and The Great Barrier Reef. It certainly felt like a rainforest as we drove through the thick tropical forests. The air felt like being inside an oven with 80% humidity on this 88 degree day.
We were the only car in the parking lot when we arrived at Barron Falls. The four of us followed a metal grate boardwalk through the forest until we reached a waterfalls overlook. Nearing sunset with less and less daylight present, the rainforest had an eerie feeling to it. We kept watch for the endangered cassowary or maybe a wallaby, but only saw the average bush turkeys foraging through the forest.
The four of us continued along the boardwalk until we reached train tracks, and a second overlook for Barron Falls. During the wet season (December - April), the falls are roaring with power, as they were today.
Andi, Tory, Aden, and I followed the track to our rental car, and then drove the 20 minutes back to the city of Cairns. Technically, we didn’t have to be back on the ship until 3:30pm tomorrow, so we had the entire evening to spend in Cairns. Aden and Tory wanted to swim in the city’s man-made lagoon, so we headed there next.
Believe it or not, the city of Cairns does’t have a public beach. That’s because this area of Queensland, Australia is known to have saltwater crocodiles and poisonous jellyfish. There is a man-made lagoon that is free and open to the public. In true Australian fashion, the lagoon has lifeguards, toilets, and changing rooms, as well bbq grills and picnic tables for people to use. Australians love to bbq & these areas were filled with people cooking & partying.
Andi, Tory, and Aden swam in the lagoon for a while. Then, Andi ordered Subway sandwiches from Uber Eats for our dinner. We sat in the grass overlooking the lagoon and watched all of the action taking place on Cairns’ Esplanade.
Around 9:00pm, the four of us returned to the ship. Conveniently, we parked our rental car in a parking lot outside the port entrance.
Back on the ship, Aden asked to go to Splash Academy for the last hour of the night. Andi, Tory, and I hung out in our stateroom until bedtime.
The ship will stay overnight in Cairns’ port. Passengers are free to come and go as they please until 3:30pm tomorrow. We plan to get an early start tomorrow and explore more of Cairns and the surrounding area.
