I'm off to Cairns next week to validate my visa, any ideas on what hot and whats not good to do while i'm there?
Many thanks

Been to the reef? You can do a short trip to Green Island if you only have a morning or an afternoon.

Plenty of bar for evening entertainment. Preferred bar in town appears to be the one out at the Marina building on the left side.

Must Dos:
Reef - try and go for a tour that DOESN'T moore off an island (bad reefs). I have been on a few different ones and Reef Magic were by far the best (http://www.reefmagiccruises.com/). Although make sure you do it on a clear sunny day otherwise visibility can be quite bad

Rainforest - Do the Sky Rail! It is unbelievable. I would also recommend doing the return leg via steam engine as it goes past some fantastic waterfalls, which at this time of the year given all the rain should look amazing!

If you have time:

Hartley's Crocodile Farm - Going out in that boat and watching 4-5 metre crocs launching themselves out of the water as you are standing 50cm metres away with only a thin piece of perspex between you is quite an experience!

Would def agree that hartleys is well worth a visit
Kuranda, skyrail & train, have been advisd to go up on the train & return on the skyrail as less stop/starts/jolts on the way up.
Port Douglas is worth a trip if you have a car plus Daintrees is meant to be very good if you have time for a few days out of Cairns itself.
Don't bother with the zoo.
The casino is wortha visit, live music & dancing but drinks are pricey so have a few elsewhere first!

Have a look through this thread too as Liz has done a lot of travelling around the area!
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...t=Tripawaymars