Palm Cove & the Tropical North have so much to experience, that it’s sometime hard to decide where to start. Luckily Bedrock is well placed for quite a few of these amazing attractions and today we’ll start of by telling you about 3 that are within 15 minutes of Bedrock.
Skyrail, Tjapukai and Cairns Wake and Aqua Park are positioned side by side in Smithfield just off the Bruce Highway. Skyrail and Tjapukai are both tourism attraction winners and each of the three have something for everyone!
At Cairns Skyrail you take a ride on an enclosed chairlift high above the treetops of the rainforest up to the little village of Kuranda. You enjoy spectacular views of the rainforest, beaches, islands, Barron Gorge and Cairns life below. You are able to hop off at an intermediate station to take a walk through the rainforest before continuing your trip up to Kuranda. Once you reach Kuranda you are able to take a leisurely stroll through the Kuranda Markets that are opened 7 days a week. We also recommend visiting the Butterfly Sanctuary whilst you are in Kuranda.
FUN FACT : Wear white clothing as it attracts the butterflies!
Whilst in Kuranda you can have a fresh coconut from a little café in front of the Minigolf, which is fun for the whole family or between friends! We would highly recommend the round trip on the Skyrail or if someone from your group drives up the Kuranda Range to Kuranda, this is an easy way to return too. There is also the Kuranda Train which is very popular with tourists, however we usually avoid the train experience in the warmer months as it is open air with no air conditioning. The train drops you at Redlynch train station and there are 2 transfer buses back to the Skyrail location at a Smithfield, so make sure you check the times for the transfer buses so you can get back to the Skyrail site.
**Buying your tickets online is a great way to avoid the queue when you arrive so you can get straight onto the cable car.
See the websites below for more details:
skyrail.com.au
kurandamarkets.com
australianbutterflies.com
kurandaoriginalrainforestmarket.com.au
Tjapukai Cultural Park is a fantastic facility to learn about how Australia began 40,000 years ago. It is an authentic Australian cultural experience. From traditional dance performances, Indigenous rituals explained, dreamtime stories as well as the opportunity to throw boomerangs and spears and/or be given tips from locals on how to do it! There are also culinary talks and bush medicine recipes, an art gallery to peruse and a restaurant so there is always plenty to experience and learn at Tjapukai!
See the website for more details:
tjapukai.com.au
Cairns Wake and Aqua Park is great fun for the entire group too! Hire all of the equipment you need at the Wake Park or BYO. We have spent endless days here enjoying ourselves and getting better and better the more times we ride the course. The staff running the wake park are friendly and safety conscious and some of them have competed in world championships, so you can always ask for a little bit of advice and know that you’re getting good info. Whether you want to kneeboard or wake board, you can hit the jumps or just stay carving on the water. It’s not only for wakeboards though, if you’re a water skier you can also cable ski there. The minimum age for the Wake Park is 10 years old. The Aqua Park is tonnes of fun too, our kids have described it as “Ninja Warrior on water.” The minimum age for the Aqua park is 6 years old.
See the website for more details:
cairnswakepark.com
Enjoy your time in the tropical North and please get in touch if we can help you with your travel plans or offer any advice for visiting Cairns.
Until we see you here,
Alex and Alexis.