Cairns

We decided to take the inland route from Cooktown to Cairns via Mareeba and Kuranda rather than backtracking along the coast. It’s a decent drive through some spectacular country, winding through the Atherton Tablelands before dropping down the range into Cairns.

The drive itself is straightforward enough until you hit the Kuranda Range Road. That’s where things get interesting - and by interesting, I mean steep, winding, and currently plagued by stop-start roadworks that seem to have been going on for ages. Every few kilometres you’re pulling up behind a line of cars, waiting for the lights to let you through yet another section of single-lane traffic.

.What should be a 30-minute descent turns into the better part of an hour, crawling behind trucks and caravans while the road drops away dramatically through the rainforest. The views are spectacular when you get a chance to appreciate them, but mostly you’re focused on not riding the bumper of the cars and vans in front of you.

Rolled into Cairns to wet season weather (still dry season however) - properly bucketing down, then clearing to that heavy overcast that makes everything feel a bit oppressive. Not exactly the tropical paradise the brochures promise in the dry, but that’s North Queensland for you.

Managed to find our way to Prawn Star for dinner, and what a great choice that turned out to be. This floating restaurant moored at the marina serves up some of the freshest seafood you’ll find in Cairns. Their prawns are the real deal - local, sweet, and cooked perfectly. The setting’s pretty special too, eating on deck with the marina lights reflecting off the water.

Next day we made our way to Salt House for what turned into a very long, very satisfying lunch. This place has carved out a reputation as one of Cairns’ better establishments, and it’s easy to see why. Perched right on the waterfront with decent views across Trinity Inlet, the setting alone makes it worth the visit. The menu focuses on local produce and seafood, and they clearly know their way around a kitchen.

We settled in for the afternoon, making the most of being somewhere comfortable while the weather sorted itself out. Sometimes the best part of travel is finding a good spot and just staying put for a while, especially when the alternative is wandering around in the humidity getting progressively more damp.

Both restaurants reminded us why Cairns has developed such a solid food scene - access to brilliant local ingredients and chefs who know how to use them properly.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Read more