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Cairns Botanical Gardens

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We know that there is nothing worse than arriving in a new place with no money, all the exciting stuff you could do will have to wait until you have saved up money or sweet talked your parents into giving you emergency funds, but Cairns Botanical Gardens is free and is one of many free things to do in Cairns. Cairns Botanical Gardens is located just north of the City Centre, and is definitely worth checking out.

With numerous different boardwalks and look out points the Cairns Botanical Gardens is a great place to spend the day.

One of the most popular walks in the Botanical Gardens are the Red and Blue arrow tracks. The red arrow is a 1.3 km route and takes around 45 minutes to complete, the end result is a stunning look out over Cairns and the surrounding area. We spent hours sitting at the lookout taking in the views and watching the planes at Cairns airport in the distance. The Blue Arrow walk is aimed more at the hard core hiker inside of you and can get steep and more challenging at points. This track is 5.4 km and will take between 4 -5 hours to complete. Like the Red Arrow track the views are unbelievable and it’s a great way to burn off all the travelling weight you might have gained and stay fit.

cairns botanical gardens
Image by Jim Bowen

Cairns Botanical Gardens are open every day of the year and can be visited no matter what the weather. Don’t be put off if it is raining, if anything the area is more spectacular in the wet weather, it is a Rainforest after all. Located in the entrance of the gardens is a visitor information centre which is open 09:00 am – 4:30 pm Monday to Friday and 10:00 am – 2:30 pm on weekends. The visitor centre is filled with information about the area as well as a cafe and restaurant if you get peckish after all your exploring.

The visitors centre is also the starting point for lots of the walks that they offer. Free guided walks are offered through the Flecker Garden but for those of you wanting to learn more about the wildlife and the gardens Audio tours and Guided Walks are also available at a small fee.

So when you are in Cairns take a walk up to the Botanical Gardens and check them out, you will not be disappointed.

Main image – rainforest boardwalk in Cairns Botanical Gardens by J Brew

2 thoughts on “Cairns Botanical Gardens

  1. Please can you tell me about the nature of the cellular boardwalk material use in your garden over the wetland. It looked like a recycled plastic or some such material.

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