About Nemos and Coffee Plantations - Cairns!

Dear Lovelies,

For my hubby's 30th birthday I booked a surprise trip to the Great Barrier Reef. As a full blown Aussie he had never seen it before!
I've been twice before and although I don't really have a bucket list, I believe this is one thing to do before you die. The beauty of the Great Barrier Reef is simply out of this world and hard to describe with words.

There are different places in Northern Queensland from where you can start your trip from. I chose Cairns simply for convenience reasons since it's a good 3 hour flight from Sydney.

Cairns with its roughly 150,000 inhabitants is a rural "city" full of backpackers and built on tourism. There are not many things to do there except have a nice barbecue at the Esplanade, join the free yoga classes in the morning, get on a boat to go to the reef or get absolutely hammered with other tourists in one of the many bars.
If the last thing I mentioned is not for you, then I strongly recommend renting a car and exploring the beautiful Atherton Tablelands surrounding Cairns as well as the rainforest with its hidden waterfalls! Situated only one hour west of Cairns it is well worth the trip! To find out more about the Atherton Tablelands please click *here*.

On the edge of the rainforest.

Cairns Esplanade.

The Cairns Marina.

Public pool with a view.

Sunrise.

Public barbecues at the Esplanade.

Yum!

The Great Barrier Reef attracts millions of tourist per year and consequently there are hundreds of boat companies offering different tours. From snorkelling to diving to helicopter flights and all the above in combination with one another - the offers are endless and choosing a particular provider can be confusing. Different companies will also take you to different parts of the reef. Regarding the diversity of species they are all relatively similar but some reef groups may attract a more specific type of fish.
And in the end it really depends what you like - I prefer smaller boats that offer a higher level of service and do snorkelling tours but everyone is different. To give you a starting point, we chose Deep Sea Divers Den for this particular trip and were absolutely happy with our choice. Click *here* to get to their website.

On our way to the Norman Reef.

The Norman Reef - photo credit: Deep Sea Divers Den

Since I am madly in love with coffee, there was no question about it: we had to visit the iconic Skybury Coffee Plantation.
As one of the world's finest, the Queensland highland Arabica is well known across the planet and visiting the plantation in tropical North Queensland is a must for everyone who's interested in great quality coffee. Click *here* to read more on their website.

Termites on the way to the plantation.

At the Skybury Coffee Plantation

Coffee in the making!

Coffee cherries.

There is no way I can cover all the amazing things to do and see, so I'd love to hear from you about your adventures in and around Cairns!

With Love, 

 Coffeebeanlilly