Cairns Excursions

One of the benefits of studying abroad is the ability to venture outside your host city and explore the surrounding area. Excursions are offered for all semester, year, and summer programs. Semester students are typically offered two to three excursions and summer students are typically offered one to two excursions. You will receive a calendar of the specific CEA excursions offered for your program during orientation. To give you an idea of the possibilities, we have collected typical experiences from some of the day trips and weekend tours we may offer.

		Kuranda Scenic Railway The Kuranda Scenic Railway, which winds through 15 tunnels and past Stoney Creek Falls and Barron Falls, on its way the rainforest village of Kuranda. Leave the town via a trip on the world's longest cable car, Skyrail, and glide silently over World Heritage listed tropical rainforest, to disembark at the bottom near the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Here students can learn from the local Indigenous people about the ancient Aboriginal culture, how to throw a boomerang and play the didgeridoo.
		Great Barrier Reef Cairns abounds with opportunities to snorkel or scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. The main reef areas are a one and a half-hour boat trip off the coast. The coral formations and abundant colourful sea life are legendary. Students can learn to scuba dive, take a snorkel trip with a marine biologist, or take the dry ride in a semi-submersible boat.
		Northern Treasures Mossman Gorge offers spectacular rainforest walks in the Wet Tropics, while the creek provides scenic views and swimming spots. Cape Tribulation is where the rainforest literally meets the sea. The rainforests are unique here and the informative visitor centres and boardwalks give students insights into this unique environment. Cooktown, named for Australia's discoverer, Captain James Cook is a laid-back seaside village located directly north of Cairns. It is reached via the unsealed coastal road that requires a serious 4WD or there is the all-weather inland road.
		Western Wonders The Atherton Tablelands, just west of Cairns, and up on the escarpment is a farming region peppered with lakes and Wet Tropics Rainforest areas. The scenic circuit from Cairns to Mareeba, Atherton, Yungaburra, and Lake Barrine and back to Cairns takes in: Lake Tinaroo, the town and irrigation water supply for the Atherton Tableland; Undara Lava Tubes, where volcanic activity from 190,000 years ago has left underground tunnels that snake for miles across a beautiful outback landscape. Some of these tunnels have collapsed and now support rainforest species only found elsewhere in Madagascar and east Africa. Students will have a chance to see the giant curtain fig trees and perhaps a cassowary, as they travel across the tableland.
		Mission Beach A picturesque 1.5 hours drive south from Cairns and through rich cane fields, banana plantations and historic towns, Mission Beach is a unique and unspoilt haven. There are numerous walking tracks from which to explore the beautiful rainforest and coastline. Mission Beach is also the home of the rare and beautiful cassowary, a flightless rainforest bird found only in the tropical rainforests. This is the closest access to the outer reef, so students can take a day trip to the reef, or visit Dunk Island.