Cairns Travel Forum

My family (2 children aged 8 & 13 and husband and I) are looking at driving from Cairns to Surfers, in a hire car over 2 weeks. Any tips, good places to stay, or one's to avoid would be appreciated. We are not sure whether it's suitable for 2 children. Is the highway mostly inland? What interesting things to do and see available? Weather in June, and so forth. Any body that has done this trip out there??? We are looking at staying in caravan parks and 4star resorts.

The weather in June should be good.
From Cairns to Townsville is a lovely scenic drive. You could call into Mission Beach and stay a night or two, it's lovely there, beautiful beach. There are many places you can stay, a couple of caravan parks with cabins etc.
After Mission you could head to Airlie Beach, this is the gateway to the Islands, Whitsunday Island group, this includes Daydream, Hamilton Islands. It would be great to visit one of these Islands if you have a chance, OR you could do a boat trip and visit some. Plenty of options for this.You could leave your car at Airlie and spend a day or two on an Island. I am sure the kids and big kids would love that:)
Then follow the highway down south. Yeppoon is another place that has some good beaches to enjoy.
I would then suggest that you call into Hervey Bay and do a trip over to Fraser Island, this is not to be missed, it's amazing place. You need a 4x4 to go onto the Idland, BUT there are various tours that you could do. There are overnighters as well, I am sure the kids would love this.

We have some great caravan parks. Check out Big4 caravan park site.
http://qld.big4.com.au/public/

Also check out YHA in Queensland. These hostels are set up for families as well as single travellers.
http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/search/state.cfm?stateid=3

You could do part of the trip Inland, but I think the kids would probably prefer the coast trip. Having two weeks will allow you to have a very nice relaxed trip.

Cheers
Anne

The main highway is a coast road. It's inland a bit from the sea but you can just drive down to the ocean in many places for a break. The distances can be long - several hundred kilometres between places for example - so don't let your fuel get low!

We've done it many times because we enjoy road trips and there are many intersting places along the way. Anne has given you some good ones. To add to those, north of Brisbane is the Sunshine Coast with beautiful coastal and hinterland areas and plenty to see and do. Then Brisbane itself is worth visiting, especially around the river in the centre of the city. When you get down to the Gold Coast, the hinterland there is also well worth driving around.

There's a Travelogue on my Australia page ('The Land of Oz') which has info and photos of the road from Cairns to Sydney.

I agree with both Anne and Colin. May I just add that the section between Mackay and Rockhampton is the worst...it is very boring.

About 350 miles and apart from a couple of service stations and a small place called Marlborough there is not much to see. Please don't attempt this stretch at night or early morning...lots of kangaroos on the roads. Also for some reason many car accidents occur around Carmilla so drive carefully...

Have a great holiday!!!

Great tips from Anne and Colin. Just one from me:
If you are looking to chill out for a couple of nights on the way, the Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island is excellent. Lots of stuff to entertain the kids. Its not cheap, but for something defferent its worth it I think. You can get a catamaran transfer from Hervey Bay over to the resort. There is a secure parking area at the terminal as only 4WD's are allowed on the island.