We travelled to Cairns with our 7-year-old Kidsetter. What a treat. We unexpectedly discovered the Cairns annual festival was being held at the same time. This made for some lively entertainment during our stay.
The Cairns Festival began in 1962. It has developed into vibrant and progressive festival, providing an annual forum that showcases the best of Cairns community and is one of the biggest events on the Cairns calendar.
The festival kicked off with the Grand Parade; this year, the theme of the Grand Parade was Kaleidoscope, celebrating the ever-changing and evolving city. Live local music played on the Cairns Esplanade evoking a party atmosphere. Naturally the parade completed with spectacular Fireworks !
We escaped the heat at one of Cairn’s best-known landmarks, the Esplanade Lagoon. Set on the Cairns foreshore overlooking Trinity Inlet, the 4800 square metre saltwater swimming lagoon offers Kidsetters a year-round safe swimming location.
Saltwater is pumped from the inlet and filtered through a state-of-the-art filtration and chlorination system. Our Kidsetter enjoyed the sandy edges, built sand castles and played in shallow water. On the other side of the Lagoon, we lounged on the timber decks in moderate shade.
Life guards are on duty if required. The Lagoon has been designed to prevent stingers and crocodiles from getting into the water. A vertical concrete wall separates the Lagoon from the inlet providing a physical barrier and stopping seawater getting into the swimming area. Shady trees, landscaped gardens and open spaces all contribute to the leisurely atmosphere on the Esplanade.
Next, we wandered through the Esplanade Weekend Markets. The markets feature only locally made arts and crafts as well as specialty clothing. Live entertainment from interesting musicians always playing in the background. We were in our own little world enjoying the markets, when the next thing we knew an unruly bunch of Giant Seagulls arrived. A noisy quarrelsome pack they scavenged and devoured everything in their path. Chasing people down the Esplanade, removing hats and bags from unexpected targets – people were in fits of laughter. The energy lifted tenfold as people really could not anticipate their next move. It was priceless.
We thoroughly enjoyed the fun, colourful and lively atmosphere of Cairns.
