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Cruise Guide > Australia and South Pacific > Australia > Cairns | |
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Cairns Time Zone GMT + 10. Currency Australian Dollar (A$) = 100 cents. Language English. Sightseeing The tropical resort city of Cairns is the gateway city to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s natural wonders. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world and home to approximately 400 different types of coral. It is also an area of outstanding natural beauty and home to around 1500 different species of fish, 4000 types of mollusc and many endangered species, such as the dugong, as well as other rare animals and birds, including marine worms and reef herons. There are also more than 30 historic shipwrecks in the area and a number of archaeological sites which are of Aboriginal origin. Visitors can enjoy the superb scuba diving and snorkelling opportunities available or take a boat trip to one of the many rainforested or coral islands. Shopping Opal and other precious or semi-precious stones; and modern art sculpture and paintings. Bark paintings, boomerangs and other tribal objects, as well as diving and snorkelling equipment. Eating Out Barramundi (freshwater fish), tiger prawns, macadamia nuts, yabbies (small freshwater lobsters); as well as local seafood. Queensland cuisine also makes use of flavours from nearby Asia, such as lemongrass, coconut and chillies. Country Australia Region Asia Pacific |