Deb shares her tips on the best place for an iced coffee in Cairns and how to beat the heat!
“1. Spend as much time as possible at the lagoon!
When I first arrived in cairns it was February and it was HOT. I came from Alice Springs which was technically more hot, but without any humidity. This makes quite the difference!!
I spent my days either by the pool at the sharehouse or down at the lagoon.
In cairns there isn’t a beach that you can swim at, so the lagoon is the place to catch a tan and go for a swim. There’s heaps of space so it’s easy to find a spot to lay out your towel and relax. Most of the area is grass but there is sand as well. I was told that it is salt water that is chlorinated. All I know is it is refreshing! On weekends there is live music which is nice.
2. Drink iced coffee.
I can’t count how many times the girls and I would walk down to the lagoon, grab an iced coffee, and lay out while we chatted. With the heat we could rarely go more than twenty minutes without going for another dip. Gloria Jeans was my favorite stop for iced coffee. Really tasty! I then discovered a coffee shop called Bang and Grind on Spence Street which I pretty much immediately became obsessed with. Freshly made coffee by locals who definitely know what they’re doing and it’s surprisingly inexpensive. When I’m in a rush, my coffee ‘go to’ is Pie Face which is the cheapest but still very good. (Tip: I prefer their hot coffee over iced).
Figuring out these little things around town makes you realize “wow, I really live here”. Which after traveling, is a really nice feeling!
3. Buy a bike.
Walking to get groceries is easy, but on some days not ideal. Remember, the heat! I was told pretty much immediately that a bicycle is a must have. I bought mine at Kmart for about $100 knowing that if and when I leave Cairns I’ll be able to sell it easily. Long story short, save yourselve some sweaty walks home with a push bike.
(Tip: When you buy a bike you HAVE to buy a helmet. They take it pretty serious around here and will stop and ticket you if you are seen riding without one. Fines can definitely put a damper on a backpackers budget.)”
