Tuesday 20 January 2009

Cairns: Where NOT to go

Now this is funny, and kind of embarrassing from a tourist town point of view.

Local self-confessed Cairns 'insider' Sonja Anderson writes for the hugely popular national website Ninemsn, on their travel pages.

However, NineMSN is quick to allow her to bag some suburbs from a long out of date rumour.

Although she recounts that a good night out involves dinner with friends, listening to live music on the waterfront and "a bit of dancing, or watching an old film under the stars at the Cairns Botanic Garden outdoor amphitheatre," Sonja is pleased to record where not to go when visiting our fair region.

"Don't waste your time when you're on holiday in Cairns, find out the over-hyped spots to avoid," Sonja Anderson says on NineMSN.
  • "Mind your 'M's. Cairns is generally a safe place, but be cautious when you're in the 'M' suburbs — Manoora, Manunda, and Moorobool.

    If you find yourself walking alone from a bus stop in the early morning or late evening. Parts of these 'burbs are prone to violence. Also, avoid walking alone or riding a bicycle on the Cairns Esplanade or in the central city suburbs, Parramatta and Cairns North late at night. Early mornings and evenings are fine — it's just after the clubs close that you're better off inside or as part of a group.

She also doesn't hold back when it comes to dining on the Esplanade.

  • "The restaurants along the Cairns waterfront, although beautifully situated with awesome views and some excellent food, are not always the best value for money. Try the suburbs instead."

    "Avoid the Vertigo Bar in the casino complex if you don't like the meat-market scene. It's good for live music, but the clientele is focused on picking up rather than getting down.

And she bags Great Barrier Reef operators Quicksilver and Great Adventures...

  • "When deciding which company to book with, don't choose based on price alone. Check carefully what's on offer — large vessels (such as those operated by Great Adventures and Quicksilver) carry 300-400 passengers on each run, so don't expect a quiet moment if you're trying to save a few bucks."

Sonja also has some mis-conception how far the Reef is out from the coast, and that some smaller operators have backpackers working for free. Is this woman for real?

  • "Smaller, cheaper vessels tend to be slow and shabby, and as the Great Barrier Reef is a long way off shore, you may find yourself chugging along for up to five hours. They're often full of backpackers travelling on a shoestring and boat staff working as unpaid trainees."

I wonder what TTNQ, our local Tourism authority would have to say about this kind of publicity?

3 comments:

portmultimedia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I disagree, alot of the smaller vessels going out to the reef are fantastic, generally even on the slower vessels it may take at most 3 hours. The Vertigo will let you get down or picked up it just depends on what your there for and people are generally respectful of that. With regards to esplanade dining, the food is rarely good, service presumes you are a tourist who isnt coming back, however while yes the suburbs have some great restaurants so does the city just a few streets back from the esplanade. I heard the Mind your M's when I moved here 10 years ago, having lived in all three I can say what a load of hyped up rubbish, unless you are completely oblivious to your own personal safety you want have a problem, its the same as walking anywhere else in Cairns or the world for that matter. my tip on a good holiday in Cairns stay away from negative nellys like Sonja, and apply a dose of common sense and you will have a great holiday.

As for this blog, its nice to have a free space to be heard at.

As for the Carwash cafe It will be good to be able to drive past at election times and not have Kevin Byrnes and Liberal politics forced down my throat by way of banners and flyers, who knows i might even start taking my car back there, as the actual workers there have always been a lovely bunch, just a pitty about the management.

Anonymous said...

Well done Sonja for your article. She has the same right to publish what she wants to say in the same way we are publishing our thoughts on this Blog.
If anything, Sonja needs to be applauded for saying what she thinks, regardless if you agree or otherwise. I disagree with her assertion about the three 'M's, but it was her article just as I write what I think regardless of other peoples opinions. This is free speech, lets not censor it.