March 2021
Winter in Cairns? What Winter?
Cairns is known for its spectacular wet season, but Cairns locals live for the winter – if you could even call it that.
The Tropical North’s ‘cold season’ treats us to daily temperatures in the mid-20s, next to no rain, low humidity and nights that are warm enough to keep the windows wide open.
Winter is Festival season in Cairns
Cairns hosts its best events between April and August, like the Cairns Festival, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), IRONMAN, Targa Great Barrier Reef and the Cairns Show, along with local food festivals, live outdoor music, outdoor cinema and markets.
The ocean doesn’t cool down too much either – in fact, winter definitely beats summer when it comes to hanging out at our glorious beaches. Sparkly clear water, just the right amount of sun, and no stingers!
Swim beside dwarf minke whales as they migrate along the Great Barrier Reef. Or snorkel with the turtles around Fitzroy Island, a 45-minute ferry ride from Cairns.
Great weather for hiking in the rainforest
Winter’s also the season to explore our rainforests, hike up a mountain and visit a waterfall or two. Locals don’t miss out on doing the ‘touristy’ things, trust us. Why book a trip to Bali when there is so much to do within a few hours' driving radius?
Move to Cairns and you'll likely experience a massive popularity boost in winter when your southern friends decide a visit is in order. Chances are you will need to draft a visitor schedule.
Jackets come out when the temperature dips below 25 degrees
Once you get through January and February in Cairns, there are no air con (or heating) bills, enough solar to power a hot shower, and you can sit barefoot comfortably beside a campfire without your toes snapping off. Jeans and jumpers finally get a run; not necessarily because it's cold, but because many of the 'tropical flowers' who live here start to shiver when the temperature drops below 25 degrees.
Thongs and shorts are still standard winter attire for the tougher ones among us.
For those Cairns people who've invested in Ugg boots at some point in their life, these are dragged out in Cairns suburbs in June or July, and tolerated for just as long as is bearable to justify owning them in Cairns.
The home gardener can easily grow ‘summer’ fruits and veggies in a Cairns winter. Crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, basil and blueberries thrive in our dry season. Many of us have a banana palm or paw paw tree in our backyards too, which bears fruit all year ‘round!
Winter camping near Cairns
But it isn’t all tropical up here. The Atherton Tablelands and Mareeba– around an hour’s drive from Cairns – are home to bucket loads of great camping spots. The Tableland region’s noticeably cooler climate means you can rug up in your woollies but still avoid all the rain and wind of a typical winter.
We all know someone who came to Cairns for a holiday and never left. Life (and the winter months) here is like no other.