METROPOLITAN Australia may boast of the access their cities give to wineries, coastal scenery, wildlife and more – but few incentive and post-conference travel experiences can match that bucket-list Wonder of the World, the Great Barrier Reef.
And to get there? Best to locate your group in Cairns/Giumuy in Tropical North Queensland, a city that grew out of Australia’s gold rush and today more known as a gateway to inland, coastal and offshore treasures.
Cairns prides itself as the “10 minute city” with the journey from the airport to hotels being about that. The stroll over to the new Cairns Convention Centre about 10 or less and, depending on where you start, the choice of restaurants along the rejuvenated Esplanade – well, about the same.
No worries about whether it’s actually 10 minutes, groups can enjoy those mountain and bay views along the way. The trip to Great Barrier Reef, however, takes a good hour and 20 minutes or so longer but no less enjoyed by buyers and media during the recent Australia Next Cairns incentive showcase, organised by Tourism Australia in partnership with Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef.
AIRPORT & ARTS
The international terminal at Cairns Airport is undergoing redevelopment work in stages to cater for an increase in passenger capacity. The upgrades are expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Direct flights from destinations in Asia include Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore and Cathay Pacific set to recommence its flights from Hong Kong in December.
Elsewhere in the city, the Cairns Gallery Precinct Project will link three heritage buildings to create a “dynamic and world class gallery precinct”.
Event spaces around the city range from swish hotel ballrooms and poolside settings for dinner to the quirky and quintessentially Queensland – repurposed farmyard bans complete with vintage machinery to banquets in former fuel-storage tanks and other surprises.
Here are some ideas to give your conference and incentive groups some of the best to be found in Cairns and Tropical North Queensland…
EXCURSIONS
Great Barrier Reef
Reef Magic, one of the brands under Adventure Co, operates a catamaran taking groups to its pontoon on the Outer Great Barrier Reef. The cruise takes 90 minutes with groups able to relax in air-conditioned lounges or out on deck. Briefings are given by specialists on each activity ranging from snorkelling and walking tour to a helicopter tour and conservation.
The Reef Magic pontoon is a stable all-weather structure powered by renewable energy. Groups usually have five hours on the pontoon to experience a range of activities that bring them closer to the coral wonders around them.
Guided Snorkel Tour – For group members experienced in snorkelling, a marine biologist provides tells the story of the creatures and reefs below as participants marvel in between breaths at the wonders below the surface.
Walking Tour in a Sea Trek Helmet – Strong swimming or diving skills are not vital for this activity. It’s more about being calm, following the instructors and being curious about what lives along the deep. Participants don a state-of-the-art helmet and breathing apparatus and enjoy the walk beneath the pontoon.
Glass Bottom Boat – What also makes Reef Magic’s pontoon a lot of fun is that it operates like a mini transport hub, with announcements for meal times, and for when shuttles depart for the helicopter pad or tours of the scenic deep. You get a chance to try each activity. Put your name down for a fascinating view of the deep from the Glass Bottom Boat, which includes a guide telling of what blossoms or passes beneath, along with insights on what reef culture means for indigenous peoples.
Underwater Observatory – The views are equally fascinating via large viewing panels in the lower deck of the pontoon. Here you see more reef, shoals of gliding tropical fish, much larger fish and marine biologists salvaging damaged coral in bucket to be taken to the top deck to be tied to Reef Stars.
Conservation – Reef Stars are metal frames on which broken coral is attached to take its place back on the seabed to regenerate reef that has been damaged due to changing climate conditions. Reef Magic’s marine biologists and volunteers have installed more than 1,000 Reef Stars across the Great Barrier Reef since 2020. The program can be combined with a group CSR effort and the proper tying of coral to the frames makes a fine therapeutic exercise after a splash in the ocean. During an excursion for buyers at Australia Next, a turtle originally rescued after being fund in poor health was released back into the wild from the pontoon after being cared for at Cairns Turtle Rehabiliation Centre.
GBR Helicopter – Another fine way to view the reef is from above with a helicopter tour. Flights lift off from a nearby helicopter pontoon with sea turtles, sharks, manta rays among the great features of the reef to be spotted below. A 20 minute transfer flight from Cairns to the helipad can also be arranged with a ferry over to the Reef Magic pontoon.
Reef Insight Experience – On their journey back to Cairns, groups can enjoy afternoon tea and sit back to enjoy First Nations insights into marine life, song and one a “yarn with a cultural guide”. The performance shows the deep bond indigenous peoples have with the land, coastline and reef and the proud culture that is kept thriving today.
RAINFOREST EXPERIENCES
Kuranda Scenic Railway – The wonders of Tropical North Queensland continue inland with farm experiences, reforestation efforts and journeys into Barron Gorge National Park among the options.
This impressive train ride through rainforests lets groups experience the vintage charm of timber carriages while enjoying views of steep ravines, waterfalls and more of that lush rainforest.
Carriages on the train, which depart from Cairns and crosses the Great Dividing Range to Kuranda, can be hired exclusively for groups, or the whole train chartered for a maximum of 550 passengers. A one-way trip to Kuranda station, which has an indigenous crafts centre and is surrounded by rainforest, takes just under two hours with the choice of stopping at the equally quaint Freshwater Railway Station.
UNIQUE VENUES
The Sugar Shed at Yorkeys Knob Cane Farm
The venue’s name may be a mouthful but soon the food, beverages and atmosphere at this rustic site for fun, corporate events takes over. The Sugar Shed’s surrounds form part of a working farm by day with vintage tractors and machinery becoming fine backdrops for photo opportunities with the BBQ on the go and the band playing.
The Sugar Shed has “rustic country charm with modern facilities”, say the proprietors, and can host up to 250 for banquets and 1,000 for cocktails – sugar-cane concoctions being a speciality alongside cold-beers in digger buckets. The great outdoors around here are, well… great, but indoors are found in the barn which is vast enough to house bars, lounge, a paella kitchen during the Australia Next event, and enough room for those banquets before groups hit the dance floor out in the yard complete with a Tropical North Queensland sundown.
Trinity Beach Palace
Groups can be forgiven for initially mistaking charismatic chef Nick Holloway (right) as star of the show in this private beachfront estate a 20 minute drive north of Cairns. But soon enough it’s the food grown locally and fished from the adjacent Coral Sea and presented by the co-owner of event caterers Nu Nu, Palm Cove that takes centre stage with Nick sharing his passion for the produce and its provenance.
A harmonious welcome is given from an ensemble of singers and indigenous performers from Sounds of AustraNesia who explain their relationship to location and the islands offshore. Guests can also get a deeper insight into “bush tukka” from Samantha Martin, of Tribal Vice Connections, who grew up learning about foods from land and sea from her mother and Aboriginal Elders.
Trinity Beach Palace has five guest rooms for overnight executive retreats, indoor dining space, pool, and lawns for cocktails and long table dining.
Tanks Arts Centre at Cairns Botanic Gardens
A rainforest backdrop for cocktails before entering a former fuel-storage tank for dinner provides an evening of contrasts at Cairns Botanical Gardens where the Tanks Arts Centre is located.
The tanks were originally built to store fuel during World War II but have been repurposed for cultural and corporate events. Three of the five venues are available for cocktails or gala diners with one of them (Tank 4) able to accommodate up to 150 while Tanks 3 and 5 are both suitable for up to 650 standing or 450 sea theatre style.
Long tables, however, are the recommended option for banquets with a stage as the venue centrepiece complete with rigging for live performances in Tank 3.
Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal
Long before it became a port of call for Australian and international cruise ships, this building on the city’s foreshore was the “shed” for processing passengers and cargo that disembarked at Cairns.
Some of the industrial signage is still on the walls of this heritage-listed building, making for an atmospheric unique venue with warehouse doors facing the bay opened to provide that scenic mountain and waterway backdrop. Australia Next held a breakfast here with catering again led by Nick Holloway and his crew before groups headed out on excursions.
Arrangements can be made for Great Barrier Reef catamarans to leave from here, or a timely walk away to the more regular quay at Marlin Marina nearby.
Again, the cruise liner terminal is a reasonable walking from distance from the city’s large hotels – yes, about 10 minutes – and Cairns’ other city attractions never far away. But save a bigger chunk of time to let your groups experience more of Tropical North Queensland and out into the Great Barrier Reef.
