The perfect time of year

NOW is the time that the tropical north should be shoved in the faces of southerners shivering over their porridge in the morning as they suffered temperatures as low as 8.4 degrees in Brisbane, 2 degrees in Canberra, 4 degrees in Melbourne, 12 in Sydney and 5 in Hobart and Perth yesterday.

Yet in Cairns it was a nice 17 degrees, rising to a bearable 26.

In an icy start to winter, the big city slickers are seeking warm escapes and Cairns is at the top of the list.

Online travel site Wotif’s winter heat index considered accommodation pricing, average rainfall and temperature highs.

It found that Cairns ranked number one, beating Hoi An in Vietnam, Krabi in Thailand and Bowen in Queensland, among other places.

Their research found that, when the temperature drops, one in three Aussies look to escape the chill and many found there was no need to take an international holiday to keep warm in winter.

Wotif says interest in Cairns has gone up over 55 per cent year-onyear.

Winter is also one of the best seasons to visit Cairns when travellers can expect clear skies and a high of 26 degrees, perfect for the Great Barrier Reef.

Our beaches are at their finest too, with the wet season behind us, from the Daintree in the north and south to Mission Beach.

Regular flights from most capital cities take just a few hours so travellers can farewell a cold and miserable Melbourne and be in Cairns in just three-and-a-half hours.

It’s a perfect time to tell family and friends down south how warm it is in Cairns at the moment.