RnR Rafting (tel. 07/4041 9444) and Raging Thunder Adventures (tel. 07/4030 7990) serve as one-stop booking shops for action pursuits in and around Cairns, including hot-air ballooning, sky diving, jet-boating, horseback riding, ATV (all-terrain vehicle) safaris, parasailing, and rafting. Ask about multipursuit packages.

Bungee Jumping -- Contact A. J. Hackett Bungy (tel. 1800/622 888 in Australia, or 07/4057 7188). The cost is A$102 (US$82/UK£41) per person including transport to the site, which is 20 minutes north of town on McGregor Road.

Fishing -- Cairns is the world's giant black marlin capital. Catches of more than 1,000 pounds hardly raise an eyebrow in this neck of the woods. The game-fishing season is September through December, with November the busiest. Book early -- game boats are reserved months in advance. Game fishers can also battle Pacific sailfish, dogtooth and yellowfin tuna, Spanish mackerel, wahoo, dolphin fish, barracuda, and tiger shark. Reef anglers can expect to land coral trout, red emperor (sea perch), and sweetlip. Mangrove jack, barramundi, and tarpon lurk in the estuaries. Contact Fishing Cairns (tel. 07/4041 1169) to book a charter. Expect to pay around A$400 (US$320/UK£160) per person or about A$1,900 (US$1,520/UK£760) per day for a sole charter for heavy-tackle game fishing, A$375 (US$300/UK£150) per person for light-tackle fishing, at least A$185 (US$148/UK£74) for reef fishing, and A$155 (US$124/UK£62) for a day or A$85 (US$68/UK£34) for a half-day in Cairns' Trinity Inlet estuary.

White-Water Rafting -- Several companies offer exciting white-water-rafting trips from Cairns on the Class III to IV Tully River, 90 minutes south of Cairns near Mission Beach; the Class III Barron River in the hills behind the city; and the Class IV to V rapids of the inland Johnstone River. One of the best is RnR Rafting (tel. 07/4041 9444).

One-day trips on the Tully are the most popular. The trip costs A$155 (US$124/UK£62) from Cairns or the northern beaches, including transfers.

Closer to Cairns, the gentler Barron River is a good choice for the timid. A half-day trip with RnR Rafting costs A$98 (US$78/UK£39) from Cairns or A$116 (US$93/UK£46) from Port Douglas, including pickup and 2 hours of rafting. Prices do not include a A$25 (US$20/UK£10) levy for national park and other fees.