Buchans Point is the name of a headland that is just north of the community of Palm Cove, which is the northernmost suburb of the town of Cairns. Buchans Point forms the southern end of a 5-kilometer-long stretch of beach known as Ellis Beach, which consists of several long, adjacent coves. The part of Ellis Beach near Buchans Point has long been an unofficial nude beach. Although nudity is not technically legal, authorities seem to have mostly backed off for the past few decades. The last known spate of heavy-handed anti-nudity enforcement occurred in the late 80's and resulted in something of a backlash from Australian naturist groups. Still, you should be aware that police do have the authority to issue fines for nudity and can even make arrests, although that is unlikely.

Facing the ocean from the pinpointed parking lot, turn right and go south a few hundred meters before disrobing. If you can see cars going by on the highway above, it is probably best to keep going until there is sufficient vegetation to block the view. Nudity occurs over the next several hundred meters, all the way to the end of the beach at the headland. The crowd tends to become mostly gay men as you approach the headland. There are houses above the nude area, but the geography of the beach is such that nudists on the part of the beach below the houses can't be seen from the houses.

Buchans Point is the northernmost established nude beach on the east coast of Australia, and it is the only really well-established nude beach in the Cairns area. At 1,700 kilometers north of Brisbane, Cairns is the northernmost major town in Queensland, and it is the most popular base for exploring the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is at the southern end of the Cape York Peninsula, which is the large land mass that forms the prominent point at the northeast corner of Australia. Cape York is a very sparsely populated area that is mostly wilderness.

more info from Free Beaches Australia (scroll down to Buchans Point)

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GPS: -16.7362, 145.6635

suburb, city, state, country
  Palm Cove, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

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