Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Dilemma: Cairns 3 or 4 nights; to see 3 attractions/late QF CNS-SYD flight?

My family and I will be arriving in Cairns on a QF flight from Brisbane on July 1.
We are booked to leave Cairns for Sydney on July 4 (mid morning) - we have a 1 week timeshare reservation starting there on July 4.

We want to see the Great Barrier Reef and Kurunda Sky Train/Atherton and Daintree.

I doubt we can see these 3 major attractions in 2 days?

Therefore here are my options:

leave late evening on July 4 for Sydney - provided that one of the 3 attractions can be seen so that I still have time to catch a late evening or night flight on QF from Cairns to Sydney Assuming such a flight exists)

OR

spend an extra night in Cairns (ie July 4), and lose 1 of the 7 night reservation in Syndey (and book an extra one night stay in Cairns).

Note- I have a combined AC/QF ticket - I can not fly on other Australian airlines.

I have been to Cairns many many times and love the place.

Personally, I would much rather spend time in delightful, quaint Cairns than big old Sydney anytime. Given that, I would try to maximize my time in Cairns and push back my departure and give up 1 day of the timeshare.

The Great Barrier Reef is a *must* see. I would highly recommend a full one-day trip, ideally Green Island + GBR on Great Adventures or Quiksilver. They are pricey, but it will be a day to remember.

The Kuranda trip is also a lot of fun (again, almost a full one day adventure). I would recommend taking the Sky buckets out and then take the train back. Gives u the best of both worlds that way.

In my opinion, not much to see out in the Atherton Tablelands. If you had time and a car, its a nice cruise, but nothing spectacular.

Daintree is very cool. This is the deep rainforest area like u have never seen before. You have to go on a "Croc" cruise down the Daintree to fully appreciate the area. The downside to this is that it is a bit of a drive from Cairns. If you have little ones, a trip to a zoo like Hartley's or similar would be much closer to town.

Have a great time!

The Kuranda trip is also a lot of fun (again, almost a full one day adventure). I would recommend taking the Sky buckets out and then take the train back. Gives u the best of both worlds that way.
I would do it the other way round - take the train up and the Skyrail back. The train does 2 trips a day in each direction, whereas the Skyrail runs continuously - better to take the train up (8.30 am or 9.30 am) and then catch the Skyrail whenever you're ready to leave. Information is on the Kuranda (http://www.kuranda.org/) site.

If you take the train up, there is a (free) shuttle bus that runs from the Kuranda station car park up to the top of the village. Take that and it will drop you off by the Bird Sanctuary, Butterfly World and the Koala Sancturay, which are next to each other and well worth a visit (and you can get a 'combined' ticket).

I've never stayed in Cairns, always in Palm Cove. I think you'll find most people would recommend Palm Cove or Port Douglas over Cairns - there are probably any number of threads in here that discuss the merits of one versus the other. I don't think, however, that any of them will describe Cairns as "quaint" - I certainly wouldn't. If you want to stay in town and like bars/clubs/McDonalds, then Cairns is the place for you but if you prefer a nice beach in a resort-type setting, then head for Palm Cove (or Port Douglas).

...If you take the train up, there is a (free) shuttle bus that runs from the Kuranda station car park up to the top of the village. Take that and it will drop you off by the Bird Sanctuary, Butterfly World and the Koala Sancturay, which are next to each other and well worth a visit (and you can get a 'combined' ticket)...Two points on that:

1. You can also walk to the village in about five minutes. You may want to do that after sitting on the train for an hour and a half. It's uphill, but not steep or strenuous.

2. You posted that you're flying from Brisbane. If you visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary there, you can skip the one in Kuranda.