Exchanging dollars for kina in Australia

Travelling fom the States, we'll spend several days in Cairns, Australia before proceeding to Port Moresby. We've been advised to exchange money before landing in PNG - and be sure to get small denomination bills. Are there good money changing (to kina) facilities in Cairns?
Thanks,
luke

Dont try converting to Kina in New Zealand you would end up with a bunch of smelly shellfish!!!

Hey Luke,

There's a significant community of PNG expatriates in Cairns and changing money will be no problem.

You will get a far better rate changing cash in PNG. There are plenty of good money changers in Cairns but will all give lousy rates on Kina.

There should be plenty of PNG coin in Cairns (esp at Cairns City Council) - they are the same size as Oz coins, so lots of the ex-pat workers bring a handful back to Cairns to feed the Parking Meters ( was about 40 cents Oz to the Kina - probably even better now!)

There is no need to change money before you get to PNG.

At the international airport there is an ANZ ATM that accepts most cards. There is also a Bank of South Pacific (BSP) money exchange counter in the arrivals hall, where you can change money, but it is not always open. Failing those two options, there are plenty of ATMs around Town and Waigani from which you will be able to withdraw money.

And don't worry about small denonination notes until you are going out to the villages. Larger denominations are okay around Port Moresby.