Holy Kuranda....Tuesday August 4th, 2009

Today we made breakfast in our room before heading out for our Kuranda excursion. Cairns is fortunate to have both the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest just a hop skip and a jump away. Today it was our chance to go visit the rainforest heading towards Kuranda a mountain village. We were picked up by a bus at our hotel and taken to Rainforest Station to begin our journey.
To drive to Kuranda it is a very windy mountain road but we wanted to try it from the air. No not by airplane but by the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. You glide over the rainforest canopy in the world’s longest gondola cableway. It is a 4.5 mile journey. Our first stop along the way was at Red Peak which was 1,788 feet above sea level. Here you depart get to walk around and learn about the rainforest. We opted to take the short guided walk. The gondolas can hold up to six but we were lucky and it was just the 2 of us. Our next gondola ride took us to Barron Falls and Gorge. Here we walked around and mainly enjoyed the breathtaking view of the falls. It reminded us a little bit of Letchworth only a lot bigger. At the end of the Skyrail you depart for a visit to Kuranda.
Kuranda is definitely very touristy. It reminded us of some of the cruise ports with shop after shop and restaurants. However it has it’s pros, enjoying the cool mountain air and mist-wrapped rainforest.
At 3:30 we departed Kuranda and took the Kuranda Scenic Railway back to Cairns (pronounced Cans). It was a 90 minute train ride that winds through the Baron Gorge National Park, past gorges and waterfalls. Jim you would have been in your glory. It was cool sitting halfway back and then as we rounded a bend, seeing the engine straight ahead. It is a 21 mile journey that rises 1,076 feet and travels through 15 tunnels. We did make one stop at Barron Falls to get a picture from the other side. It was built by hand in the 1880’s. The Skyrail and Train were great trips, but not if you are afraid of heights or easily get motion sickness (train).
We are now back at our hotel and doing some unwinding before deciding what to do for dinner. Tomorrow we will just do some sightseeing around here and make our reservations for our excursion to the Great Barrier Reef.
Pictures from this location have been difficult to download. Just as an FYI...the times you see on the post are actually your times as my computer is set up for Rochester time.