Days 18 and 19 Cairns and Kuranda

Days 18 and 19 Cairns and Kuranda

Yesterday was a travel day – the lovely people at our Alice Springs hotel let us stay in the room well after check-out time, nice and cool, until we had to leave for the airport for our afternoon Quantas flight to Cairns.  Alice Springs airport is tiny – an hour and a half is plenty to check in, go through security, have a coffee, browse in the shops and still get bored waiting to board….

We flew over spectacular desert landscape and then hills becoming gradually more and more green until we reached the tropical rainforest just near the coast and Cairns.  The change in the temperature was not very dramatic – but the humidity and coastal air was quite a change that hit us as soon as we deplaned.

We grabbed a taxi to the hotel – the driver was Welsh…he came for a holiday 40 years ago and then settled here. (This is becoming a very familiar story!)

We checked in to our lovely studio flat – home for the next few days – booked today’s adventure and then sat on the patio listening to the evening birds and insects until time for bed.

We were up early and collected at 7:20 to transfer to the station for the historic  Kuranda Scenic Railway ride, up into the rainforest through tunnels and across ravines to the tiny (and very touristy) village of Kuranda.  

We visited the Koala Gardens, photographing the koalas, crocodiles, lizards, potaroo (yes, really), snakes and turtles – and feeding the kangaroos and cute swamp wallabies.  We got an all day pass so that we could return later on when the wombats awoke for their feed – and it was well worth returning!

We walked the 5km river and jungle paths, visited the fossil and gem museum, ate the famous Australian meat pies and macadamia nut ice cream (now THAT was delicious…).  We saw a very unusual iridescent mineral called labradorite in the museum and then Rob pestered the gem dealers until they found him a piece to buy…..

We wandered the various markets selling kangaroo skin hats, aboriginal art, weird souvenirs and general tat – and offering digeridoo lessons, tarot readings and a wide range of very strange healing therapies…The stalls all seemed to be manned by aging hippies…it was that kind of place…

There was also a plane wreck.....well, a wrecked plane....that had been used as a set for some movie I'd never heard of...

For our return to Cairns, we took the Skyrail gondolas – never Rob’s favourite thing – but quite spectacular, gliding above the rainforest trees.  You could pay extra for a ‘Diamond View’ gondola with a window in the floor – but neither of us thought that was a good idea….Rob said they would have to pay HIM to ride in such a thing.  

We got out at the 2 stations for walks through the rainforest – once at Barron Falls and once at Red Peak where a ranger talked us through some of the plants and animals…the cassowary bird was particularly interesting…They roam freely in the rainforest and are responsible for spreading the seeds for many of the rainforest trees.  They are endangered, though, and it is believed that many of the rainforest trees could disappear without them.  This bit of rainforest is a World Heritage Site – protected because it has been established as the most ancient rainforest in the world.  It is not very large – only 0.2% of Australia’s land mass – and seems to be shrinking due to climate change – though all human clearance has been stopped.

We returned to our flat, tired after a very interesting day…..showered and collapsed into bed…The Great Barrier Reef awaits tomorrow.