A Day in Kuranda

Today was another trip to the rainforest, this time up to a town named Kuranda. Aside from driving, there are two primary ways to get to & from Kuranda. The first is a ski lift-like gondola ride called the Skyrail. The other is to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

We booked a 9:15am trip up via the Skyrail. Each gondola takes up to 6 people so it fit us perfectly. There were two stops along the way. The first had an aboriginal ranger named Milton who gave a half hour guided tour through a jungle boardwalk. We learned about spiky vines called Wait-a-While's and basket ferns and a host of other rainforest plants and tress that I can't remember the names of. He was entertaining and educational for us all.

The second stop overlooked a place called Barron Falls. It was impressive enough though an upstream hydroelectric plant restrains most of the water most of the year. Still, it provided a great view over the terrain of Barron Gorge, and the kids learned some about how men built the dam and hydroelectric plant many years ago.

Kuranda itself is a rainforest tourist trap. Think blocks of stores with souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, jewelry stores, and some over-marketed attractions. We sampled some ice cream, an Aussie meat pie, and some very good coffee. We particularly enjoyed a demonstration at a candy making factory (including a taste of the product they made)! When we got bored we played an extended game of tag in a park. It was clear that Kuranda was mostly about getting there and going home, not about being there.

We took the scenic train on the way down. There were some parts that were particularly scenic, including a better view of Barron Falls. It was about a 90 minute trip that might have been nice to be cut in half, all things considered.

For dinner Sara cooked up a wonderful taco dinner in the little apartment kitchen we have in our unit. Afterwards (and after dark) we headed outside with flashlights (Aussies call them torches) and searched for bats that we had earlier seen flying in the area. Sure enough, we were able to find some, seeing their shiny eyes reflect back at us. Z said it best... "It's kind of cool and kind of scary to go bat hunting!"

This all made for a fun second day in the Cairns area. We put together this quick little video for some memories from this great day!