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Published: October 12th 2007
Well after the first two days in Cairns were spent catching up on blogs and a few little jobs inbetween the rain showers we got up and about and back to some activity.
We spent a day visiting a small village Kuranda really just for the journey itself more than the village. We travelled there by skyrail, a 7.5km long cablecar trip over the rainforest! It had a couple of stops on the way to get out and view the rainforest and the majestic Barron Falls. The first stop was a complete waste of time as it was pouring down and so we spent 20mins walking around a trail behind a queue of umbrellas! The second stop at Barron Falls gave us great views of the falls (although they were not at their dramatic wet season best).
Kuranda itself was a nice little village tucked away in the rainforest and had a very hippy feel to it. Unfortunatley over time more and more buses of tourists have arrived and taken a bit of the peacefulness away. We decided to be one of those tourists and visit Birdworld whilst there, really just so we could see a Cassowary. This bird
is very important to the rainforests of North Queensland as it acts as a seed spreader and fertiliser when it takes a number 2!! It is also a very striking looking bird and potentialy very dangerous if you anger it!! Birdworld turned out to be far more than just a cassowary though and we spent a good hour being landed on by various parrots and birdlife trying to eat food out of our hands or just have a rest on our shoulders!!
The trip back from Kurnada was by a scenic railway line that winds through the hills back to Cairns. It was quite spectacular at times crossing narrow bridges, skirting round tight mountain bends and passing through 15 tunnels.
From Cairns we headed up to Port Douglas via a few of the beaches north of Cairns. At the hilariously named Yorkeys Knob we stopped for a wander on the beach and were treated to the sight of several dolphins playing in the sea just off the beach. We stood entranced for half an hour while they leaped, dived and splashed around sometimes as close as 50metres away.
The main purposes of our visit to Port Douglas
were to see 4 mile beach and to go horse riding on Wonga Beach. 4 mile beach is a stunning stretch of sand curving along the coast with the town of Port Douglas nestled behind it. The town itself is a very peaceful and pretty little place but it was full of people on proper holidays with too much money for our liking!!
The horse riding was fantastic!! We had booked for a 2 hour ride through the Daintree rainforest and along Wonga Beach and were not disappointed. We started early, getting there for 8.30, and were soon kitted out in the ridiculous hats and boots ready to ride. My horse was called King and was the biggest horse there, he was a beautiful horse and very keen and eager. He would insist on being at the front whenever we were walking in convoy. When we set off along the beach to do a trot he didn't like it that other horses were cantering ahead with the experienced riders so set off like a bullet leaving me hanging on for dear life while I tried to slow him down!! Eventually he seemed to get the message and settled down
to a trot. Vicky's horse was the complete opposite, he was called Maverick, and needed a boot up the bum just to keep walking!! Once we got to the beach he was a little keener but took every opportunity to stop that he could!! He was also a bit of a loner and didn't like going near the other horses - making photos a bit tricky!
After riding we had a bit of lunch at a beach that springs out from the Daintree rainforest and then headed for Mossman Gorge for a cool off. The gorge was very busy as it was the weekend but I braved the freezing waters for a swim while Vicky stood by laughing at me!! The water was very cold but unbelievably clear and very refreshing.
From Port Douglas we are heading back South past Cairns and onto Mission Beach, where we hope to organise a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef.
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Paul G
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Go Eagles!
G'day! Great to see the priceless Eagles shirt on show. Warnock's red n blue army! Hope you watched the rugby, must have been great to see it over there. Cairns look cool, not sure about the cable car though! That 4 mile beach looked brilliant... P.