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Published: October 19th 2008
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Along the Barron Falls Track
There were several cute animal sculptures on the railings along the track. October 18, 2008
We needed to “regroup” this morning. So we grabbed the laptop and bit the bullet and paid $5 an hour at the “Rehab” Internet cafe in downtown Port Douglas and forced ourselves to make some real plans. A cup of coffee for Joe and a mocha for me helped ease the chore of calling and connecting with hotels and airline companies. We were able to book a hotel in Darwin (we fly there on Oct. 20) and a flight from Melbourne to Christchurch, NZ on November 13. Got a good rate on the flight and the Australian dollar’s big decline is making this trip cost a lot less than we had predicted. We also hadn’t planned on sleeping in a Jucy van so many nights and that has cut the expenses. Had a nice “farewell to Port Douglas” lunch, another barramundi sandwich, and then headed back south on the Pacific Coast Highway towards Cairns. The road follows the coast most of the way, so it’s a fun drive. Before we got to Cairns, the Jucy van once again veered inland and up into the mountains to Kuranda Village. It’s a touristy spot with lots of stores, koala
petting places, bird shows, etc. We thought we wouldn’t like it, but the town is pretty and we took another nice mile walk along a skywalk into the rainforest to see Barron Falls. The Kuranda train happened to be stopped while we were there.
We are at the Rainforest Park near Kuranda tonight. Just as the sun was going down about six wallabies appeared in the campground. Such fun to see those cute little critters. The check-in person said to just park wherever we liked so we’re down in a big green field surrounded by trees. A couple (Stuart and Fiona) came down to greet us and asked us if we would like to go to a concert with them tonight at the Kuranda Amphitheater, an outdoor venue in the rainforest. It was a jazz concert with an internationally famous Australian jazz musician, James Morrison. I wasn’t too keen on going but Joe thought it would be something fun to do with some fun people. So…after an “affectionate discussion” we were off to the concert. I did appreciate the musical artistry of the James Morrison Quintet, (this guy toured with Ray Charles), but it did pour rain on us,
Joe in Kuranda
These Curtain Fig Trees are everywhere. and my legs got a few “midgie” bites, and I still am not a true jazz fan. But it was quite the “memorable experience.” There was certainly a lot of pre-concert eating and wine drinking going on. (My kind of concert.) We all took a taxi to get there, but had to hitchhike in the rain back to the caravan park. More sweet little wallabies welcomed us back. I was glad to take off my wet clothes and crawl into the bed.
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