Kuranda

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Decided to spend the last day of my stay in Cairns at Kuranda. The first stop was the aboriginal village of Djapukai where we were entertained by dancers acting out stories from dreamtime, their story telling history which is sacred to them. This was followed by a dance theatres and music, which included making fire from rubbing sticks. Afterwards we had a talk on herbal medicines which are still used today although some of the fruits and berries are toxic until treated. That was really interesting. We were showed how spears and shields were used in the past and now for hunting. Following on we swerve showed how to throw spears and boomerangs. I tried the boomerang throwing and first couple of throws were rubbish but the third one came spinning back to me. Result!!

After this I travelled on the Skyrail which is like a ski gondola which travels over the rainforest below, I thought we were just going up one hill but it went on for a further to of three stops inland. During one of the stops I saw a small lizard on the boardwalk and managed to get a photo before he darted off into the undergrowth. The Skyrail stopped off at Barron Falls where the water cascades down to the hydro electric plant however there wasn't much water flowing over the falls at that time.

During the descent to Kuranda I was joined by a lady in my gondola, guess where she was from???? Bournemouth, can you believe it??.

Kuranda village was very nice but touristy, lots of shops selling local art and restaurants. Caught the train back from Kuranda to Cairns which runs though the mountains and along the side of the gorge. to was built originally for the good miners and their families. The first tracks and bridges got washed away by floods but the one we traveled on had stood the test of time and remains today as a tourist attraction.

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