Blogs from Kuranda, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 3

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I had felt sure that we would spend a few days in Kuranda but, much to Dean’s relief, we carried on driving after just a few hours there. I fell in love with this l... read more

This morning we headed off to ride the Kuranda Scenic Railway up to the small township of Kuranda. The railway line was built in the late 1800s to ensure an all weather supply route to settlements on the Atherton Tablelands, in particular the township of Herberton which was regularly left isolated during the wet season and its citizens left at risk of starving before the road became passable again. We drove the car to the car park for the Skyrail as we had booked to return via the Skyrail cable cars. We were collected by minibus from the car park and driven to the Freshwater Station on the Cairns to Kuranda railway line to catch the train. Jocelyn, the manager of our apartments, booked this tour for us over the weekend and convinced us to upgrade ... read more

An early start on what is looking like a better day weather-wise in Cairns. I took the shuttle bus from reception down into town to catch the Kuranda Scenic Railway from the station, which takes you through the rainforests to Kuranda (guess the clue's in the title...). The railway station is deserted for trains, other than this one - a vintage looking, 10 wooden carriages-long affair, with, and in total contrast to the rest of the train, a brightly coloured engine carriage. It looks like something off an old Miss Marple movie - I'm half expecting to be joined by the prime suspects sporting cravats and smoking pipes... The carriages are restored 100 year old compartments, with wooden and leather seats, and pull down windows. It's humid beyond belief so the leather seats are not necessarily ... read more

Very sad to be leaving here - one of the best holiday destinations I've been to. And probably the best time of yeart o be here too, as it's not too hot, just a comfortable 28 C. Andno jellyfish in the sea. Today we went up to Kuranda - I went by Sky rail and what a fabulous ride that was! It was really high & I got a car all to myself - up above the rainforest canopy, looking down on the trees... The village of Kuranda itself was lovely too, all sorts of crafty stuff - it has an interesting history! Then back down on thescenic railway - all pullman coaches dating back 100 years. Another fun day - I'll be getting sensoty overload soon!! Anyway, flying to Brisbane tomorrow afternoon, but down to ... read more

We were down to three full days left in the Port Douglas/Cairns region and had two full day adventures that we had to fulfill. We decided to make the drive to the SkyRail back toward Cairns and see this area of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforest. This area, which includes the Daintree Rainforest, is the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest on earth. Dating back over 100 million years, the rainforest accounts for about a quarter of a percent of Australia's total landmass but house 50% of the continent's bird species, 60% of the butterfly species and large percentages of the ferns and orchids. The SkyRail was an aggressive undertaking and now allows visitors to ride a gondola 7.5 kilometers through the rainforest canopy. The gondola cars seat 6, so our family had one to ourselves. ... read more