1995/11 Australia trip - Kuranda |
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We had to make an early start the next morning, as things had to be carefully coordinated. My first surprise on getting up at dawn was that the cute little bunnies I’d seen hopping around at night were, in fact, giant toads. Somehow, having toads under your bed isn’t quite as nice. Despite that, it was one of the nicest campgrounds, surrounded by forested hills, and no traffic, and we were sorry to be leaving.
First we went to the Sunshine Towers hotel in Cairns, and luckily they had a room that we could check into at 7.30 in the morning and dump our luggage. Then we took the camper to NQ rentals to drop it off, and they gave us a ride back to the hotel, so we could be picked up by the shuttle bus for our day out, as we had no transport for our final day there. Fortunately this all worked out OK, and we were dropped off at the Skyrail station, close to our campsite where we’d started the day!
Skyrail is new, only a few months old, a gondola ride that takes you across the Barron Gorge rain forest just above the tree tops. It certainly gives a different view, but I’m doubtful of its success. You’d expect to see hundreds of birds, as they always seem to be at the tops of the trees, but you don’t as they’re hidden below the top layer of leaves, so unless you’re a student of tropical tree leaves it’s not too exciting. Certainly nothing to keep kids interested.
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Sky Rail & Kuranda Railway (4.51) |
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Skyrail took us to Kuranda, which is a tourist trap up in the hills. Restaurants, souvenir shops, and the Tjupakai theatre. This is a show of aboriginal 
dance and music, with some explanations of how the instruments are made and what the dances mean. It was very well done. Karen wanted me to capture it on tape for her, but a lot was in very dim light, so she may have to make do with the music. Unfortunately, Sandie was suffering from the heat that day. It was extremely humid and hot, about the worst kind of day we have in Minnesota, and the strobe lights in the show weren’t helping her headache.
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The town relies on coach and train traffic to keep it alive, and it was amazing how quickly the place emptied after the last show. About the only people left in town were those of us going back on the last train. Sandie had been looking for a didgeridoo to take back for Joanna, and the theatre shop had a good selection, so we found one that was a reasonable length, and talked to Trevor, the young man that made it. It’s still going to be a luggage problem as it’s 4 ft long, but at least it’s not one of the seven footers! Oh yes, and we bought another suitcase too, to take other essentials such as stuffed koala bears.
The train was originally built to supply the miners in the hills, but is now tourist traffic only, winding its way through the gorge and the forest, stopping for the more spectacular views. A really beautiful run, with plenty of room as they use all 15 carriages regardless of how many passengers. Sandie was sick for most of the trip so she wasn’t able to appreciate it. Back in the hotel, she zonked out for a few hours and couldn’t take much advantage of the luxury of all that space. She recovered later that evening, though, and we were able to use room service for a late meal.