2010/11 Australia trip - Mossman and Kuranda |
|||
Dear All,
At the end of part two, we had just crossed the Daintree River, leaving the wilder parts of the Cape York Peninsula behind us. We had about a fortnight to get back to Melbourne, and the plan was to travel down the coast, hopping from park to park.
Thursday October 21st 
We drove down the coast from Daintree Village to Mossman Gorge, another piece of Daintree national park. The last time we were there we didn’t see much as it was raining 
and guess what? It was again. I suppose the only real way to see a rainforest is in the rain. Certainly, the rain made for an impressive river. The trails took us to giant buttressed figs, sprawling strangler figs, and pretty cascades, probably not much different from other stretches of rainforest, but it’s really nice to have a trail to walk rather than fighting with the undergrowth and vines.
We continued south towards Cairns but then took the road over the mountains into Kuranda. Last time there in ‘95, we came in by the Skyrail cable car and left by the Kuranda Scenic Railway, but driving there was a lot cheaper, albeit tiresome because of road works. It looked like a large chunk of the mountain road had fallen away.
Kuranda used to be a timber town but in recent years it has become the ultimate tourist trap, and home to the Tjapukai dance theatre. This time we were there for a visit the next morning to the butterfly sanctuary. The Kuranda Rainforest campground is out of town away from the crowds, and run by a Scotsman. He was unhappy with the weather and the unseasonal rain. This was the first campground that had advertized Wifi; he apologized for its not working, but he was wrong as it worked perfectly. The campground looked a bit worn and muddy but we were comfortable enough.
Friday October 22nd
We had brief sunshine in the morning and we took a walk down to a view over the Barron River, and then the rain started again, so we drove into town. It was still too early for the butterfly sanctuary, so we drove around Kuranda looking for Barron Falls. We started walking a likely trail until Sandie noticed that it actually went to Barron Falls Road, rather than the falls, so we quit walking and drove it. On our way, we could see some poor souls plodding along the road on a long and uninteresting walk.
The falls were worth it though, really roaring with all the recent rain even though they are supposed to be only a trickle in the Dry. We walked down to the railway station and were lucky enough to arrive at the same time as a train, though the mist and rain hid the view and the train for much of the time. We were glad we hadn’t spent a lot of money to travel on the skyrail and train.
Then we were on to the Butterfly Sanctuary; we were not sure about the sanctuary bit, but it’s certainly an impressive 
show with an area of tropical plants just teeming with butterflies and moths. The stars were the giant butterflies, the electric blue Ulysses and the black and green Cairns Birdwing. The Ulysses looks fantastic in flight, with the blue and black looking like flashing neon, but then it folds its wings when resting and looks a drab brown, so capturing the colour takes some luck. Similarly, the Cairns Birdwing is reluctant to rest with its wings open, so getting pictures takes a lot of patience.
We stayed until our camera batteries faded, and then ventured out into the midst of the tourist trap, shopping for presents. We ate at a pie shop, sampling a piece of Australian culture we’d missed until then, the handheld meat pie for lunch. We went back over the mountain road to Cairns for a little shopping; fabric shops for Sandie and some replacement camera bits for me.