A day at Kuranda

Kuranda is a small town located about 25km from Cairns.  Although the town is historic (eg, the main pub was built in the later 1800s), many sections of the town were built later, with the tourist in mind.  It has a real hippy feel to it, being full of markets and quirky little eateries and coffee houses.  Having said that, there is also a lot of 'tat', including Chinese-made boomerangs, koala-shaped chocolate and the like.

The most enjoyable way to get to Kuranda is by public transport.  The Kuranda Scenic Railway has been operating as a tourist railway since 1915, but was also used as the main mode of transportation between Cairns and Kuranda from 1891.  The carriages' beautiful pressed-tin ceilings and gorgeous stained wooden panels are a delight.  The railway too is an engineering marvel; containing dozens of tunnels and many bridges, the whole line was constructed from picks and shovels, and without modern surveying equipment.

There is a short stop along the way, where tourists are invited to walk along a long platform on the side of a steep hill, to view Barron Falls.  Right now, the falls are little more than a trickle - I can't imagine how beautiful they must be during 'the wet'.

The town of Kuranda has many markets and we enjoyed strolling and admiring the wares for sale. We found a few treasures along the way, including a couple of brilliantly coloured batik wrap-around skirts that I thought were irresistible!  Jase also found a gorgeous quirky place to eat, where we grabbed a curry and a beer, and watched Kuranda-local June Graham sing us a song or two in her husky I've-smoked-too-many-cigarettes kind of way. 

Before long it was time to catch the SkyRail back down to Cairns.  The SkyRail is cable-drawn and climbs up up up the mountain before reaching the peak and dropping down down down the other side.  The gondolas are big enough for a few people, but we were lucky enough to have one to ourselves, so we enjoyed walking around, poking our heads out the windowless gap above the windows, and taking umpteen photos of some truly magnificent views of Cairns, the ocean and even a large passenger cruiseship.  The gondolas rise high above the rainforest and their whisper-quiet operation enabled us to really enjoy being at-one with the birds, planes, clouds, sky, stars...??!!

SkyRail also has a couple of stops where you can disembark, go for a walk, and return at your leisure. There are beautiful views of Barron Falls, and we also spotted the Kuranda Scenic Railway from across the vast valley.

Back in Cairns, we stopped in at the Courthouse Hotel for roast-of-the-day and a couple of Coronas while watching a local band play while bats screeched in nearby trees, before finally driving home to Bramston.

This was a wonderful wonderful day.