Kuranda

 Hi all,

This morning we packed up and left our hotel in Cairns. We drove to the Smithfield Skyrail Terminal where we boarded a shuttle bus to Freshwater Station. Here we caught the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway.

I last rode this train in 2004 with Mum, Dad and Adam, and it was even more beautiful than I remembered. During a particularly bad wet season in 1881, calls for a railway around this area grew stronger as tin miners were finding it difficult to obtain and transport supplies. Only boggy roads were available. The railway took five years to build and was completed in 1891.

The build was dangerous and very hard work. 1500 men worked simultaneously, carrying supplies and excavating tunnels by hand with tools they had to supply themselves if they wanted a job. A massive 2.8 million cubic metres of soil was excavated by hand during the building of the railway. 32 men died in accidents during the build, but it is believed many more did due to disease and snake bites.

Upon completion, the railway stretched 33km all the way up to Kuranda and has 15 tunnels, 55 bridges and ascends just over 300m. It was very useful during WWII transporting supplies and those injured up to a war hospital in the town. On one day in 1944, 43 trains passed through.

We really enjoyed the journey. Someone is definitely looking out for us - even though the train was apparently sold out at 100% capacity (Queensland is like a different world to Victoria!) we somehow had an entire seat for four to ourselves, which meant we could access great views on either side. The rainforest was beautiful, as were the views of waterfalls and the train on the bends.

We stopped for five minutes at Barron Falls. Compared to a photo I have of Mum, Adam and me from 2004, there were lots more trees and lots less water! But I think we came in April which is the wet season. Speaking of weather - we lucked out today! It said the weather would be worse than yesterday. Other than one downpour in the town and a sprinkle on the cable car, we were absolutely fine.

Once in Kuranda, we had a quick bite to eat at the beautiful old train station. Then we wandered around the town, going into markets etc. It was sad to see so many empty shops, but nice to see so many tourists here. Then Rob wanted to go to Bird World so off we went. Rob loved it, and I did my best! I don’t dislike birds, I just find it a bit scary being in an enclosed space with them. And with good reason - one bird’s wing clipped my ear and another flew straight at us so much so we had to duck!! Cheeky things. We had fun though and saw a cassowary in the distance, and Rob even patted one bird for a while which was very tame. There were so many birds with lots of different beautiful colours.

Afterwards, we enjoyed an ice cream and then walked to the Skyrail station to catch a cable car back to our car. This was wonderful too. Seeing the dense rainforest from above was amazing, it was so thick that in parts you couldn’t see the forest floor at all. In parts we went through little bits of cloud, but for the most part we were treated to fantastic views, including Barron Falls.

Once we arrived back at sea level, we drove to Port Douglas. Again, I haven’t been here since 2004 but I have very fond memories. We are staying at the same resort as I did back then, and it’s fabulous! This trip was my present to Rob for his 30th, and his criteria was “somewhere with a swim up bar”. Tick! The pool is amazing and our room is clean and comfortable. We are excited to be here for another six nights.

We are meeting up with my aunt and uncle, Ian and Robyn, tonight as they’re staying up here too. Tomorrow we are off to the reef, and have a last minute dinner booking at Nautilus due to them calling us up off their wait list - woo hoo!

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox