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| Cairns from the ship's on-board camera |
Land again, yipppee! I like being at sea, don't get me wrong, but it is also nice to step on terra firma too. Despite a bit of a sore foot I was thankful that my assigned tour involved more sitting than anything else; and I was able to walk in flipflops rather than putting shoes on.
The tour group that I was assigned to ('The Kuranda Experience') was large we were split up between 3 busses of about 38 to 40 people each. We drove along the east coast for about 15 minutes before arriving at Freshwater Station to board the Kuranda Scenic Railway for a ride through Barron Gorge. The train coaches were made of wood and dated back to the early 1900's. The railway track went through the rainforest, over gorges and along the steep sides of the mountain, past waterfalls, through tunnels and bridges up the Kuranda Ranges—part of Barron Gorge National Park. We stopped for 10 to 15 minutes at Barron Falls Station so that we could get out and have a look at the water falls. Higher up the mountainside, in a valley, one could see a dam wall from which some of the water flowed into the falls. Waterfalls that we saw en-route weren't in full swing as there had not been much rain recently.
The railway was built during the late 1880's and is considered to be quite an engineering feat. From the brochure I picked up, it mentions 15 hand made tunnels and 37 bridges that we went through and over. Up to 1,500 men worked with dynamite, handpicks and shoves to cut through the mountainous landscape over 37km.
At Kuranda village we had a bit of free time to wander around. Unfortunately it wasn't really enough time to explore and I soon discovered that I had run out of time! The meeting time at the Skyrail, near the station, was 12:45. I looked at my watch and it was 12:55! S*&%t! I had to run. Fortunately the guide was waiting for me and I noticed that there was a queue for the Skyrail - some were guests on tour from the ship. Whew!
The tour guide and I joined 2 other guests in the Skyrail gondola and headed down the rain forest cableway towards Cairns. He explained that the Skyrail almost didn't come into being. Conservationists were against it being built because of potential damage it could cause to the rainforest. However helicopters were used to lift the cableway towers into place, minimising damage to the forest.
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| Red Peak Station |
High above the rainforest we could look down at the rainforest canopy and a river, and right across to the coast and and across the sea. The cableway has 2 'stations' beween Kuranda and Cairns where you can get off the gondola for a walk around. Two guests and I got off at the Rainforest Interperative Centre but our guide stayed on and would meet us back at the last cable station for the bus journey back. We had a bit of a wander around the centre and went to the lookout points over the Barron Falls. If there had been rain - I think the waterfalls could be spectacular. We continued our Skrail journey down to Red Peak Station where we got off for a bit of a stroll along a short boardwalk through the rainforest, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the forest. So peaceful...
With time marching on, we carried on with our Skyrail journey to the lower cable station (Caravonica Station, Smithfield) where we met up with our guide and the bus. After a quick count our guide discovered 2 guests weren't on the bus so went in search for them. They had been doing a bit of last minute shopping at the cableway's small gift shop. Once everyone was accounted for on the bus, it was time to head back to Cairns. With a few minutes to spare, our guide had the bus driver take us around Cairns to point out a few sites of interest. We also passed an area with lots of trees and what looked like giant seed pods hanging from them. They were flying foxes having a nap, lots of them! Sweet.
You can find more about the Kuranda Scenic Railway at: http://www.ksr.com.au
and SkyRail: https://www.skyrail.com.au/
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| Our route: Cairns to Darwin |
Back on the ship it was good to sea Paul again, but only for a bit because he had to get ready for the ship's departure. In the end we went to dinner fairly late. A guest took very ill just after we left Cairns, around about the time of the pilot's departure. The pilot about to get off the ship so instead of the ship having to turn around and go back to port, quick-thinking staff managed to delay the pilot and the pilot boat. The guest and a nurse from the infirmary got carefully transferred to the pilot boat and went back to Cairns where the guest would be able to get the vital treatment that was required. All in a day's work, so to speak. ☺
PHOTOGRAPHS
Train Journey
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| All aboard! |
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| Heading out of the station |
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| Stony Creek Falls |
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| Stony Creek Bridge, looking forward |
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| Stony Creek Bridge, looking back |
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Photograph looking through to the next carriage.
This guest is tired! |
Kuranda
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| Bench made of narrow gauge sleepers, Kuranda |
Skyrail
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| View across from the cablecar I was in, starting off from Kuranda Station |
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| Looking back at the Skyrail station, Kuranda |
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| Heading up! |
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| There are crocodiles in the river .... |
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Change at Barron Falls Station (cableway)
We got off to see the Falls viewpoints and Rainforest
Interpretative Centre |
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| Looking back at Barron Falls from the cablecar |
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| Display at Red Peak Station |
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| Red Peak Station - time to head back down to Smithfield. |
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| Arriving at Caravonica Station, Smithfield |
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| Thumbs up and ready to be let out of the cablecar |
Railway Brochure
Skyrail Brochure
The tour group that I was assigned to ('The Kuranda Experience') was large we were split up between 3 busses of about 38 to 40 people each. We drove along the east coast for about 15 minutes before arriving at Freshwater Station to board the Kuranda Scenic Railway for a ride through Barron Gorge. The train coaches were made of wood and dated back to the early 1900's. The railway track went through the rainforest, over gorges and along the steep sides of the mountain, past waterfalls, through tunnels and bridges up the Kuranda Ranges—part of Barron Gorge National Park. We stopped for 10 to 15 minutes at Barron Falls Station so that we could get out and have a look at the water falls. Higher up the mountainside, in a valley, one could see a dam wall from which some of the water flowed into the falls. Waterfalls that we saw en-route weren't in full swing as there had not been much rain recently.
The railway was built during the late 1880's and is considered to be quite an engineering feat. From the brochure I picked up, it mentions 15 hand made tunnels and 37 bridges that we went through and over. Up to 1,500 men worked with dynamite, handpicks and shoves to cut through the mountainous landscape over 37km.
At Kuranda village we had a bit of free time to wander around. Unfortunately it wasn't really enough time to explore and I soon discovered that I had run out of time! The meeting time at the Skyrail, near the station, was 12:45. I looked at my watch and it was 12:55! S*&%t! I had to run. Fortunately the guide was waiting for me and I noticed that there was a queue for the Skyrail - some were guests on tour from the ship. Whew!
The tour guide and I joined 2 other guests in the Skyrail gondola and headed down the rain forest cableway towards Cairns. He explained that the Skyrail almost didn't come into being. Conservationists were against it being built because of potential damage it could cause to the rainforest. However helicopters were used to lift the cableway towers into place, minimising damage to the forest.
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