Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019

Monday, 9/16/2019 - Kuranda SkyRail and Scenic Railway

Today we didn't have a scheduled group activity. We were on our own to do whatever optional activities we pleased. Most of the group, including us, had signed up for the Kuranda SkyRail and scenic railway, a cable car and train ride in the Daintree Rainforest. Alison, who had preferred ziplining but found that there was no availability, opted to skydive. Alison seemed to be taking every oppotunity for adventure during this trip, which we definitely respect!

We met in the hotel for breakfast before departing for our individual activities. A bus fom SkyRail arrived to pick us up, and drove us to the SkyRail station in Smithfield. Once there, we exchanged our vouchers for tickets, and were told we could board the SkyRail cableway up to Kuranda at our liesure. After exploring Kuranda, we would board the scenic railway back down the mountain at 3:30 p.m.

The SkyRail runs for 7.5 kilometers between Smithfield and Kuranda, with two stops en route. The gondolas were painted green, and they weren't really an eyesore. They allow tourists to get a close-up view of the rainforest without disturbing the rainforest floor or its inhabitants. SkyRail has won over 25 awards for environmentally sustainable tourism.

The gondolas each seat four people, but due to the fact that it wasn't too busy, Craig and I got a gondola to ourselves. Some of the gondolas have glass bottoms for better viewing, but those cost more and weren't included in our ticket cost. That was ok, because all of the gondolas had 360 degree views. We were not lacking for great views.

As our gondola left the station, they took a photo of us which they would no doubt try to sell us once we reached Kuranda.

It was a clear sunny day, and the views of the McAlister Range below us were spectacular. We were high above the Daintree Rainforest canopy, and could peek down through occasional breaks in the trees. I kept a keen eye out in hopes of spying a cassowary on the rainforest floor, but to no avail. The green leaves were so vibrant along with the bright blue sky that it made for wonderful photographs.

After 2.7 km, the gondola stopped at Red Peak Station and we disembarked. There was a raised boardwalk meandering through the rainforest in a loop. There was a free ranger-led tour which would start in a few minutes, but we decided to explore on our own. We knew we had limited time and wanted to maximize our time once we got to Kuranda.

On the boardwalk loop, we admired majestic old growth trees and the vines hanging from them. We saw epiphytes (including a massive basket fern) high in the trees. We saw an immense Queensland Kauri Tree, which was over 400 years old. This species of tree has evolved to eliminate competition for light. It has no low branches and self-shedding bark, so no vines are able to attach themselves to it and hitch a ride to the top of the canopy.

The boardwalk led to an observation deck which afforded beautiful views of the lower lying canopy and mountains off in the distance. The Daintree is 130 million years old, the world's oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest. James Cameron rode on the SkyRail here and used his photos as inspiration for planet Pandora in his film "Avatar."

When we had completed the walking loop, we boarded a second gondola, and soon we were passing over Barron Gorge.

The gondola stopped again here at Barron Falls Station. This is the former location of a power substation, workshops, and staff housing for the first hydroelectric power station in Queensland, dating back to 1935. (The current hydroelectric plant was built in the 1960's). A boardwalk here leads to The Edge Lookout, where you can look down through a glass floor to the Barron Gorge 160 meters below. Barron Gorge is situated where the Barron River flows through the eastern escarpment of the Atherton Tablelands.

There wasn't much water flowing over 265-meter tall Barron Falls, belying the dry conditions. But it was certainly a majestic sight, especially from this bird's eye view.

As we got onto the final gondola to Kuranda, there were many more people in the queue. We shared this gondola with a Chinese couple who were visiting from Shanghai. We amused them with our limited Chinese vocabulary, consisting of the words for hello, thank you, beer, and bathroom.

The canopy below us opened up to reveal the Barron River. We could see a walking path along its banks.

We arrived at Kuranda, and disembarked from our gondola. The staff showed us the photo they had taken. We normally buy touristy photos if they are good and capture the experience. This one, however, was horrible. We looked awful, and the photo itself was Photoshopped very poorly, putting us against a greenscreen backdrop that made us look like we weren't even at Kuranda. It was not even good in a campy way. And $25 for a single bad photo? No thanks.

Instead we browsed in the souvenir shop and purchased a Christmas gift for Craig's mother. We chatted with the women at the cash register, and I observed a hummingbird which was hanging around near some potted plants.

Now we were ready to explore Kuranda, known to its Indigenous owners as Ngunbay, the place of the platypus. Next to the SkyRail station was the train station, where we would board our scenic train later this afternoon. There was lovely landscaping in the areas near the SkyRail and train stations. The flowers are gorgeous in this rainforest climate.

We heard some scrabbling sounds in the undergrowth. This turned out to be the Australian brushturkey. These birds have black plumage, a red head, and a bright yellow wattle. They were turning over leaves in search of food.

We walked towards Kuranda Village. The walking path was flanked by benches made from railroad track steel, and some handrails on steps were also made from railroad implements. We passed the Kuranda Hotel, which had a wooden stagecoach on its roof. The town definitely leans into its frontier vibe. In the USA, the frontier is usually associated with the plains and deserts of the western states. Here, however, the frontier is a literal rainforest. I guess in reality, the frontier is where the gold is.

We saw an art gallery with cartoonish statues of an emu, a kangaroo, and a cassowary out front. We passed the Ngoonbi Co-operative Society, a social services agency whose charter is to "eliminate social disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to increase their participation within the community."

We passed a Great Northern Brewing Company distribution center. Craig was eager for a local beer, but this was not a bar. We would have to find someplace else to sample this Queensland brew.

We saw a sign on a newsagent for "Golden Casket." Its logo had a rainbow on it. We could not fathom what this could be. A cross between Golden Corral buffet and a funeral parlor? Upon further research, it is the Queensland lottery. Yet another example of that no-nonsense but somewhat dark Aussie humor...if you win the lottery you'll be rich enough to be buried in a golden casket. Brilliant!

As we approached the main village, we saw a sea of tourists. It seemed like the scenic train had just arrived and had unleashed all of its passengers onto town. We wanted to connect with nature here; we were after all in the rainforest.

Craig remembered seeing the riverwalk from our gondola, so we set out to locate it. We made a few wrong turns before we located a map. We backtracked to the train station and headed down to the Barron River.

There were signs indicating the various walking trails in the vicinity. Facing the river, we turned left, opting for a walk to the village via the river. It was quite peaceful, and there was hardly anyone here. The trail was easy to walk on, and frequently shaded. It afforded beautiful views of the river, and there were several picnic tables where one could relax and enjoy the environment.

As we walked, we kept watch for platypus activity in the riverbanks, but we did not see any. We saw some interesting leaves and paper-like bark on the ground that we wanted to check out. However, we were well aware that we were in Australia, where there may be snakes or spiders lying in wait beneath anything on the ground. Craig put his cane to use; poking and flipping these things over to make sure there were no creepy crawlies hidden beneath them.

We walked out onto a little concrete jetty to take in the views. We emerged at the Kennedy Highway bridge. We turned inland and crossed a set of train tracks. We saw a tree which had a hand painted sign on it which read "We Love Tall Trees."

We followed a small road until we saw a painted sign which read "Market Entrance." This led us to the small bohemian "Original Markets." These markets date back to the late 1960's and 1970's, when Kuranda became the location of a hippie commune. These markets retain the same vibe today. I posed with several Instagram-ready murals (bat wings, butterfly wings).

We walked through the market area (not all stalls were open as this is not yet high season) and then followed a road lined with impressive street art to get to the main road in Kuranda Village. One of the murals looked a lot like an Indigenous Ecuadorian woman!

By now we were hungry and wanted to find some lunch. We spotted Annabel's Take-away Pie Shop...yes please! We each got a meat pie and ate it at a table in an inner courtyard. Here we encountered other members of our group who were eating a variety of foods from different stalls. We loved the decor at Annabel's; there were four distinct cartoon murals by #ianshedleyart featuring anthropomorphic pies enjoying tourist activities in Kuranda. It was adorable!

We went into an opal showroom (no intention to buy, but wanted to see some of the gorgeous gems that are mined from Australia). We also went into a store staffed by an Indigenous woman where some fairly obscure Bob Dylan music was playing. I bought some Australia stickers to adorn my laptop.

We entered the tiny St. Saviour's Anglican Church. This adorable wooden church features many small stained glass windows as well as a baptismal font made from the shell of a giant clam. We really like all of the local touches in these small churches.

We still had some time to kill before catching our scenic train back down the mountain. Craig still wanted to try a local beer, so we stopped at the Windmill Cafe and he ordered a local Great Northern Brewing Company "Original." The cafe also had a variety of baked goods which looked quite yummy. We weren't all that hungry, having just had lunch, but we were tempted by a cinnamon sugar donut. The proprietor saw us eyeing it, and offered to make us a fresh hot one on the spot. He promised us that it would be the best donut we have ever tasted. How could we refuse an offer like that? He promptly went back into the kitchen and prepared a piping hot cinnamon sugar donut for us. We split it between us and it was reminiscent of the best fried dough we've ever had.

We walked back down toward the train station. We went back into the gift shop and I purchased a colorful piece of pottery.

We still had an hour before our train would depart. The river walk had been so nice that we decided to spend that hour in nature once again. This time we took a right when we got to the river. The trees along the trail provided shade, and the afternoon sunlight filtered through, dappling the path. We encountered Eric and Allison walking in the opposite direction. We laughed that with all the options of things to do, somehow the four of us always end up choosing the same things. And not for the last time!

We saw a river cruise boat sail by. We examined the shed bark of a paper bark tree, and we also saw a quandong tree. In a clearing, we could see the SkyRail gondolas passing above us, silhouetted against the blue sky. We emerged at a picturesque trestle bridge next to a small footbridge. It had taken us under half an hour to reach the bridge, and we knew that we had to turn around here to make it to the train on time. The walk was so peaceful; there were very few people on the trail, in contrast to the many tourists in the village above.

We retraced our steps back to the picturesque Kuranda Station, which dates back to 1915. We entered our antique carriage (#2) and took our assigned seats with the rest of the group. We all debriefed on the various activities that we had enjoyed in Kuranda. Some people had taken the river cruise, others had visited Bird World or the Koala Gardens. We hadn't even seen the latter two, as they are located within the Heritage Markets which we did not visit.

We were seated at a window, across from Allison and Eric. The staff came to each of us and asked with whom we were traveling. We were all a bit confused; saying that we were traveling as a group, G Adventures. But she was really getting at whether we were couples or singletons. They had some unoccupied window seats in other train cars, and would allow people to move if they wanted a better view. This was another perk of not traveling during the high season.

The train pulled out of Kuranda Station at 3:30 p.m. The railway is 128 years old. There was a need to get supplies to and from the gold mining communities in Herberton in the Atherton Tablelands, so a railway was planned to link Cairns to Kuranda. Construction began in Cairns in 1887, and reached Kuranda in 1891. 1500 men were employed by the project at the height of construction. My paternal grandfather worked as a track foreman for the Boston and Maine Railroad, so railroad history is of particular interest to us.

This supremely difficult feat of engineering had been accomplished at considerable cost to the Queensland Government treasury (more than £1 million) and in the lives of workers. The railway climbing the rugged terrain of the Barron Gorge required construction of 15 tunnels, 55 bridges and more than 150 cuttings. Hundreds of tons of rock and earth were excavated by men with shovels and wheelbarrows, aided by explosives. Some 32 men were killed in accidents during construction. That the line was completed at all is largely credited to the contractor John Robb, who together with the government engineers found a way to construct the railway despite the rugged and unstable terrain and the harsh tropical climate.

- BUILDING THE KURANDA RAILWAY : HISTORY IN PICTURES by Simon Miller

The train's views couldn't really compete with those from the gondola. Here you were literally unable to see the forest for the trees most of the time. And then there were the times that it was pitch black, as we passed through the 15 hand-hewn tunnels.

We stopped once, at Barron Falls, and disembarked to get photos of the gorge and waterfalls. The late afternoon sun was beautiful on the gorge and its surrounding greenery. There was a viewing platform where everyone was jockeying for position to get the best photo spot. I had become separated from Craig and didn't notice the platform. I had a nice view from where I was. Craig was with Eric and Allison atop the platform, from which they could see all the way to the bottom of the gorge.

We re-boarded the train and continued our journey. There were various sections of track where we, in the penultimate train car, could see the front of the train snaking ahead of us. We saw Mossman Gorge in the distance, and as we approached Cairns, we could see the coast.

As we reached flat coastal ground, the train proceeded along a large sweeping semi-circular section of track. Here we had a great view of the rest of train. The track is laid out this way so that the train can pick up speed when it is heading in the opposite direction, up the mountains of the McAlister Range.

At 5:00 p.m. we arrived at our destination: Freshwater Station. This was not the terminus, but it is where we would be catching a bus back to the hotel. You had to be on your game here, as they announced this over the loudspeaker. Craig, who had a hard time hearing any of the announcements, had missed it. Even as we exited, some people from our group were still seated, not realizing that they were supposed to disembark here.

Once we had everybody, we found the bus which would be going to the Pacific Hotel Cairns. Each bus serviced several hotels, but our bus got us back quickly.

We would have to get up VERY early tomorrow morning for our flight to Uluru, so we definitely wanted to get to bed early tonight. So as soon as we returned from Kuranda, we were ready to have dinner so that we could get back to the hotel.

Eric had highly recommended Hemingway's Brewery. We had seen one at the wharf in Port Douglas, but had not had a chance to eat there. It turns out that they have a sister restaurant in Cairns. Eric and Allison had eaten here last night. Eric told Craig that they have a vast selection of tasty local IPA's. Being allergic to beer, that wasn't a selling point for me, but he started speaking my language when he regaled us with stories of macaroni and cheese croquettes!

We hadn't seen the brewpub while exploring the city last night. They told us that it is located at the very start of the esplanade...that you can't miss it. We just hadn't walked that far in that direction. We walked to the waterfront and took a right. We passed two tugboats and a sculpture of sculpture of turtles.

We could then see the enormous Hemingway's Brewery Cairns Wharf building. Eric and Allison were right - there was no way you could miss it! There were outdoor tables with umbrellas, but we opted to enter the sprawling, cavernous warehouse and eat inside. We chose a table next to a barn door, and we enjoyed the nice fresh sea breeze. Our table had a view of the brewery equipment and a cute diagram of their brewing process.

It was still happy hour when we arrived, which meant that certain beers were cheaper. Craig intended to try several of their IPA's, and he sequenced them in such a way that he would start with the ones which were eligible for happy hour discounts. I enjoyed a Willie Smith's cider.

We took our first round back to the table and looked at the menu. By now, we were quite used to the way pubs operate here. When we had decided on our order, I took note of our table number and went up to the register to order.

We ordered the mac and cheese croquettes to share. Craig got a buttermilk chicken sandwich, and I had a lamb slider. It was all absolutely delicious!

We made several more trips to the bar. Over the course of our liesurely dinner, Craig enjoyed Doug's Courage IPA, Watson's IPA, West Coast IPA, and Punch and Juicy Hazy IPA.

Craig noticed that the guy at the next table had left his sunglasses behind on the table when he and his friend left. Craig had spoken to them briefly while I was at the bar, comparing beer notes. Craig then noticed that the guy was still here; he was just in the gift shop. Craig and one of the servers returned his glasses to him and he was quite grateful.

We checked out the gift shop ourselves. Craig was mesmerized by the cans in the refrigerators...they all look identical except for the color. Craig bought a T-shirt with a diagram of their brewing process.

With bellies full, we walked back to the hotel, packed our bags for our flight, and went to bed early. Our alarm clock had behaved a bit strangely this morning, so I set the alarm on my phone as a backup. We would need to leave the hotel at 4:30 a.m. Ugh!

Smithfield

Kuranda