Cairns (pronounced Cans) home of the Great Barrier Reef and Tropical Rain Forest

It is always nice to wake up and see a city! Cairns looks much the same as it did when we visited here in 2019. On that trip, our bucket list item was to experience the Great Barrier Reef. This time we have decided to check out the rainforest jungle.  Of course that entails getting into a tiny bucket,slinging ourselves into the sky and taking a trip up 600 meters….Those of you who know me know how absolutely frightened of ski lifts and height I am…Well today with the help of friends, I attempted to overcome that fear.  We started our journey to the rainforest by taking the Sky Train  up to first look at a scenic platform.We are visiting the Barron Gorge National Park. The park began to form 400 million years ago under the sea.

We got into a car like this.  I was riddled with fear. But my car mates(Steven, Susan and Al ) assured me this was going to be fun..

This will forever be known as the “smile of fear”. Within seconds we were whisked up the mountainside.

Beginning views..they got better and better the higher we went! 

Our first stop at a viewing platform. We were already very high in the rainforest. What you are seeing is the tops of the vegetation.

Looking straight down at the top of the forest

Symbiotic ferns growing near the top of a rainforest tree

The top of the tree we are standing beside. I couldn’t get a picture of the very top!Now to board the sky train and head up to Barron Falls.  

Our first peek!

All I can say is WOW!

Watching this waterfall is worth every scared moment spent in the gondola of terror.

A view out of the gondola of the river that forms the Barron Falls. (Also proof I actually did ride this sky train)

When we reached the top of the mountain at a community named Kuranda. It was a collection of little stores, a hotel and a butterfly garden,Koala sanctuary and the local pub. 

A lovely shaded walk into the town

Along the walkway. What an interesting tree. 

What goes up must come down but lucky for me the ride down is on a scenic railway! The construction of the railway was an engineering feat of tremendous magnitude. It took 1500 men,removal of 2.3 million cubic meters of earth,15 hand carved tunnels,55 bridges and 98 curves to complete this railway from Kuranda to Cairns.  The lure of Gold was the pressure to find a way from the gold to the sea. This is a narrow gauge track. The heritage carriages were built in the 1900s until 1913. Each carriage is made from Silky Oak timber. There were 15 cars in all. 

See the inside of our carriage? All woo with a tin rood. The benches held 4 passengers. Steve and Susan were happy to model the carriage for us.

All the benches are on one side with the aisle

Along the windows. 

From the train we approached the waterfall from the opposite direction. 

Equally impressive!

We had mist off and on all day. 

This is a 180 degree turn complete with another

waterfall! The cars you see are the engine and the front carriages.

The view as we headed down out of the rainforest.

The Freshwater station. This was the first place you could get fresh water before heading up the Kuranda range.

All in all, today was great! The beauty of the rainforest and the amazing waterfalls overcame my fear of the ride. Well, not overcame, but did made it worth the feeling of impending doom. Since I love train rides, it was good to start the day with the biggest challenge and end the day with a delight. When we got back to Cairns, Al & Steve headed out to explore the city a little longer and Susan and I had a girls night out dinner where we enjoyed:

Oysters Rockefeller A great end to a great day!