Kuranda

Kuranda, about 30km north-west of Cairns, sells itself as the Village in the Rainforest, a statement that is undeniably true. Beyond that, there isn’t much to say about the place – it’s full of crafty, arty shops reflecting its main industry of tourism.

To get there, we took the Kuranda Scenic Railway. The railway is part of the normal Queensland Railway network and was originally built to provide access to the goldfields on the high table land above Cairns. Nowadays, its main traffic is the twice-daily return trip for tourists.

The contract for the most difficult section of the line was awarded to John Robb in 1887, and the line opened in 1891 - a remarkable feat considering the obstacles that had to be overcome.

The journey, for us, started at Freshwater Station near Cairns.

Once aboard, we settled into comfy arm chairs ready for departure

Quickly, the line begins to rise and wind its way up the mountains - often doubling back on itself

Perhaps the most impressive part of the line is where it crosses Stoney Creek

Just on the other side of the train, the creek forms spectacular waterfalls as it runs down the cliff face

The bridge itself is not the original, which proved not to be up to the local conditions. It's probably the most photographed railway bridge in Australia, though.

The view down the gorge to the sea is also amazing.

The only stop between Freshwater and Kurana is at Baron Falls

Which, as the name suggests, overlooks a waterfall on the River Baron

The falls used to be much more spectacular before a dam was built just upstream to provide hydro-electric power and irrigation water.

From the station, we caught our first glimpse of our homeward transport about half way along the horizon:

Soon we were on our way again and, after an hour and a half or so, we arrived in the beautifully kept station at Kuranda.

After a visit to the (still working) signal box:

We popped across the road to the Kuranda Hotel for a cup of coffee, where we noticed this, not to be missed, offer:

As well as the touristy shops, Kuranda also boasts the Koala Gardens. Now, it's well known that koalas are almost as cute as cats, so this was a must-do stop on the itinerary. As well as koalas, they have other cute creatures, such as wombats:

and wallabies and kangaroos

Of course, this being Australia, there are less cute creatures such as freshwater crocodiles. They're smaller than their saltwater cousins, but still unpleasant

But it was the koalas we'd come to see

As well as just looking at the koalas, there is the opportunity to get up close and personal with one. This is Hogan:

(Hogan is on the right)

After a bite to eat, we made our way back towards the station where it was time to board our return journey - the Kuranda SkyRail:

SkyRail is a 7.5km long gondola ride that takes you through the tree tops of the rainforest, sweeping across rivers and gorges.

On the way, we passed the Baron Falls again - in time to see the train on its way back down to Cairns.

Looking down into the gorge:

Skyrail also have a station in the area and, from there, we could see the dam - near the top of this picture:

At the next stop on the gondola, we joined a ranger-guided walk. It's always more interesting when someone who knows what they're talking about points things out to you. We learned, for example, of the Strangler Fig:

So named because it wraps itself around its host, eventually killing the host tree. If that happens too quickly, it's likely that the fig itself will also die as it won't be strong enough to support itself.

We also saw some Kauri Pine - a great wood for building with which almost led to the extinction of the species. Even now, there are very few mature specimens anywhere in the forest. This one:

was about 1 metre across, but a really good example could be double that. Notice that there aren't any creepers or even any moss growing on the Kauri. It manages this by having flaky bark that peels off if anything tries to stick to it.

Then it was back onto the gondola for the final segment back down to Cairns.