Friday, February 16, 2018, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, Cairns Panorama

Queensland’s seaside resort town, Cairns is the gateway to a rich array of natural beauty onshore and off.  Catamarans and other ships take marine lovers to the Great Barrier Reef; stretching 1,400 miles, it is the largest continuous coral reef system on Earth.  Inland, the wet tropics have given rise to Daintree and Kuranda National Parks, vast rainforest systems of biodiversity, and a profusion of birdlife.  For all its appeal to outdoor enthusiastic, Cairns thriving culture is a pleasure to absorb from outdoor cafes or along the scenic waterfront promenade. The city’s rich history lives on in its many heritage-listed buildings and memorials, many of them lining popular Abbott Street.

 Monument (don't know who to)

 Over 100-year old private high school.

 Captain James Cook.

 Fox bats in trees along divided street in town; a real menace.

Today we explored  Kuranda National Park's tropical rainforest and rich culture, exploring the forest and a local village. The park is home to extraordinary biodiversity and a rich profusion of wildlife.  

We spent time at a quaint Kuranda village, where we had lunch at a for-real German restaurant (cooks were from Germany - best German food we have eaten since or river cruise a year ago October), browsed craft markets, followed hiking trails and visited some of the village’s other points of interest. Later, we boarded the remarkable Skyrail, a cable car spanning about 4.5 miles over the pristine forest.  We enjoyed sweeping views of the surrounding countryside and mountain ranges and glimpse life in the treetops, disembarking at stations along the way to explore the forest at ground level. 

 Sugar cane we saw on way to train station.  There are many and large fields in this area.

We met our guide and headed to Kuranda via the breathtaking 75-minute Kuranda Scenic Railway, passing plummeting waterfalls and lush forests and traversing tunnels carved into mountainsides.  

 

 Train arriving to take us into the mountains.

 
 Water fall from across canyon after a horse-shoe bend.

 View looking on Coral Sea below.

Ten-minute stop overlook to view another waterfall.

 

 Skyway we will return to our bus below after getting off train and visiting Kuranda village.

Flower beds at train station.

The picturesque mountain retreat of Kuranda Village is a vibrant little town surrounded by World Heritage Rainforest.  

Large banyan tree.

 German restaurant we ate lunch at.  Great food; worth long trip to get there.

What's this??

Unknown flowers at top of trees.

 There are two mid-point stations we got off cars to explore.