Skyrail in the Rainforest and Kuranda Railroad - Cairns

Another day, another tour. Today we set out for the Rainforest Skyrail Cableway and Kuranda Railway. Once again, Andrew drove us to the resort to catch our shuttle, but then ran back home to transport all of the others to the airport. We will be the only guests for the rest of our stay.

The shuttle arrived promptly with a family of five on it and within twenty minutes had us at the boarding station for the Rainforest Skyrail. We had tickets for 10:15, but arrived at 9:50 and thought we had to wait it out. However, there was no one waiting in line, so they let us on early. We had a whole gondola to ourselves. The Skyrail Cableway is 7.5 km (4.66 miles). It glides just above the rainforest canopy; each tower was put in by helicopter so as not to disturb the environment. Swiss engineers were called in to design the system, which was completed in 1995 after one year of construction. Tower six is the tallest at 40.5 meters or 133 feet. There are 114 gondolas.

After boarding it took about fifteen minutes to reach the Red Peak station, the highest point on the cableway at 545 meters or 1,788 feet high, where you get out and explore the rainforest at this point along boardwalks. Umbrellas are provided for those who did not think to bring one. A guide met us and offered us a free walking tour as he pointed out a number of trees and facts about them and this area of the rainforest in general. He was quite impressive with his knowledge. After he completed his tour, we were free to roam the area before boarding another gondola to the next section.

In another fifteen minutes of hovering over this incredible site of millions of trees and plants, we arrived at the Barron Falls Station where again we were able to walk around a boardwalk to see and read about various plants and trees. At this station is the Rainforest Interpretation Center where there are a number of displays on the rainforest and its inhabitants both animal and vegetative. We learned that Australia's rainforests are the oldest continually surviving rainforests one earth, dating back 120 million years. This rainforest occupies 900,000 hectares. Australia's rainforests have 2,800 plant species, of which 380 are considered threatened. Seven hundred of them are not found anywhere else in the world.

Also calling the rainforest home is the Southern Carrowary, the largest flightless bird of Australia, two types of tree kangaroos, the primitive Musky Rat kangaroo, the largest butterfly of the continent, the Cairns Birdwing. There are three lookouts that provide a great view of Barron Gorge and Falls. We spent a good deal of time wandering here, before boarding another gondola for the balance of the journey.

At the end, we disembarked in the village of Kuranda. Very touristy, it is souvenir shops and restaurants galore. We had train tickets for the railroad going back down at 3:30, the last train of the day. There are only two of them and the earlier one is at 2:00. We went to the butterfly sanctuary to spend some time. We hesitated at the $16.00 entry fee per person, but once in, realized it was well worth the money. There are over 2,000 butterflies of various species at any given time. After ten minutes in we were offered a free guided tour. Our guide explained the details of half a dozen different breeds of butterflies, their life stages, their sex life, colorations, and so on. The amount of information was incredible, but the beauty of the Ulysses butterfly with its vibrant blue wings outshone anything she had to say. Two of them landed on her chest. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a Ulysses butterfly on it. There is also a large green species that I cannot recall the name of that was an incredible emerald green. At the end of the tour in the butterfly area, she took us into the museum to show us butterflies of the world. Mother nature is quite the artist. Some had wings that when opened looked like snake heads to thwart their enemies.

We really ran through the village concerned about missing the train, but actually arrived with almost three quarters of an hour to spare. With assigned seats on the railway, we boarded. The seating is cushioned bench type seating with four seats across from four seats across. We were on the end with the aisle, not providing the best views. No air conditioning made it hot and steamy, so everyone opened every window in the car, but as the female conductor came through, she closed them all again. The ride is twenty-one miles long, but takes one hour and forty-five minutes to complete. It is considered one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world and would be if we had seats that did not look out on rock sidings. We passed through Barron Gorge National Park passing gorges and waterfalls on the way. It rises to a height of 1,076 feet and makes its way through fifteen tunnels before concluding the trip. It was built by hand in the late 1880s taking five years to complete through the work of 1, 500 men working on the construction. The steam engine was retired two years ago along with some of the romance of the trip.

We took it all the way to Cairns where we thought we would have dinner and avoid another take-out menu dinner. The rain was coming in sheets here too, so we tried staying under awnings as much as possible. As we walked, we noticed the sky was littered with the bats we saw hanging from the trees on our last time here. At dusk they were flying the friendly skies looking for their meals. At times, sections of the sky were black with bats.

Not being able to decide where to eat, we wandered into one of the street markets. In the back was a food court, so Ron had fish and chips and I had Chinese. We had fifteen minutes to catch our bus, so we ran for it otherwise the next one would not be for another hour.

After fifteen minutes on the bus, the driver pulled over and told us he was letting all of us out in the rain. We had to board the bus behind him. The back bus took a different route than we were used to and for a few minutes we thought we were in trouble. When Ron asked the driver, he explained he was a local route, not an express, so there would be more stops. Trying to find our stop in the dark is challenging, but each driver has been patient enough to drive slowly when we think it is approaching.

By the evening now, it is pouring rain in buckets, but still that pool is calling out to us and the water is warm. It would be rude to decline such a gracious offer.

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Village Culture Walk

The cacophony of birds woke us up in the morning long before the alarm clock. It was like a switch had been flipped on and the orchestra started. We had to dodge wasps in the shower so early morning and late at night were the best times. They seem otherwise occupied from dusk to dawn.

There are three Ridgeback dogs in the camp; they are extremely friendly and want lots of attention. They nearly knock you down begging to be petted. As much as I would have loved to love them, their flea problem was out of control and kept me at arm’s length.

This morning, as soon as I came to sit outside our cottage, the male and female both had their heads in my lap. Minutes later, a puppy appeared from under the bushes, but the male adult kept him in place. When I tried coaxing him out, he just scrambled farther into the shrub.

The one thing we all appreciate about this lodge is the food. It is excellent. Breakfast was again wonderful with eggs, sausage, and toast made from some great bread. This was an excellent preparation for our trip into the town to meet the locals.

We were to drive into town on the truck that brought us from the airstrip, but as luck would have it, it had a flat tire or a puncture as the Brits say. Bruce told us that if we walked, the truck would be available to pick us up and it was ‘only’ 2 km. We should have known better about his ‘only’ messages, but we set our walking with a guide leading the way.

Omo and Jean are speed walkers and I kept up the pace. I was hoping this would work out the problem in my leg. This put us far ahead of the group and eventually as far ahead of the guide. When we reached a fork in the road, we turned to yell back which way and then kept going. The first stop for our ‘tour’ was the police station. The village is called Seronga and is said to be a typical village in Botswana. Residents live in typical housing, similar to our cottages in the camp. Up to forty ‘houses’ share a communal tap for water and there is no electricity. There are less than 2,000 people in this village, making the large police station seem redundant.

We walked down to the small pier where we would depart from tomorrow via speed boats. Then we went to the inner village stopping at the school on the way. They have a large sign proclaiming their mission statement with the slogan “Knowledge is Power”. This was very affirming, indeed.

Further, into the village, we stopped at a grocery store, which was surprisingly well stocked, though there were no fresh meats or vegetables available. On the same road, there was a little tin hut where a barber applied his trade while also being the CD music store as well. The beauty of the people was astonishing. Many of the younger women had model quality faces. The children were equally as handsome, but none would allow their picture to be taken when asked.

When we stopped at a “take away” restaurant, a woman had blankets set out selling clothes and shoes. Her English was excellent and some of us spoke to her for a while. She told the others that most of the village was Christians. I am not certain how it came up, but she mentioned that they did not have to wear black any longer when someone died due to this. The locals seemed to be entertained by our group, huddling to gossip and laugh as they stared in our direction.

One of our walk stops was at the clinic. Three doctors come there a couple of times a week to treat people. They have an infirmary with some beds; the guide thought it was six. Serious matters are transported to Maun for treatment.

There are no sidewalks in this village, no paved roads, and a significant absence of vehicles. We saw donkeys and ox pulling carts. We went to a bakery that had a sign claiming fresh bread and donuts, but when we entered, there were empty shelves. They would have to bake it while we waited if we wanted anything.

After doing a thorough tour of this small village, we were ready to return to the camp. The guide was walking us in that direction, but we were waiting for the truck to come into view. When we questioned it, he said that he had been trying to call, but no one was picking up the phone. As it turned out, we had to hike back again, hot and cranky.

We had an hour and a half rest time before lunch was ready. I had had an idea of making a sign on a plastic bag stating “WE MISS YOU RASMUSSONS” and have a picture taken with the group. Then a second sign would say “WE MISS YOU DIRK AND HARM” and again get a picture. Ron had spotted a blackboard at the lodge, so when I mentioned it to others, Vicky found some chalk and she made the sign.

We appreciated the diversion of meals more than needing them from hunger. Our down time was not too restful due to the heat and wasps that were in all of the cottages. In the main lodge dining room, there were four sofas, but they were cheaply made and not the most comfortable seats for resting.

At 3:30, there was a visit to the “Basket Lady”, a local woman who weaves baskets in the traditional way. Ron and I bowed out of going, and continued to try to find some relaxing position where flies and wasps dared to fly.

Some of the group had planned a fishing trip and would continue on after the “Basket Lady” and the rest would return. Dinner was served at 7:30, but the fishing group still had not returned making Bruce a little concerned. For being summer, it does get dark by 8:00 pm and dinner is by candlelight. The group finally arrived after we had finished dinner, not having caught anything, but they did have an enjoyable time.

After dinner, the local woman wanted to treat us to singing and dancing. After they did two songs, both of which and all that followed sounded identical to all of our untrained ears, they insisted that the group sing to them. While we were trying to decide on a song that all of us would know regardless of our language, Rob came up with singing “Happy Birthday” to me since my birthday is tomorrow. They did so, but then the head dancer dragged me up and put a dancing costume on me and cajoled me into dancing with them. The skirt was similar to a Hawaiian hula skirt, but instead of straw, it was long threaded seed pods, making it rather heavy. This photo is from Germine and that is me on the left. When she finally released me, she then dragged each and every member of our group up to dance.

Her next idea was to have each group sing a song from their own country in their native language. It was quite a festive time, but in reality, we entertained them and ourselves more than they provided entertainment for us. Perhaps this is how they make their lives more bearable, but getting the tourists to make fools of themselves.

Ron and I went to bed, but Omo and Jean arrived later with a staff member in tow. He was the great rat hunter who was supposed to rid their room of rats and other creatures that they did not want to share the room with this night. Being a local, he was used to the creatures of the area and was totally ineffectual, but most likely came just to make them happy knowing he would do nothing once he arrived.

It was an exhausting day, but we will be more than excited about leaving here.

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