This morning we decided it was time to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up to Kuranda. The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a name for the railway line that runs from Cairns to the nearby town of Kuranda. The tourist railway snakes its way up the Macalister Range and is no longer used for regular commuter services. It passes through the suburbs of Stratford, Freshwater (stopping at Freshwater Station) and Redlynch before reaching Kuranda. The railway was completed as far as Kuranda in 1891 to connect to the gold mines and ensure travel during the rainy season. Many lives were lost as numerous tunnels (15) and bridges were built. The cars used on the train are historical passenger cars with wood framing and high ceilings.
We drove over to the Freshwater Station to collect our tickets and catch the train. This place is called Freshwater because it was the first place where freshwater could be found after leaving Cairns (which had saltwater in the watertable). What is really nice is it is less than 5 minutes from our campsite. We plan to take the train up and return on the SkyRail (actually a tram) which means we would have to take a bus ride back to to the Freshwater Station to get the van. Since they offer a bus service for this reason it made sense to drive over to the station in the morning.
The station is like any old restored station with lots of museum pieces scattered around and a long covered platform. Of course it has been modernized to add all types of tourist traps and sales items around. I had hoped it would be an old steam train but alas it was a diesel engine with old fashion passenger cars behind.We left the station and travelled towards the Macalister Range passing by agricultural fields of sugar cane and through several residential areas until we started to climb up the mountain side along side Barron Gorge. The views as we climbed up the mountain side looking back were spectacular. The very nature of the terrain ensured that we would be turning sharp corners so we often had a view of the engine in one direction and/or the additional cars behind. What was surprising for us was that Wes and I had the entire car 2 to ourselves. Although there were lots of people on the train they were all in the back cars. We suspect that we sat in the ‘last minute’ car for ticket sales and there were not many last minute tickets sold.
Now back to the train ride. The windows on the cars are open and this is good because there is no air conditioning. The movement of the train created enough of a breeze so we were comfortable although still hot. We passed several working crews working on sections of the track and considering this is rainy season that is not a surprise. The track has been cut into the side of the mountain and snakes slowly up to the top above Barron Gorge passing Stoney Creek Falls.
Then shortly after we can see Bridal Veil Falls across the Gorge (notice Bridal falls seems to be a common name) but the distance was too great to get quality pictures of the falls. Finally we stop at Barron Falls for about 10 minutes so we can get off the train and take pictures. I have created a collage of some of the pictures I have taken of the falls today but also have pulled a picture of the falls during a flooding season to compare. The Barron River has been dammed for hydro electric plant and the water is controlled (diverted actually to the turbines) so the falls are not quite as spectacular as they once were.
After we left the Barron Falls we continued on up to Kuranda Station and the village. We are arriving about 10 am and it is hot here too, but because we are up in the mountains not as hot as in Cairns. I learned later that it was actually hotter but not as humid. We are going to walk around the village and look at our options. This includes activities such as exploring the Kuranda Rainforest, taking a boat cruise on the river, a study of aboriginal culture and arts, a walk through the Koala Gardens, visiting the Birdworld or spend time in the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. In addition there are several blocks of shops selling everything you can imagine from art to candy.
We decided to go spend our time at the butterfly sanctuary. WOW is all I can say. The enclosure is very warm and humid but the butterflies are in an aviary that is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest butterfly flight aviary in the world at this time. The Sanctuary itself encompasses 7 acres. Some 3 acres are under cultivation with butterfly food plants while the remaining 4 acres is preserved as a natural rainforest habitat of Australia’s tropical butterflies. As it turns out there are about 2000 butterflies raised in the ‘nursery’ each month to ensure a healthy population.
We enjoyed a short guided walk and talk from one of the employees who explained the operations and showed us around.
After I had finished snapping pictures in the sanctuary (and that was not easy since butterflies tend not to sit still very long and if they do sit to rest they lift their wings up so you can not see the color and patterns) I went to the ‘museum’ and was able to take more pictures of the dead butterflies on display. Australia has about 382 different butterflies (and there are estimated to be about 20,000 species in the world). On display in the museum was an example of every one of Australia’s species. I took only a few pictures.
We left feeling amazed at the brilliant colors and energy of the butterflies. Of course we are tired and hot and hungry so we sat under a tree and ate our sandwiches. Then we went and purchased Mango Smoothies….hmmmmm so good! This was our treat for the day.
We went for a walk along the Barron River but it is a huge muddy mess right now with all the rain that has been happening in the hills. So we only walked about ¾ km before turning back and finding the Skyrail to ride back down to Cairns. The Skyrail has two stops on the way down which gave us a chance to see Barron Falls from the opposite side of the Gorge. This was definitely the better side.
The second stop is the rainforest boardwalk at the top of Red Peak. This is a short self-guided boardwalk through a section of rainforest at the peak. We both commented that it is hard to know you are at the top of a mountain when all you can see is rainforest around you. On the way down on the tram we were floating above the upper canopy of the rainforest.
As we descended to the base of the tram
we noted a large man made lake and watched what looked like water skiers. We could not figure out what it was about since there were no boats or kites being used to pull the skiers around. So when we got down we walked over to have a closer look and it is called Cable Skiing. Around the edge of the ‘lake’ is a cable that has hooks on it and the skiers are attached and pulled. It looked like lots of fun but I do wonder if it would become boring quickly. After we took a couple of pictures it was time to catch the bus and head back to the van.
We are rapidly completing all the activities we had planned to do in Cairns so tomorrow will be interesting as we explore other possibilities. Here is a flower I found close to Barron Falls.
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