We used two very different modes of transportation for today's adventure. Our destination was Kuranda, a mountain town that is known for its markets. The trips to and from, though, were the real highlights of the day.
We traveled the 21 mile trip to Kuranda on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. It is a narrow gauge railroad built to make travel to a gold mining region much easier in the 1880's. We had one brief stop at the Barron Gorge, to take a few photos. The air was clear and a very pleasant temperature as we rose up the 1,076ft ascent. The staff were extraordinarily pleasant, coming through the cars at one point to take photos of passengers with their own cameras.
In Kuranda, we had hoped to be able to walk through the rainforest a bit It didn't work out as planned, in part because we were not persistent in finding the trails, and in part because the boys got interested (and eventually we did too) in souvenir shopping. Three of us had meat pies for lunch--my first ever, although it seems like I have been reading books in which the characters eat meat pies, for as long as I can remember. JR ate two-- steak & bacon, and kangaroo. He feels a great deal of remorse over this last one, especially when he remember our day at Lone Pine. I actually thought he had the right sense of adventure! Kangaroo, emu, and crocodile meat haven't been hard to find on menus.
Alan made friends with all the pet dingos in town--or at least the three of them that he was able to find. Today was also characterized by Alan reading--all day. He read on the train, and he found benches in Kuranda to sit and read, while other family members shopped. We finally stopped for tea late in the afternoon and let him finish the last few pages of The Lightening Thief, without having to move. He had even brought the sequel with him for the day, and started that on the bus transfer back to the hotel. He passed the first book along to his brother, so they were both readers on that last leg of the trip.
To descend back to sea level from Kuranda, we took the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, and at least for Mark and me, this was the highlight of the day. The cableway is high! It spans the 4.5miles from Kuranda down to its station a few miles away from Cairns city center. We had a spectacular view of the rainforest from the unique vantage point of above the canopy. There are two stops for look-out and a guided tour of the rainforest. The dominant tree is the Kauri pine, although many of the largest were struck for timber in the last century. The Kauri is interesting because although it is a pine, and therefore a conifer, it has broad leaves. Needles would not give such a large plant enough surface area to photosynthesize in the dark rainforest, so the broad leaves are an adaptation for increased light capture.
We had a so-so dinner at a trendy seafood restaurant. The strange feature was that they showed silent fishing film footage in the dining room. It was a bit unappealing to be waiting for a fish meal and watching a monitor show bloody fish being hauled out of the water, or fish swimming into underwater traps. Alan had steak, and there were no movies about feedlots. A local patron stopped by our table, cheerfully complimented the boys on their patience, described herself as the mother of three young adult sons, and suggested a particular meat & potatoes place in town for tomorrow. As much as Mark and I have been enjoying the seafood, we may take her advice!
For photos today, I am trying to upload to Animoto. It is taking a really long time, and I need sleep. So, I am posting text now, and will finish up photos in the morning.
Morning postscript: It literally took all night to make the Animoto. I got up around 4:30am to check on it, finish and then let it render while I went back to sleep. Saw a typo at the end and this will have to stay since I don't have all day to fix it! Other than that, I am pleased with the result, so I hope you enjoy.
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