crazyscot

Up not-quite-so-early today, for a pick-up just after 8am to ride on the Kuranda scenic railway, visit the village of Kuranda in the rainforest, and ride the Skyrail gondola back just above the canopy.



Sitting in some beautiful heritage carriages, the train hauled up the Barron Gorge to the Barron Falls for a photo stop, and then on to Kuranda.

It's a jungle train, and the Barron gorge is difficult terrain, featuring several horseshoe curves and many tunnels - all cut by hand.

I didn't take many photos from the train as it was difficult to get a good shot out of the window. Here are a couple from the lookout over the falls:


The village of Kuranda has a number of markets, but we were mostly in need of food and fluid by that point. It's true to say that water is life, and we sure felt it at times.

We mooched a bit, didn't buy anything, popped into the little fossils-and-gems museum, and by then it was time to head to the Skyrail (gondola) terminal.



I don't have much to say about the gondola ride; it was pretty, but I found myself a bit underwhelmed (possibly due to sensory overload?). There were two stations along the way: one with lookouts over the Barron Falls from the other side to the railway halt, the other at the apex of the route with a boardwalk to show off more of the jungle.



The return coach to the holiday park wiggled all over the place with countless other drop-offs. Round and round and round it went over the course of 1½ hours, passing one spot three times. I suppose that logistics are logistics, but they might at least have warned us!