Kuranda – Jan 18

Sorry this is out of order. Internet access is suprisingly hard to come by in Melbourne.

Thursday (Jan 18) we set out for Kuranda, a small tourist trap of a town atop a rainforest just outside Cairnes. The most interesting thing about Kuanda is the way you get to the town. While there is a winding road that will get you there, we chose to take the more scenic and adventurous route.

Skyrail is a 45 minute ride above the canopy of the rainforest. It was completed in the mid-90’s and was built using hand tools and helicopters to minimize the impact to the environment. Along the way there were several opportunities for us to disembark our cable cars and walk the raised deck platforms to see the rainforest from the ground level. The most impressive sight of the day was Barron Falls.

Following our Skyrail venture and Barron Falls we arrived in Kuranda. There is vender after vender selling Aboriginal art, boomerangs, t-shirts, ice cream, and opals. After some shopping and a quick lunch at one of the many cafes we met up for our departure down the gorge.

The train ride from Kuranda back to Cairns is spectacular. The cars that visitors ride in are 80-100+ years old. This cranky old technology screeches and moans as it descends down the steep tracks at about 20 mph. Along the way we heard stories about how the rail line was constructed using hand tools, dynamite, and some horse drawn implements. We also had some outstanding picture taking opportunities.

Wednesday (Jan 19) was a travel day. All students, busses, and flights were on time and we arrived safely in Melbourne about 5pm local time. Students used the evening to explore the city a bit and grab some dinner.

Eric and I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend who used to work with us at Elon and now lives a wonderfully nomadic life wondering Australia and New Zealand. She just happened to be in Melbourne this week and we had a wonderful dinner in Little Italy.