Now that I had made it back from Cape York in one piece I decided to do something I ran out of time to do before leaving Cairns – a trip up the Skyrail and back down the Kuranda Scenic Railway (KSR). I actually did this trip on the 27th of November but as I’ll mention later this was the day I ended up with what was probably food poisoning so my desire to write had wanned somewhat. I promise that after this I’ll be up to date…

The day started off pretty normal – a quick (one and a half hours – it’s all relative) run down to Cairns through the Kuranda range and I had arrived at Caravonica where  I would be boarding the Skyrail. After collecting my pass I waited for my lift to arrive. I had paid the extra for a “Diamond View” carriage – one with a see-through floor. This I would quickly find out had it’s advantages – my ticket also gave me access to shorter line-ups. I waited in line where I boarded with a lovely couple from Adelaide whom had taken a few weeks holiday. I wasn’t quite sure how I would deal with the height of the cable car but I had banked on being ok – thankfully I was as I would someday like to have a crack at Paragliding. Rambling again, time for some photos.

The horse I rode in on – or perhaps more modern, the road I rode in on..

Nice view

Our first stop at a rainforest “station” – these were brief stops along the way where you could hop off the cable car, wander around a short walking track through the rainforest before rejoining the cable car again.

I have no idea what these are called but they were nice to look at.

Barron Gorge with a shot of the hydro electric plant

I imagine the falls would be quite spectacular after heavy rain

Looking over the valley to the railway – the train was stopped at the time

Another rainforest station stop

This was used to transport goods and personnel

Next stop, Kuranda

This caught my eye – made of old rail line.

I had a few hours before catching my train – plenty of time to explore the tourist trap known as the Kuranda markets. Not much caught my eye aside from some nice Kangaroo leather hats.

German sausage for lunch – in retrospect I believe this is what may have caused me to become rather ill later in the night.

I swear I wasn’t looking for plane wreckages this time! It isn’t as it seems either – this fuselage ended up as a movie prop and eventually found it’s way here as a tourist attraction.

It wouldn’t be a proper post without a bush turkey…

Should I be worried that I am more interested in the Triumph than the markets?

Boat building. Building Boat. Boalding?

Train time!

Some history on the line for those interested

The carriages were quite nice and very roomy – if more trains were like this I’d use them more often!

We were warned to keep our hands inside at all times. I never was good at following instructions..

Back at the station