Cairns, Australia Kuranda Tour 11/23/2025

 

My sister and I only got to stay one night in Cairns in 2022, so we didn't get to see much.  As usual, if the print is too small to read, click on the photo to enlarge. 

My excursion is the Jungle Train, Wildlife and Skyrail. This was something that was on my original plans for 2020 before Covid closed Australia down. My sister did the Cairns Aquarium. 

The marina straight north of the cruise port is the home of lots of water excursions. 

The building with the black roof is The Reef Hotel and Casino.  Over the top of the building to the left you can see the top of The Reef Eye Ferris Wheel.  On the waterfront to the left, the ship is approaching the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal. 

The Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal. 

The terminal is right in the heart of the city so you can walk to lots of places easily.  The aquarium is only 5 blocks away. 

We got off the ship right into a small park.

I was bummed I couldn't find any information on this park, let alone the sphere sculpture in it.  

Quite the chainsaw on top of this equipment store. 

I thought this was a thrift shop, but it is one of an Australian-wide chain of almost 400 stores selling new items.  I think it might be comparable to a General Dollar. 

Want to guess what kind of a business has a name like this?  It's a pub. 

Poinciana Trees in bloom.  On my last trip to Australia, it was told these were Flame trees, but their real name is Delonix Regia.  They aare also called peacock flower, royal poinciana, flamboyant, phoenix flower, and flame of the forest

I was on one of two buses from the Venus which dropped us off at the Kuranda Scenic Railroad.  Later posts will have more information on the railroad, its history and construction. 

Old rail cars contained the food shops in the terminal. 

We were each handed this pamphlet handily shaped like a fan.  What a great idea as the old rail cars are not air-conditioned. 

The following photos are up close shots of each section of this informative pamphlet.  It shows that the railway starts further into town at Cairns Station, but I got on at Freshwater Station. 

I could have walked 4 blocks from the cruise terminal to get to Cairns Station and would have gotten a better seat on the train.

Look to next post for reading. 

When I checked in at the station, I received my ticket, the pamphlet/fan and this bag. 

In the bag was a whistle, some macadamia nuts and an Anzac cookie. These chewy-crisp, buttery oatmeal-coconut cookies are native to Australia, where they had their origin back in World War I. Legend has it that wives and mothers would mail them to their soldiers in ANZAC (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) because, without eggs and being quite sturdy, they traveled and kept well.

My ticket.  Viking passengers were in Heritage Plus seating.  There are three classes: Heritage, Gold and Heritage Plus.  Gold has nice, individual, cushioned seat. Heritage is wooden bench seats.  I guess the Heritage Plus means we got the bag of goodies. Don't think they were worth the AUS$23 different in price.

Train arriving at Freshwater Station. 

Looking forward in my rail car.  

Starting our climb up the grade.

Along the way we traversed the Stoney Creek Bridge at Stoney Creek Falls.  The falls aren't much to look at this time of year. 

Stoney Creek Bridge

Our only stop on the way to Kuranda was Barron Falls. 

Not much to look at, are they?  Australia had just come through its winter when there is very little rainfall.  The rain comes during the summer from December to February. 

But when it rains a lot, the rocks can be completely covered in water.  Usually after a cyclone has dumped a large amount of rain.  In 2023 Cyclone Jasper dumped 1.5 meters (almost 5') of rain in this area.  That's when the rocks disappear. 

Train stopped at Barron Falls.

Just after this stop, we came to the place where two trains can pass.

After the stop, we continued up to Kuranda where we were hustled off to our bus (same one as before since it drove up), then driven to Rainforeststation Nature Park.  

A buffet lunch was waiting for us.  I have to say the cooks couldn't keep the food stocked and most of what I got wasn't up to the correct temperature.  But one of the refreshments offered was Mountain Dew.  Being a Dew addict, I was excited by that.  But I had forgotten that Mt Dew just doesn't taste the same in Australia as the USA.  What a disappointment. 

After lunch I wandered off to see the animals.  

They had koalas and this is what I expected to see.

Nope, it was midday, and time for a nap during the heat of the day. 

Fake eucalyptus trees that were stuffed with branches for the koalas. 

That looks like a mighty uncomfortable sleeping position. 

The wildest thing about the koalas how the tiny newborns get from the womb to the pouch. They crawl up the outside of the mother to find the pouch and the nipples within.  I saw a video of this and it's amazing. 

Click to enlarge for reading.

Do you see him?  He's huge. 

He's 17' long and 1,450 lbs. 

Scrub python

Keita was hiding in the bushes. 

After a look at the animals, we got back on the bus and headed back to Kuranda.  

There are a few things to do in Kuranda besides shopping.  I thought about going to the Butterfly Sanctuary, but I was too cheap to pay AUS$25 (US$16.50) to see the 230 species of butterflies.  I've been in a butterfly pavilion before.  

Wandering down the lanes of shops, I greeted a few of the locals.  At least I think he was a local. 

The next part of the adventure was a cable car trip down the mountain. 

I think you could get 6 kids in a cable car but usually there were 4 or less adults in each.

Off we go. 

Sorry the photos are so poor.  The reflection off the glass made for poor photo taking.

Crossing the Barron River. 

The cableway was originally installed with 47 gondolas. In 1997, the total number of gondolas increased to 114. In 2013, Skyrail modified and introduced 11 Diamond View glass floor gondolas.

First stop - Barron Falls.  There are two viewpoints at this stop. 

Nope the falls haven't gotten more impressive since the morning. 

A paved trail led to the second viewpoint. 

Nice overlook.... but what's that overhead?  

This sign is actually at the next stop on the cable way, but it fits so much better here. 

Think this building in the distance might be the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Plant. 

Think this tree might be a Bunya Pine. 

The cableway route is 7.5 km long (4.66 miles).

We are passing over a part of the Kuranda National Park, itself a part of the Kuranda State Forest. It contains over 1,500 endemic vascular plants, 29% of Australia's frog species, 60% of Australia's butterfly species, 40% of its bird species, and 30% of its mammal species.

Some areas with loud with the chirping of birds or the chorus of cicadas.

See the yellow arrow?

That's one of the many cableway towers I have traversed during the trip down the mountains. There are 32 towers in total, and the highest tower stands 133 feet high.

The second stop is Red Peak, Skyrail’s highest point at 1,788 feet above sea level.

Loved the informative signs along the boardwalk.

Coming out of the forest and dropping down to the SkyRail base station.  

Of course, you have to walk through the gift shop to exit. Saw this interesting seed pod.  It's from a Banksia, which is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants native to Australia. They are popular flowering plants easily recognized by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody seed pods.  Banksias range in size from shrubs to trees up to 100 ft tall.  

A flowering seed pod. 

Royal Australian Air Force Memorial along the Esplanade in the memory of the servicemen who flew Catalinas from Cairns in WW2, and who perished, never to return home.