Flying Above the Rainforest

Becky's turn - Actually, I've relied on Dave to do all the writing for the past week. He's a good writer (don't you agree?) and I'm lazy, so it works well for me :).

It's Tuesday, 7/9, and we're back at Cheryl and Bob's and enjoying a couple of quiet days before we take off for the coast on Friday. It's so relaxing here looking at the trees and pasture out the big windows. Tonight we're going to friends (the Ransley's) for dinner. It will be nice to meet the rest of the family after hearing about them for the past 30+ years.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. On our last day in Cairns, we left the resort after breakfast and drove a few minutes south back towards the city. We boarded the Skyrail, a gondola that took us up the side of the mountain and over the rainforest again. It was so beautiful looking back toward the coast and Great Barrier Reef and down at the dense vegetation and it's myriad shades of green. The ride - about 45 minutes each way took us up and through Barron Gorge National Park and the massive Barron Falls. Since it's winter and the dry part of the year, the falls were a mere trickle compared to what they would be during the summer months, but still impressive and beautiful.

At two points along the way, there are stops where one can get off and enjoy a boardwalk through the rainforest. At the first stop we were fortunate to get in on a brief ranger-led walk. He shared interesting information about the trees and plants at which we were looking. At the next stop we walked to a lookout and down at the expanse of the falls. There is a power plant at the bottom of the gorge and it was interesting to read about the building of the dam and facilities. Long before there were helicopters to deliver heavy pieces of machinery to the workmen, they were transporting themselves and their equipment up and down the steep slopes on open cable "cars". I wonder how many today would have the perseverance that our ancestors had in forging this and our nation's infrastructure.

We crested the summit of the mountains and down to the village of Kuranda. This is a good-sized town at the beginnings of the Atherton Tablelands, a fertile area between the mountains and the desert of the interior. The village is beautiful and full of shops for the thousands of tourists who visit it via the Skyrail and the train, which also winds its way up the mountains. We spent several hours poking around the shops and having lunch (meat pies again - yum) and ice cream before we headed back down the mountains on the return trip. We visited two wonderful aboriginal art galleries, looked at lots of beautiful opal jewelry, and a shop with lovely turned wood items owned by a local woodworker. We saw gorgeous purses and belts, etc, made of kangaroo and croc leather. The challenge was to keep one's wallet in the pocket!

The trip back down the mountain was equally beautiful and full of laughter as the five (Becky was with us, of course) of us enjoyed each other and the views. We had time to kill before we needed to be at the airport for our 7:00 PM flight, so we stopped at a local beach a few minutes away. It was warm and lovely with tropical palms lining it, but the warning signs to stay back from the surf because of the possible presence of saltwater crocodiles was enough to keep us from sticking our feet in the warm water. The bad news: saltwater crocs are very aggressive. The good news: freshwater crocs are not so much. The worse news: either is at home in the other's water!

We got back to Sydney and finally home about 12:30 AM. The 4 deg. C (about 38 F) was a bit of a shock after the warm and humid beach of Queensland, but we slept well under the comforter and without the air conditioner and fan we'd had the previous three nights.
 
I am so glad we included this four-day trip in our itinerary. The warm breezes and palms of the tropics, along with absolutely unique experiences of the reef and rainforests will stay with us for a long time.

The rainforest canopy from the Skyrail at Barron Gorge National Park.

A large basket fern growing in a tree. 
Sometimes the nest for young birds, these ferns might also be a resting place for young pythons.  Approach with caution!

Wild turkey in the rainforest... very skittish.

Barron Falls and dam.  Imagine this totally covered in the raging waters of spring runoff!

More rainforest canopy seen from the Skyrail.  I've got a good half-hour of video of the ride... magnificent.

Descending to the coastal valley near Cairns, Queensland, barely seen in the middle-right distance.