Kuranda

A pot of goulash is on the stove. Nicholas and Ryan are adding to the fire they’ve been working on for much of the afternoon. Marilyn is organising the boxes of food and other stuff that are sustaining us for 3 months. And I am sitting, partly reading, and partly just watching. A couple of brush turkeys make their way around empty campsites in this little caravan park in the rainforest region of Kuranda, looking for any small crumbs the humans may have left behind.

We drove into Cairns three days ago, spent a couple of hours in the city and then decided we needed to find somewhere more rural to camp. The nearest bit of forest (actually Barron Gorge National Park – a World Heritage “wet tropics” area) was to be found in Kuranda. Our schedule had been to stay two nights in Cairns. We are approaching the evening of our fourth night in Kuranda.

Interesting town this one. Made up of three markets (“Heritage”, “Original” and “New”) and assorted other tourists shops, wildlife parks and food/coffee houses, most of Kuranda opens at about 9.30, just before the first tourist railway completes its steep journey up the mountain, and closes at about 3 as the tourists depart. Like “Groundhog Day”, the town just goes through the same routine each day, albeit for a different group of tourists. Marilyn and I have taken to walking into town each morning (through the forest, along the railway track, and up the steps next to the bridge that crosses the Barron River). We find a different coffee shop each day, have a drink and wander back. There’s something about being in the town when only the locals are present.

Having said that, on Monday the Skyrail (the gondolas that also transport people up and down the mountain) was closed for maintenance and the tourists were few and far between. Yesterday we ventured out to a coral island and spent the day snorkelling in the Barrier Reef – a truly magical experience. Today we were back in town again, visiting wildlife parks. Nicholas and Ryan elected to go to the “Venom House”, whilst I accompanied Jackson to “Birdworld”. We then spent the afternoon back at camp for some valuable “down time” before we head further south via a return trip to the spectacular Atherton Tablelands.

This area around and north of Cairns, with its unbeatable combination of rainforests, mountains, pristine beaches and reef, have perhaps become the part of Australia we are most determined to come back to. Incorporating three World Heritage Areas (Great Barrier Reef, The Daintree and the Wet Tropics), each day has been filled with spectacular vistas and lots of interesting places to visit. As a person who enjoys good food, the variety of foods ranging from fresh fruit, coffee, nuts, dairy and boutique wineries are an added attraction. So an intended two nights in Cairns quickly became four in Kuranda, and we would have been happy to stay for longer. Instead we’ll just look forward to coming back another time...