Rain!!!! What? Its the dry season. Well I guess all things are relative.
Rain pelting down on the tin roof woke us up in our salubrious motel in downtown Cairns (we had to have a come down from Thala Beach - but it was clean, tidy and full of character (and waterproof) - it was all we needed before a full on day.)
This being the dry season, the rain didn't last. Pretty soon we were treated to some blue sky and a very nice temperature up in the mountains.
The morning saw us set off for the Kuranda Scenic Railway. started in 1886, and completed in 1891, it is a considerable feat of engineering - rising abut 320 metres in 37km, with 15 tunnels, 106 cuttings and 55 bridges... Something like 1500 men working on it at any one time, from England, Ireland Italy and China. And why? There's gold in them there hills! What else!
I could bore you with more facts, but Nareesa will just call me a boy. https://www.ksr.com.au if anyone is interested. Beautiful trip up the mountain (did I mention the waterfalls?), lunch in the pretty village of Kuranda (were else would you find a Scottish shop! Irn Bru anyone?)
and then back down again on the somewhat more modern SkyRail
- a cable car which takes you above the rain forest, for a perspective not easily seen - green ant's nests, ulysses butterflies, kingfishers - and someone claimed a tree kangaroo (but we didn't see it).
All in all a pretty magical day - they just keep coming!
We are back in Cairns tonight, have just feasted on Thai red curry (didn't quite make it in to my top 5 - but it was good!), and Singha beer. Followed by a walk along the Esplanade in the warm evening atmosphere (it stopped raining the moment we got up). So a pretty good night too!
More pictures on the "Kuranda" page under Gallery Australia.