… to Cairns, Australia and the Village of Kuranda!

Cairns is a city in far north Queensland located on indigenous Australian people’s tribal lands. The settlement formed to serve the miners heading to nearby gold fields during Australia’s gold rush in the 1870s; today it is mostly a destination for snorkelers and divers exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

We hopped on the Scenic Railway to Kuranda, a “Village in the Rainforest,” with lush scenery along the way, including a stop at the stunning Barron Falls.

   

A thousand feet above Cairns, Kuranda is the traditional home of the Tjapukai (jab a guy) people, who refer to the village as “Place of the Platypus.” Aboriginal settlements date back several thousand years, flourishing with plentiful local bush food and a permanent water supply. Kuranda had a re-awakening in the 1960s when it became a haven for hippies, who created a vibrant arts and crafts scene. We visited two large local markets, selling unique local crafts, including various unsavory kangaroo parts, kangaroo skin clothing, natural lotions and herbs, opals and pearls, and crocodile skin earrings, belts, and bracelets.

   

   

We grabbed a quick ice cream cone before boarding the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, for a 45 minute ride above the canopy of the World Heritage rainforest below. We saw huge trees, some topped with basket ferns, one koala clinging to a tree, several bright turquoise birds, and got an aerial view of the Barron Falls. We disembarked at one cable station, and took a short walk through the rainforest, coming upon a huge spider in its web.

   

We ran for the cable car when it started raining, and had a wet ride back to Cairns. We stayed in Cairns to take care of some errands – replace a watch battery and adjust a pair of glasses – and also stopped at the first bead shop we’ve seen on the trip. The Cairns Casino is home to the Cairns Wildlife Dome, a zoo featuring Australian birds and animals; we saw laughing kookaburras and frogmouths (both birds), koalas, crocodiles, and pythons. It was feeding time for the birds (who eat baby chicks - ewwwww!), and we each held a koala.

   

 

A quick walk back to the ship to get ready for another excursion – the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park at night for dinner and a show. The Park highlights aboriginal stories of creation through paintings, song, dance and performance of rituals such as fire-making.

   

It was a very long day, but at 10:30 we made the short trek from the ship to the 24 hour convenience store to stock up on chips and snacks before leaving Australia. We have our priorities! The ship looked beautiful when we returned. Good night, Amsterdam!