Kuranda Scenic Railway

When thinking of Australia, the word rainforest does not normally come to mind.  Most people associate Australia with kangaroos, the dry deserty outback, beaches, surfing, and metropolitan Sydney.  Or perhaps the Great Barrier Reef.  We went to Queensland for a cruise on the Great Barrier Reef, but while there we took a couple side trips to the nearby rainforest, which Australia does indeed have.

Aaron waits for the train

At Freshwater station near Cairns we caught the Kuranda Scenic Railway train from a quaint museum-like  Station displaying artifacts of the railroad’s history.

Sheri talks to ghosts of the train station's past

The train snaked up the mountain.

Kuranda Scenic Railway

It went through a series of tunnels and past many waterfalls.

Waterfall view from train

Great views of the Cairns area along the way.

view

The ride ended at Kuranda, a town in the rainforest.

Kuranda. Australia

Kuranda presented a variety of places to shop and to eat, a park, and trails for rainforest hikes.  Several jewelery stores offered the ever-present Australian opals among their wares.

Australian opal bracelet

A rainforest tree is like a mini-ecosystem.  Many other plants live on it.

Aaron jailed in the rainforest tree

After spending some time and money in Kuranda, we headed to the Skyrail tram for the trip back down the mountain.