Time to finish my tale of my adventures in Cairns, Australia. Since my last post, I managed to find the trip itinerary that Jann (our guide) gave the group so my narrative should be more accurate. The picture to the left is a picture of the train we took from Cairns to Kuranda. The cars were old fashioned cars with benches in them for seats. In the following pictures, you'll get to see some of the beautiful scenery the group got to see on the trip to Kuranda. Kuranda for your information was the main town that raw materials were taken to from further inland. The materials such as gold, lumber, hides, etc. was then put on the train to Cairns where it might be shipped out to other places in Australia and abroad. Kuranda is now something of a tourist town. They have a butterfly farm where you can see a number of beautiful butterflies. They also have a number of craft and souvenir shops. The other thing I remember of note was a very pretty Aussie girl who was selling sausages here. I bought one (it was all right) but the main thing I enjoyed was the sight of her. I didn't try to chat her up because I didn't see any point in it. I was only going to be in Kuranda 90 minutes or so and never expected to return. 90 minutes is not enough time to properly get to know someone so I let it go but, I do remember the girl from Kuranda.
Above are pictures of two waterfalls. The one on the left is a small one the train passed by. The one on the right is a massive waterfall that sadly has hardly any water going over it. Where did the water go? It was diverted and sent underground to power a turbine to generate electricity. Further down the river, the water is sent back into the river and continues along it's way. Supposedly when it rains really heavily, you can see the large waterfall in all its glory. It's said to be very impressive.
The picture on the left is me with my Aussie hat on and Harvey. The picture on the right is our absolutely fantastic tour guide Jann Elphinstone. The picture doesn't do this wonderful lady justice. She was an absolute marvel. She managed repeatedly to get 19 people and herself through a number of airports without losing their luggage or them. She managed to see off every member of the group on whatever optional tours they signed up, even at the most ungodly of hours. And lastly, to the envy of any woman, she managed to look fashionable no matter what time of day or night it was and on very little sleep at times. There is no question that this wonderful woman made my tour of Australia an absolute delight. Later, when I got to visit Auckland, I and others who went on the Auckland add-on tour missed her greatly. We didn't know it but, we had been spoiled rotten by her and had a rough time coming back to earth afterwards. This July, when me and Harvey went to New York City, we missed her again. We had to find our own transportation to the hotel, had to find where to board the Grayline bus tour of NYC, and had to find the theater where we saw "The Producers." If she had been there, all those things would've been taken care of. If you can take a tour with this wonderful woman, by all means do so. You won't regret it.
After getting up to Kuranda, we had to get back down. There were three ways you could do that. You could either a bus or the train back or you could take the Skyrail. What the Skyrail is are cars that ride along cables that hang from very high towers above the rainforest. At times, you are 130 feet above the ground. It's an awesome way to see the rainforest outside Cairns. At the end of the ride, whether you want it or not, you get your picture taken. They later offer that picture for sale. By this time, I was getting totally tired of having every dang restaurant and boat we rode on take my picture and then try to sell it to me for a hefty mark-up. I would've normally passed on this one except that Harvey must have gotten caught by surprise by the camera because he looks like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. I think he looks hilarious and I subsequently bought the picture. I don't have it posted because Harvey hasn't given permission to post it and I won't do so out of consideration for his feelings.
After we finished the ride on the Skyrail, we returned to the hotel. You had the choice of doing what you wanted or going on an optional ($29 Australian) tour to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Center. Jann recommended the center and I decided to go. The center is very nice and you get to see aborigines play the didgeridoo (a very long wooden tube like instrument) which is native to Australia. The didgeridoo player was very good and could do some really impressive stuff with the instrument. You also got to see some aborigine food, learn how it was prepared, learn how they made fire, learned about their religion, and saw some of their dancing. Afterwards, you could visit their giftshop where you could by some Aborigine souvenirs. I think thats where I bought a Aborigine handkerchief that I plan to put in my family's Christmas grab bag this year.
After that, it was back to the hotel again. I went off by myself into Cairns to rustle up some dinner. To my delight, I found a shop that sold Donner kebabs just like in England. Donner kebabs are kebabs made of a hamburger like meat that is slowly cooked sideways on a spit. They then shave the meat off, and stick it in a pita with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and hot sauce. It is very cheap though greasy eats. I was in greasy bliss. I also tried a Bundaberg rum and Coke and found it very smooth. I wasn't impressed with rum though I think it is better than cognac. Cognac to me tastes like really bad tasting cough syrup. I can't understand why people would drink barring trying to look all sophisticated.
The next morning, those in the group that "really" wanted to do an optional hot air balloon flight got to get up at 4:15 in the morning and returned at 9:00 a.m. I passed and enjoyed the pleasure of sleeping in. Around 7:30 or so, I strolled down to breakfast. After that, I went back to my room, got my bags, hauled them down to where the bus driver could pick them up, settled my bill with hotel, and finally boarded the bus. The bus subsequently drove us back to Cairns International Airport where we left for Alice Springs for the next part of our Australian adventure.
Stay tuned for Alice Springs where you'll get to learn about witchety grubs (I actually ate some cooked bits, first time in my life I've eaten a real BUG), what an Australian bar-b-que is like (damn good eats mate!), and learn out about the Royal Flying Doctor Corps. Cheers! :-)
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