Australia Day 6: Kuranda Sky Tram and Train
This morning we have an 8:15 AM pickup for our train and Sky Tram adventure so we had set the alarm for 6:30.
I woke up about 15 minutes before my alarm went off, so I opened the curtains to help slowly wake everyone up.
We get ready and head down for breakfast. The eggs are better today, they actually taste real instead of powdered, but maybe they just prepared them better. After Landon has eaten all he really wants to, Nate says he should try some kiwi, but Landon says he is too full and can't fit another bite. Then he sees that I have some watermelon and he says “Ooh, I'm getting some watermelon!” He comes back with a heaping plate full! When we ask him about being full he says “It's just water!’...silly boy. Watermelon is his favorite.
I love these Lipstick Palm trees. I wish I could grow them in AZ, but they need humidity.
After breakfast we grab our backpack and water bottles and head out to the curb to wait for our driver. I had received a text the day before with a pickup time from our driver, and he showed up right on time. His name is Man, he is originally from Hong Kong, so I think it’s pronounced more like “Mon”. When he arrives I ask him, "Are you Man?" to verify, and he jokingly comes back with, "Yes I'm a man!" He set a good tone for the day, friendly and joking the whole time.
Today's adventure could go one of two ways, we either go up the sky tram to Kuranda and then back down to Cairns on the train, or the reverse. When Man picks us up, he informs us that we will start our day on the Sky Tram. It’s about a 15 minute drive out to the tram station. Man gives us our tickets and tells me to text him when we are leaving the waterfall and he will be there to meet us at the station. He’s also taking another family around that is going opposite of us, so when he leaves us he has to drive up the windy road to Kuranda to meet them and take them to the tram before picking us up.
Landon had been worried about the Sky Tram because of the height, but both he and Kaily do great! There are three legs of the sky tram, the first leg takes 15 mins, then you get off and have an opportunity to walk around a little bit in the rainforest. There is a ranger giving a little tour with information, so we walk along with her to learn some new things. She tells us about the “Wait awhile” plant which is a type of climbing palm. The branches have backwards facing thorns that will hook your clothing and skin and it can take a while to untangle from them, hence the name. The branches can grow really long as they climb, they get really spiny but the inside is smooth, and they are very strong and were used for furniture making and native homes. She also said that if you cut the vine you could pour out clean drinking water.
She then tells us about a basket fern, which is something we have seen on a few trees around town. They don’t require any dirt because animals will start living in them, and their poop acts like soil to help them keep growing. Sometimes they can get as big as a car!
Another cool tree we learn about is the Queensland Kauri Pine, which grows up until it reaches through the forest canopy, and then it stops growing up and starts growing out. The tree we saw was around 500 years old, and they can live to be 1000. The difference would be the width of the trunk, not the height. These trees have a massive root system that keep them stable, even during typhoons. It also sheds its lower branches as well as its bark to keep vines from growing on it.
After her talk is over we take a couple of pictures at a viewpoint and then got back in line to carry on the next leg of the journey. The second cable car ride is about 20 minutes. At the bottom they had a QR code you can scan to have a commentary along the way. We had forgotten to listen to it on the way to the first station but put it on for the second leg of our journey. The commentary gives information on some of the plants and animals and about the natives that have called the area home.
Above you can see an example of basket ferns from above (the brown area on the left)
The second stop is at Barron Falls. During the wet season the mist rising off the falls will reach the platforms we were viewing from. However it’s the dry season right now and there really wasn’t much water going over the falls. It’s hard to imagine the torrent of water that can flow down the mountain.
The Kuranda station is only another 10 minutes away, so I text Man to let him know we are leaving the falls. As we’re coming into the Kuranda station the commentary says the native language doesn’t have a way to say good bye, they instead say “Garru Gabun-gabun Galin” which means to "travel softly, travel well". They said that they believe everyone leaves part of their spirit in the rainforest, and so like a boomerang you will come back. And if you don’t come back, you must have just been a stick! We had a good laugh at that comment.
Thought the honey variety interesting, in the US you usually see wildflower or orange bolssom
We have a few minutes to look around a gift shop before meeting up with Man. When we meet up he takes a few minutes to point out some very rare plants, one called a Jade Vine, which has a claw shaped teal flower. He says they are rare flowers and that particular color is even more rare in nature. He says they will probably be done flowering in just a week or two. The Jade Vine is pollinated by bats and will grow a fruit that can grow to the size of a melon, but you can’t eat it.
Man then shows us a banana plant and tells us that there are over 1000 types of bananas. He says if a banana plant has fruit hanging downward, you can eat it raw. If you see bananas that grow upward, like a plantain, then you should cook them before eating them.
He tells us that in the rainforest red flowers, berries, plants usually mean don’t eat or even touch. There is a plant called “gidee gidee” or rosary pea plant that the natives would make bracelets out of the berries and give them to their wives when they got married. When the Europeans arrived they were trying to figure out why the women died so young. They discovered that these berries would slowly release poison when they are drilled into, so these gifts on their wedding night brought death over time.
The next plant is called “Devils toilet paper.” The leaves look nice and green, with no red, however it has microscopic needles on the leaves and stems that will release neurotoxins into you if you touch it. He says if you touch it, you’ll probably be in pain for at least 6 months! In WW2 unaware soldiers would grab it to use as toilet paper as it looks like a nice big green leaf, but it caused massive pain and many of them died from the neurotoxins, and that’s how it got its name.
Man also shows us a termite nest on a tree and tells us that there are more termites in the world (by weight) then all the humans on earth. Termites are something you don’t want in your house, but they are so important to the earth, breaking down dead and decaying trees to return them to soil.
Man did a quick drive around the small town, pointing out attractions we may want to visit, and gives a few recommendations for food etc. We have just a couple of hours to explore, and decide to go check out the butterfly sanctuary, the Koala gardens, and the bird sanctuary.
The butterfly sanctuary is very humid inside and there are tons of butterflies. We are given a paper with a picture guide to help identity the butterflies, and it also has a bullseye of colors they are attracted to (yellow and hot pink). Both kids have fun trying to get the butterflies to land on the paper. At one point Landon and Nate both have butterflies land on their hats. One lands on my shoulder for a quick moment, but I didn’t get a picture.
White lipped tree frog
Landon the Kangaroo wisperer
Next we go into the bird sanctuary where we have to remove hats, watches, and jewelry as they say the birds may try to steal them. When we first go in, there are several Macaws that are up on perches in a little structure. They have food you can feed them. I grab a piece and put it between my fingers and hold it up and the bird takes it out from between my fingers. Kailey wants to try so Nate picks her up to try. She starts saying "Ow, OW!" and yanks her hand away. She had her fingers in a vertical position and the bird chomped her finger trying to get the food. She starts crying as it hurt and slightly cut her finger. We walk through pretty quickly as we want some time in town. After we leave we find a bathroom to wash Kailey's hand really well with soap and water. Hopefully it doesn’t cause too much pain or trouble.
The Cassowary is a flightless bird, and they are huge! They are very agressive and will often attack humans or dogs. They are very important to the rainforrest as there are some plants that the seeds will only germinate after they have passed through the digestive tract of the Cassowary.
We only have about 30 mins until we need to meet up with Man and so we head to the shops. Kailey finds a cute Koala hat and Nate grabs some chocolate covered Oreos from a chocolate shop Man had recommended. I grab a mango banana sugar cane smoothie to share, which was really good. It was interesting watching them juice the sugar canes that they add to their drinks. Lots of sugar cane is grown around Cairns.
We head to meet up with Man where he gives us our train tickets and drops us off at the station nearby. He says he will meet us at the train station in Cairns to bring us back to our hotel.
The train was originally built to help haul supplies through the rainforest in the 1800s, as during the wet season the river is a raging torrent and very dangerous. The railway was built in sections, including many hand dug tunnels along the edge of the mountain side. The train ride takes almost two hours to come back down the mountain, and most of the time you are snaking through the rainforest. There are a few waterfalls that you can see from the train windows, and there is some commentary along the way. At one point as we are approaching Red Lynch, which is a suburb of Cairns, I see a “mob” of wallabies but I'm not quick enough with my camera to get a picture.
After arriving in Cairns and our quick ride back to the hotel, we set out to find some food. Our big breakfast and a couple snacks had held us over, but it is time to finally eat. The kids had been really good on the trip, not complaining about being bored or whining, so we say they can help pick dinner. They decide pizza is on the menu, so we do a little research and go to LA Pizza, which is only a block or two away from our hotel. We get there around 5 PM and have no wait to be seated and our food comes out really fast. We order two pizzas: one for Landon and Nate to share, and the other for Kailey and me. We all enjoy our pizza and then head out to the night market, which is where the kids want to go most nights.
Landon decided a boomerang that he found the other night, he now wants to buy, but we couldn’t remember which shop it was in. After looking for a while he finally finds what he was looking for. Below are some pictures from the night market.
We make our way back to the hotel and get ready for bed. Everyone takes showers after a warm sweaty day in the rainforest. As the kids are laying in bed suddenly we hear what sounds like an alarm going off outside of our door. A voice comes over a speaker saying it is a fire alarm but to stay calm and stay in our room while they investigate. Thankfully after 10 minutes they give the all clear and shut the alarms off. They then come over a loud speaker and repeat in multiple languages that the alarm was a false alarm.
Nate and I sit on the balcony and enjoy the nice evening while the kids drift off to sleep, and we soon joined them.
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