After my dive trip plans were canceled, I booked a day trip to Kuranda, a quaint little village in the rainforest. I travelled there by the Kuranda Skyrail, which used to be the longest in the world until they outdid it in somewhere in Asia. It was kind of scary to be hanging from one bar attached to one little high above the rainforest! At this point I laughed to myself that I was supposed to be recuperating in bed, Never let it be said that a flu got the best of Melanie!

Oh, and an amazing coincidence happened on the way to the Skyrail – I ran into my Austrian friend Helen from my Horseriding week in August! We hadn’t crossed paths since Brisbane, so imagine how surprised we were to run into each other of all places in Cairns, and on the same activity. I joined up with her and her four girl mates (from Germany) for the day of sightseeing.

Kuranda was interesting and there was a lot of Indigenous art and shopping, plus beautiful jungle walks, but really we only required a few hours to see all there was to see. If you wanted to explore all the bushwalks you could use the entire day.

The highlight of the trip was the short train ride back on the Kuranda Scenic Train. Gooooorgeous views! We learned a lot about its history, which I’ll not bore you with, except that it wasn’t originally built as the tourist attraction it mainly is today. The relaxing rocking of the train, with the breeze from the open window and the countryside rolling by, was a perfect end to the day. The train even paused for 10 minutes by the Barron Falls to let all the passengers get out, stretch their legs and take photos of the beautiful sight.

Stay tuned! Next stop, more snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef.