our motor coach arrived to transport us to our scheduled excursion for today, one of the most spectacular rail excursions in the world--the Kuranda Scenic Train. Our rail journey will provide unsurpassed views of World Heritage Listed rain forest, steep ravines, and picturesque waterfalls within the Barron Gorge National Park.
Our motor coach driver/guide today is Paul who is knowledgeable, friendly, gregarious and a comedian! He is cracking jokes about one-arm bus drivers and after a while I look at Norma and ask "is Paul one-armed"? She assures me that he is and I can't believe that I did not notice that when he greeted me as I boarded the motor coach. Anyway, he kept us laughing the whole time we were with him!
He could imitate different birds and he said he needed our help up ahead and we needed to learn this loud raucous bird call, so we went along and practiced making that screeching bird sound. We soon came to a traffic roundabout and Paul said "O.K. when we get to the roundabout I need all of you to look out your window while making that loud bird call and wave to the waiting motorists". Paul then proceeded to circle that roundabout, and circled it again, holding up all the waiting traffic, and while he was waving to the waiting motorists and screeching out these loud bird calls! By the second time around that roundabout we all were laughing so hard and wondering how in the world Paul was able to drive, wave, and make bird call all at the same time---and with only one arm. What a hoot!
I love roundabouts and now, when I see a roundabout, I will always think of Paul, the one-arm bus driver, that kept us laughing today!
We soon arrived at the station and boarded the Kuranda Scenic Train.
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! BooBoo loves trains!
Donna does too!
We pass through some beautiful farmland.....sugar cane fields.
BooBoo is hiding from Jeremy, our Tour Director.......
"I gotcha, BooBoo!", said Jeremy.
The train winds its way up into the rainforest mountains....
...past rushing waterfalls.....
...while we enjoy the ride and the passing scenery.
"Jeanne, are you having as much fun as BooBoo?"
We make a ten-minute train stop at Barron Falls Station, overlooking Barron Gorge with a huge waterfall just below the power station.
"Hey BooBoo! Stop clowning around and let's get our photo of the waterfalls and get back on the train!"
We soon arrive in Kuranda, the "Village in the Rainforest" with tourism being the backbone of the local economy. There we visit the Koala Gardens. I am perfectly content to gaze at the koalas from a safe distance.......
...however Donna wanted to get up close and personal with the koalas and held one for a photo-op.....
...afterward she realized the koala left behind a little "gift" in her hand...gross!
Just at the instant I snapped this photo of Norma holding a koala, our guide raised her hand, completely covering Norma's face!!
Norma found some kangaroos and yes she had to touch them too!
BooBoo and I watch from a safe distance.
We proceed to the Frogs Restaurant right next door for a wonderful lunch: salad, fish, and fries with water or orange juice to drink. Perfect! We watched as the servers prepared our lunch plates--- assembly-line style.
After lunch we could choose to visit either Birdworld or the unique Australian Butterfly Sanctuary.
Donna, Norma, and I chose the butterflies.....
We were lead through the butterfly sanctuary by a very animated, knowledgeable guide.
We visited the butterfly "nursery" where they are breeding the butterflies!
Who knew it was so high tech!
I had difficulty photographing the active butterflies as they flitted all around us in the sanctuary, however in the Butterfly Museum, we viewed many different beautiful species, preserved under glass.
Toward the end of our guided tour of the Butterfly Sanctuary, we were reminded of how important it is to stay hydrated during hot and humid weather, when we observed another guest (not on our tour) pass out and crumble to the ground. Our own guide rushed over to help the distressed woman who had just passed out. That ended our tour.
We enjoyed a walk through the Kuranda Heritage Markets that feature handcrafted Aboriginal items, souvenirs, arts and crafts and fashion items made in the local region. Along the way we saw this tree loaded with fruit that resembled small limes...
...not sure what kind of fruit this is? On the ground beneath the tree lay lots of ripe red fruit among lots of overripe fruit.
We savored our delicious "free" ice cream cone as we walked through the park and discovered a cool shady spot to sit, and water to put our feet in. Next to the waterfall was a small curious turkey...
We then made our way to the Skyrail Station. We will descend the MacAlister Range by Skyrail--the world's longest gondola cableway.
My sister, Norma, is happy as long as she does not look forward or down.
Of course, BooBoo, being a monkey, loves sailing above the treetops!
We arrive at the Barron Falls Station along the way and disembark the gondola for a short walk to view Barron Falls from the other side of the gorge...
Far below us we see the river winding its way through the gorge.
What an awesome experience to glide for miles above the rainforest canopy.
At the next gondola station, we leave the gondola for a short walk through the rainforest.
New Zealand did not have any snakes in the whole country, but Australia sure does! This guy was lying right beside the walkway!
What great views we have of the valley below as we descend from the rainforests on the cableway....
There is the steep mountain road that Paul, our one-arm driver/guide had to follow from Kuranda while we were high above in our gondola!
The end of another exciting scenic day on our Tour as we departed Caravonica Station which sits at the base of Skyrail.
We return to our hotel, freshen up a little, then walk down the street to the Courthouse Bar where we will have a farewell "get together". Our tour director Jeremy gives each of us a gold kangaroo pin and a photo of our group that was taken on the pier yesterday before we boarded the catamaran for the Great Barrier Reef.
Tomorrow is day 19 of our New Zealand/Australia Tour, as we bid farewell to Australia, and begin the long journey home, crossing the International Date Line, gaining a day, arriving in Los Angeles the same afternoon that we depart Cairns, Australia! What?
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