As we ascend, the landscape gradually grows wilder and more picturesque...
The palms are replaced by gigantic tree ferns which here, in the damp rocky clefts, spread their mighty leaves in all their splendour over trickling brooks, which frequently disappear in little waterfalls down steep precipices...
The effects of light and shade are magnificent here, the scenery is simply overwhelming in its splendour."
Carl Luomholitz, a zoologist, wrote this quote in 1883 to describe on the most beautiful places in the world, the Daintree Rain Forest. This particular rain forest is one of the World Heritage Sites and this part of North Queensland is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Sites meet. The other course being the Great Barrier Reef.
Our day trip into the Daintree was to visit a stunning village inside the forest, Kuranda, by way of the SkyRail and Kuranda Scenic Railway (KSR). Kuranda sits within the Barron Gorge National Park. Total travel cost $200-ish but completely worth the effort and provided us with one of the most relaxing days of the trip!
SkyRail is a cable car system that crosses over the rainforest for 7km. It was built in 1995 and can carry 700 people per hour. The facts alone don't do this any justice. The pylons, supporting the cables and carrying the cars, are located in thick rainforest in very inaccessible places and had to be installed using specially purchased Russian helicopters due to their weight.
First impressions were standard. Very slow cars are emptied and filled by un-enthusiastic attendants in a similar vein to any other cable car system around the world, however, its only 15 seconds once you've left the station that the 'wow' factor hits you.
You're instantly high above the forest, amongst the same treetops that Mr Luomholitiz referred to back in 1883 looking down on vast natural history and the traditional lands of the Djabugay people. You feel very small in the car as you start ascending the high lands around Cairns only realising the scale when you pass road trains below you looking like toy cards and when rather dramatically the car just stops..
SkyRail isn't just a cable car tourist attraction; it's a method of transport over the rainforest that allows you to see firsthand their importance. It stops at several places to allow you to get out and follow designed boardwalks with information boards to give you a chance to understand the forest you've just crossed over.
Amber & I were lucky that the day wasn't clear blue and hot and instead was overcast with patchy rain.
The rain brought the forest alive with small mammals, insects and birds scurrying around us, an enclosed atmosphere that made it seem the trees were growing faster that they were and all the earthy smells of growth and decay.
The second stop gave the first glimpses of Barron Falls. This "place of great natural beauty has a unique storied past, and holds great significants to the local Aboriginal rainforest people (Djabuganydji Bama)." The story is detailed in the photo below.
It took us several hours to get us to Kuranda but with the sensory overload of the rainforest and all the associated details within it, it was almost a suprise that there was a final destination. The slow descent down passed over the Daintree River, home of many hungry crocodiles so fingers were kept firmly crossed there were no final dramas.
The little village of Kuranda was delightful with many art galleries of both modern and Aboriginal focus, clothing, crafts and jewellry outlets for different budgets and importantly lots of places to eat.
Two of our favourite places here was the Stillwater Workshops and the Sugarworks Fudge Bar.
The shop still used a traditional method to make 'kisses' or soft chews (a bit like Chewits if you've left them in the car!!) with an original 19XXs machine that chopped, wrapped and sealed 1500 in a minute! Apparently this is 1/10th of modern sweet chopper, wrapper and sealer machines in the 21st Century!!!
You could see the original mix being made, moulded to the right size..
and then fed into the machine to do its thing...
.. and chuck out the final product right before your eyes.
Again the important bit was that you could try one of the final sweets as it popped out and still warm...you wouldn't be suprised now to hear that a packed of said final product was then purchased...
The Sugarworks Fudge Bar was incredible. There's no other word for it. Loads of different rich flavoured fudge and a delightful lady who was on hand to offer us samples. Vanilla, macademia, Braveheart (Blue Curacao and Whisky, mixed into a bright blue and white fudge), chocolate, the list goes on. After what seemed an eternity a $10 tub with the standards was purchased with a challenge to not finish it within the afternoon...unfortunately they didn't last much longer than 2 hours...
Kuranda has a hippy culture underpinning the village that originates from the early traders and settlers who had to pay for the railway to transport customers to them. It became so popular that eventually the railway created a stop here. Tie-di, hemp clothing, herbal remedies, organic oils, smoothies, you name it it could be found here.
The modern day Kuranda also has the local Aboriginal culture running through it with galleries and culture tours available, paintings and didgiridoos for sale etc. With it, however, is a difficult balance that has to be struck. 'Authentic' Aboriginal culture sits alongside 'Tourist' Aboriginal culture but without any strict regulation or guidance for tourists to use. Even 'Authentic' didn't necessarily mean authentic as often the capitalist markets lead local Aboriginal communities to sell out to souvenir companies...?
After several hours wandering around it was that horrible time. Time to leave.
We'd chosen the KSR to take us back to Cairns direct (there were many varying options that you could choose so be careful when you book!) and met a native Australian on holiday from the US travelling with children so had a good natter for the good few hours back missing the commentary.
Waterfalls past us by but a scheduled stop at the other side of Barron Falls on the site of the original railway station allowed a few photos.
It was a long day but a lovely one and definitely worth the little bit of effort to get there.
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