CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

April 14, 2023 — It was an exciting day with a trip to Kuranda! I woke up decently early with my alarm but then rolled back over for a little while because I was feeling a little headache-y and I didn’t want to get up yet. And, for me, if I don’t coddle my headaches then they can get really bad.

When I did get up, I got dressed and had some breakfast, then caught the 9:30am bus to the Skyrail station. I’d looked at Google Maps the night before and from the Skyrail station, I could take the Skyrail to Kuranda. Now, I had no idea what the Skyrail was but I figured it was some kind of train. But it was actually a gondola system stretching high above the rainforest, with two stops along the way to admire the rainforest, incredible scenery, and an audio guide included with their free app!

When I walked into the ticket office I didn’t have anything booked, so I talked to one of the clerks and got a return ticket which would let me leave immediately with a return time of 3:00pm. A return ticket was $93, which I definitely was not expecting, but after the experience, I feel that it was money well spent. Note that you can book ahead online if you’d like, but you’ll pay the same price as you will at the door.

One thing I didn’t know before I went to Kuranda is that you can also choose to take the Scenic Railway either there or back, although it runs only two services per day while the Skyrail is continuous. Check out their websites to learn more and plan your trip!

After I got my ticket, I entered the queue and waited for it to be my turn to get a gondola. I was so incredibly excited the moment that I saw the Skyrail was a gondola system. The last time I was on a gondola was in Switzerland to get to the top of Mount Pilatus during my March Break trip with school in 2018. The views were stellar, the trip was a journey, and I loved every second. This was no different. Stellar views, alongside free commentary from the Skyrail app, and a couple stops along the way to step out and truly admire the majesty of the rainforest.

I rode up with another solo traveller to the first stop at Red Peak, where everyone had to disembark and either walk through the rainforest on a short five- to ten-minute circuit, or head straight to the other set of gondolas which would take you up to Barron Falls and then onward to Kuranda. I opted for the short walk and got to see some of the amazing wonders I’d been watching from up high on the ground. When I got back on the gondola, I had it all to myself!

I watched as we climbed deeper into the rainforest, closer to Kuranda, and Barron Falls came into view. Barron Falls cascades down from a total height of 125 metres, with its steepest drop measuring 107 metres. In the rainy season, it can get really flooded! The last leg of the trip saw us cruise over the Barron River and up to the Kuranda station.

I found my way into the main part of town and walked up and down the streets. Kuranda as a town puts me in mind of a smaller, more remote Katoomba (the gateway to the Blue Mountains; remember when I was there in February?) but it also has unique charms all its own. I made my way down to the visitor’s centre and then headed back up toward the station again, checking out my lunch options as it was heading toward that time. I got sidetracked when I saw the Kuranda Markets, which were originally constructed in the 1970s in an effort to lure tourists to the area to purchase homemade art and wares. They have such a unique feel and charm. Like stepping out of real life for a moment and into a fairy dream.

I made my way back down to where I started, at the Kuranda Hotel, and sat down there for lunch. I got a beef burger and drank up the last of my water, which was scorching in the afternoon sun. The gentleman who took my order very kindly told me to come over to the bar after I finished my water and he would refill it with icy cold, fresh water. This is one of the things that really makes me happy when I’m travelling: cold water. More often than not in the two and half months that I’d been travelling so far, I was filling my water out of taps that weren’t overly cold so it was such a treat when I was able to get ice water. And on a hot day in tropical Queensland, it tastes like the elixir of the gods.

After lunch, I made my way back toward the visitor’s centre and the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. I don’t remember a time I’ve ever seen so many butterflies in one place, and they are all so incredibly beautiful. I spent well over an hour walking around the main area of the sanctuary, admiring the butterflies and hoping that one might land on me. A lot of them came close to landing on my head a few times! I wandered through the fairy garden, where the butterfly pupa live until they emerge. Then I walked through the nursery and back through the main sanctuary until I headed through the exit.

By the time I was finished at the Butterfly Sanctuary, I was nearly dying of heat. I had thought to go to Birdworld as well, but decided against it partly because of death-by-heat but also because I didn’t really feel like spending any more money that day. So, I headed back to the Skyrail hoping that I would be able to get on early since my return time was supposed to be 3:00pm and it was only 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

It was no problem to get in sooner, which I was very happy about, and I shared my gondola back down with an older couple, Allen and Sue, who were super nice. We chatted for quite a bit of the ride down and when we had to get off at Red Tree to switch gondolas, we were waiting in line when they asked if there was a single, double, or triple to fill a gondola, and Allen piped up and said that we were a three, so we all got to move right up to the front of the line and get down sooner. When we got off the Skyrail in Smithfield, my plan was to wait for and take the bus back to Cairns as I had done that morning. As it turned out, Allen and Sue were staying at Global Backpackers in Cairns and they offered to give me a ride back to Gilligan’s!

I accepted, and the ride was twenty blessed minutes instead of the much longer bus ride. It was so surreal to be in a car for the first time in months and I realized how much I really miss that creature comfort of having a vehicle and driving in a vehicle. It’s been buses and trains and planes for me for months. They dropped me off on the other side of Gilligan’s and I just walked through Rusty’s Markets to head to the main entrance. It was really nice to walk through the markets because I got to see all the fresh produce — the markets are on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and I planned to come back the next day to pick up fresh vegetables to make dinner for myself.

I took a few moments to reset in the hostel and then headed to the Cairns City mall for the bookstore. I didn’t really have a specific book in mind and figured I would be able to find something when I got there, but I didn’t have any luck at the first one. At the second, I struck gold. They had It Starts with Us, which is the Colleen Hoover sequel to It Ends with Us, both of which blew up in the last year because of BookTok. I had read It Ends with Us in high school and loved it, but I needed a small refresher on some of what had happened because that was about five years ago. I was really glad to see that they had It Ends with Us and I flipped through the pages for about a half hour, getting a bit of a refresher before buying It Starts with Us.

I headed back to the hostel as the sun was starting to set and had a really nice time by the pool. I took a dip and then laid in a chair and dried off and cooled off and read my book.

As it was heading on to 6:30pm and I had dinner reservations, I went up to my room and changed. While I was in Kuranda, I’d made reservations for the Prawn Star restaurant down at the marina. It was on my list to try and although I’ve spent this entire trip trying to save money and not eat out, I’ve also been trying to let that go a little bit because eating out is a big reason to enjoy travelling. Trying new things, experiencing different cuisine, and so forth.

The Prawn Star is four boats strung together, serving up a selection of fresh seafood bought individually or in mixed platters. After I was seated and had ordered a Prawn Star Cider, I found out that they could do quarter-sizes and half-sizes of different items on the menu, which I was really happy to hear because I couldn’t pick just one thing to eat! I ended up deciding on a half-size of a large platter, which gave me regular prawns, tiger prawns, and some bugs! No, not actual bugs; bugs as in the lobster-like sea creatures. Getting a half-size also cut the price in half, from $90 to $45 (score!).

The prawns were delicious and the tiger prawns were huge! They all came fully shelled, too, so my food had eyes 😄. The bugs came partially shelled and they were really good, too. I highly recommend trying them if you’re ever in Australia and they have them on the menu. I actually got the recommendation from family friends who tried Moreton Bay bugs in Australia and loved them.

I had another cider after finishing my dinner. I was enjoying myself a lot. Being on a boat, eating dinner, under twinkling lights and the night air all around you…it’s hard to be sad. Especially after such a wonderful day. It’s moments like this one that remind me why I’m travelling, why I love it, and why I’m so happy to be here. While I worked on my second cider, I had a nice chat with the gentleman across from me who was eventually going to be heading much further north, to a much more remote community, to teach.

When I finished off my cider I headed to the front boat and paid, then walked back to the hostel. By this point I was absolutely buzzing, just completely high on the fact that this is my life right now. I called my dad and we chatted for a while, then I called my mom. I eventually got off the phone when I got back to the hostel, then went up and showered. I started watching How I Met Your Mother that evening and went to sleep after a couple of episodes.

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