At the two transfer stations, there are boardwalks that loop into the rainforest with a number of interpretive displays. You can spend as much time as you would like walking about before reboarding for the next leg. The first stop was at the highest point of the cableway. Some interesting vegetation there. A 500 year old Kauri tree similar to what we saw in NZ.
We passed the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Plant. The current plant was constructed in 1963 with a capacity of 2 x 33MW. It replaced the original plant constructed in the 1930's that had a capacity of 3.8kW and was the first underground power plant in Australia.
The second stop had some lookouts for Barron Falls which was in full flow due to the recent rains. The falls cascade down 260 metres.
The trip to Kuranda on the cableway took about 1 1/2 hours. When we arrived, we stopped for breakfast and then started wandering the main street which is a sprawling set of markets in a tropical rainforest setting with everything from made in China Aboriginal art to emu oil. Definitely set up to cater to the hoards of tourists that arrive in the morning and depart by 3:30.
We did a bit of browsing in the shops then decided to visit the Koala Gardens and Birdworld. I got my first look at fresh water crocs. They look meaner than the Florida gators.
The koalas here were pretty active and entertained us for a while.
The kangaroos were not too active but we did find this curious wallaby.
Chris did not last too long in the reptile enclosure where they were not in cages and free to roam...
We saw a cute flying squirrel....
Next was Birdworld which is a free flying aviary. You are required to remove all jewelry, watches etc. before entering. No one mentioned hats.... No sooner had we entered and this parrot landed on my head. I thought it was sort of funny but then Chris says, "I think he's trying to eat your hat". Sure enough, the little bastard was gnawing away on the little button on top of my hat.
I finally got rid of him and put the hat in my pocket. A couple of minutes later, after photographing this Lorikeet, it jumps on to my hatless head! Got rid of it pretty fast before it pooped! No more incidents.
A nice collection of about 80 different species of tropical birds. Lots of photos.
They also had a Cassowary, well caged. Check out those claws and beak! Rip ya apart!
After leaving the aviary, we did a bit of T-shirt shopping and ended up at the Kuranda Hotel for a cold beer on the deck before getting on the train for the return trip.
We had a nice train ride down to the city with a stop at Barron falls for a different perspective.
The train is a collection of vintage cars from the 30's hauled by a more modern diesel locomotive.
We got back to the apartment around 4:00 pm and got caught up on the laundry and starting packing for our flight to Adelaide early tomorrow morning. We got to watch another sunset fly-off by the megabats as I am writing this.
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