I think I Cairn, I think I Cairn

That's actually how it is pronounced. CAN....well, CANS and it was a great day. There was a forecasted 90% chance of rain so we were dreading a repeat of yesterday. The forecast was changed to 50% and ultimately we had..........0 rain. Yeah! We docked about 10 am and were off the boat quickly to join our excursion thru skyrail rainforest cableway. $242 AUD, which is about $170 USD total for the 2 of us for a 6 hr excursion. Quite a bit less than the $300+ thru the cruiseline. It included a day trip from Cairns to Kuranda on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, and return via the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

We walked to a designated location a few blocks away to be picked up and then were bussed to the cableway about 25 minutes away. The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5-kilometre scenic tourist cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park, in the Wet Tropics of Queensland’s World Heritage Area in Australia. It was outstanding and very educational as well. Barron falls were amazing. One of the top waterfalls I've ever seen. We viewed it from the north on the gondola on the way to Kuranda and later in the day from the south on the train heading back.

We ended in Kuranda, where we shopped and walked around. Found more gifts for everyone. Great prices!!!! High quality. A rare combination in a tourist area.

We boarded the train back at 3:30 after getting a geocache along the river. The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a spectacular journey comprising unsurpassed views of dense rainforest, steep ravines and picturesque waterfalls within the World Heritage listed Barron Gorge National Park. It took 19 years to construct the Railway due to the amount of rock and the steep terrain. During the trip, we passed through 15 hand carved tunnels, 37 bridges, spectacular waterfalls and great vistas. The ride back took a full 2 hours. Here are a few pics from the train.

And one of my favorites.

After we arrived back in Cairns, we boarded the ship after a pleasant walk and another geocache. Headed straight to dinner and then back to the room to close out the day. Skipped the show because we're pretty tired and we were up early. I might head down for a drink (or 2) after this post. If you ever come to Cairns, this is a must-do excursion. Absolutely wonderful in every way.