Kuranda is just 16 miles from Cairns and geographically is positioned on the eastern edge of the Atherton Tableland where the Barron River begins a deep descent to the coastal floodplain. The rainforest around Kuranda has been home to the Djabugay people for over 10,000 years. Europeans began to explore the area throughout the nineteenth century. It is believed a massacre of indigenous people took place at the location in Kuranda known as Skeleton Creek. Kuranda was first settled in 1885 by Europeans. Although coffee was grown around Kuranda in the early twentieth century, timber was the town’s primary industry for a number of years. Kuranda has been known as a tourist destination since the early 1900s. It was both the rainforest and local Aboriginals which attracted people to the area. Today Kuranda is a ‘village in the rainforest’ with tourism being the current backbone of the local economy.
So, as a place where tourists go, I went. While it’s possible to take a car or a coach up the road to Kuranda, the primary routes through the rainforest and up the mountain are the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Typically you take one up and the other down. So, I started this morning on the a rail line which began being built in 1887 to provide a reliable route to transport supplies to those that had found gold and other minerals in the hills. It was an engineering feat of tremendous magnitude and stands as testimony to the ambitions, fortitude and suffering of the hundreds of men engaged in its construction. From Cairns to Kuranda there is 37 km of narrow gauge track and the train makes an ascent of 327 meters above sea level. (The app on my phone showed that we began at -10ft below sea level and at top it was 1170ft).
The trip was slow up the mountain, with plenty of time to take photos as we climbed. There are 15 tunnels along the route and a bridge at Stoney Creek Falls which is the most outstanding feature of the railway line. The iron lattice construction was completed in the mid 1890’s and stand on three trestle piers. The other amazing view was at Horseshoe Bend, a 180 degree bend as the line begins the climb. Before that climb, and near the bottom is Jungara which was the site of the largest field hospital in the Southern Hemisphere during WWII. Soldiers injured int he Pacific battles were flown here for treatment. The carriages we traveled in (and I was in car #10 of maybe 15), date back to the early 1900’s. Each is made from silky oak timber, and there were photos of the railway construction in each car. Even the stations at Freshwater and Kuranda were designed in keeping with the period.
Once at the top the village itself is filled with some heritage markets, showcasing Aboriginal art, as well as other galleries reflecting the sort of alternative lifestyle that the place supports — a bit hippy-ish. And there was lots of touristy stuff. There were also some walks through the rainforest and along the river, but I headed to the wildlife sanctuaries to see some koala and crocs and wallabies and birds. Which I found entertaining and adorable.
The trip down was on the Skyrail, which float high above the rainforest for 4.7 miles with two stops along the way. It was completed in 1995 after only one year of construction, and the towers were lifted into place by helicopter to avoid disturbing the rainforest. Each car held 6, but I was mostly with just 3 others, and the views were amazing. Australia’s tropical rainforests date back more than 120 million years and are the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforests on earth. They are listed as the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area when they were added to the UNESCO list in 1988. There are several National Parks and State Forests within this preservation area; we were gliding over the Barron Gorge National Park, which features the mighty Barron Falls. It is such a magnificent and constant waterfall that that a hydro plant was commissioned at the base in 1963 and is still in service. It was an awesome ride.
And then I climbed back in the van that was my transport to and from my charming little accommodation in Palm Cove. A good day.
