February 16, 2016 - Day 42- Cairns, Australia

We docked on schedule this morning. Several tours left for the reef. We did that last year. We headed for the tour to Kuranda. This involved a ride on a train along an old mining route up the mountain. We followed the Barron River stopping for a view of the falls before arriving in Kuranda. The ride took an hour and a half. Some of it was pretty, but much of it was a boring ride through thick brush next to the track. Two old diesels provided the motive power. The coaches were vintage with no air conditioning except for the open windows. The temperature hovered in the mid 90's. Sure it was hot, but it sure beats Chicago.

Kuranda is a nice tourist town. Lots of shops and galleries. Some were nice. Others were full of authentic Australian objects imported from China. Go figure. After an hour of this we boarded the bus to the aerial tram down the mountain. This was a great ride above the tree tops. There were two stops. The first was optional  and had three overlooks for the Barron Falls. Each was prettier than the last. The second stop was mandatory in order to change to the second tram line. We took the short nature walk here before going on. The views of the coast, city and sea from this line were amazing. What a great ride.

What a great tour.

Again, we sailed away in the Crows nest before dinner.