Australia - Day 9 - Last Day in Australia

After the kookaburras awoke us at dawn, we headed down into the bush, to experience our own personal bush breakfast. We enjoyed freshly brewed coffee, delicious eggs and bacon, and even cooked our toast over the coals of the campfire. It was a great end to a really unique experience in the outback. I also wanted to capture a picture of the huge rainwater capture and filtration system they built to protect this valuable resource in drought stricken Australia.






After breakfast, Undara drove us to Mt. Surprise to catch The Savannahlander train back to Cairns. Little did we know were about to venture on one the great rail experiences in Australia and be lucky to be the first (and only) passengers of the season (alongside the conductors) on this 12 hour journey from Mt. Surprise back to Cairns in the classic "silver-bullet" railcars. The train is prepared to carry 60 passengers but we were able to get a highly personalized journey and Ron enjoyed playing his guitar all along the way.



The conductors could stop the train whenever we wanted. They stopped the train so we could take a picture next to the huge termite hills that lined the outback. Wild!



We also stopped in several small towns along the way. The towns were waiting for this train that only comes to town once a week. In the first town, they had prepared a nice tea with muffins and breads for us. Even though we were full from our huge bush breakfast, we didn't want to disappoint the little towns that we were visiting. So we ate more :).




On our journey, we were "held up" by some local gangsters. They asked us for all of our money and then thanked us with some Easter candy.



In another town, the kids had their first pasties.



Because we were the only passengers, the train also stopped before some huge suspension bridges and allowed us to walk across the bridge, take a picture by the waterafall, and then came and picked us up on the other side.





After arriving back in Cairns, we enjoyed our last evening in Australia, watching Australian football outside on the large screen, having some dinner, and playing cards. A great end to an amazing adventure!!

Australia - Day 8 - Undara Volcanic National Park

As usual, we started day 8 early in Australia, heading to Cairns Railway Station to catch a bus to the Outback to experience Undara Volcanic National Park. Undara National Park consists of miles of lava tubes, hollow basalt tubelike tunnels, resulting from a volcanic outpouring 190,000 years ago. The bus trip was a 4 hour ride through the Outback, picking up new passengers at random towns, as it treks across Queensland.




We arrived at Undara, just around noon. Undara is a cool eco friendly experience, consisting of vintage railway carriages, pioneers huts, and swag tents. We stayed in a railway cars, which were restored and set among the tall trees and native wildlife (the kookaburras woke us early in the morning). We enjoyed lunch in a unique outdoor patio surrounded by more railway cars and overlooking the bushland.







After lunch, we enjoyed an introductory tour of two of the lava tubes from a Savannah guide (and the only way to visit the tubes). We learned about the eruption which created this rare volcanic phenomena and the family that made this experience possible. The tubes are the best examples of lava tube formation anywhere on the planet.






When we returned, Dad and the kids relaxed at the "waterhole pool" while Mom set out on a bush walk to explore the area and vistas.





One of our highlights of Undara was the Wildlife at Sunset tour. We drove out and climbed to a vista to enjoy a beautiful big sky sunset with champagne and cheese. En route to the sunset, we saw lots of kangaroos and wallabies. And then at dusk, we were taken to the entrance of a lava tube for a pretty amazing experience. Thousands of tiny micro-bats were flying out of the caves to eat the insects. As they buzzed and skimmed by our heads (very eery), we watched the pythons and brown tree snakes make their way from the tubes to hang from the nearby trees to strike out and catch the flying bats. A truly cool experience!



Our night ended with a huge Aussie outback dinner and a campfire under the stars.

Australia - Day 7 - Kuranda Scenic Railway and Kuranda Village

As usual, we awoke early in Australia. Today, we rose early to catch the Kuranda Scenic Railway, with vintage coaches, which climbs tortulously through the rainforest to Kuranda village. On the trip, we rode past the sugar cane fields, meandering up past the Stony Creek Falls and Barron Falls while overlooking the valley below and traveling through 15 tunnels and 40 bridges, all made by hand.








In Kuranda, we enjoyed the Wildlife Experience pass, which included visits to Koala Gardens, Birdworld, and the Butterfly Sanctury. En route to see the animals, we visited the Heritage markets, which are open Wed-Sun. We saw some wild trees and a native aboriginal playing a didgeridoo. We also bought Ron an authentic Australian sun hat!





Our first visit was to Koala Gardens, a special highlight for Presley. At Koala Gardens, Presley cuddlede a friendly koala bear. Canyon and Presley also enjoyed feeding the kangaroos and wallabies.





The kids loved Birdworld, where huge Macaws and Cockatoos would climb on your shoulder and eat from your hand. Mom didn't like this place as much because the large Scarlet Macaw bit into the palm of her hand and wouldn't let go. Ouch!!





Our last stops in Kuranda were to the Butterfly Sanctuary where thousands of tropical butterflies fly around you and then enjoyed a nice lunch before heading back to Cairns for the night.



On the return route, we took the Skyrail, a 7.5km cableway that glides above the rainforest canopy. There were two stations to explore (Red Peak and Barron Falls) on route back down the mountain.







We ended our day with happy hour and sunset at the Salt House on the marina. We stayed at the Salt House to enjoy Trivia Night. While we didn't win, we had a blast as a family!