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!