Australia 2015 Part 4: Daintree Rainforest and Beaches North of Cairns

Our final two days in Australia were last, but certainly not least. On one day we ventured into the Daintree Rainforest to the village of Kuranda, and on the next we took a scenic drive exploring picturesque beach towns and Mossman Gorge.

Our tour into the rainforest was comprised of three major segments. The first was a historic ride up to the village of Kuranda via the Kuranda Scenic Railway, completed in 1891. While the views from the train windows were not as sweeping and spectacular as we had expected, the vistas from the intermittent platform lookout points were intricate and breathtaking. Scenery or no scenery, riding in the preserved train carriages was a refined journey back in time and a treat in and of itself.

Look, JohnPaul, we're on a train!

Interior of the historic railroad cars.

Kuranda Scenic Railroad!

One of several beautiful waterfalls seen along the way.

Barron Falls as seen from one of our railroad stops.

The second portion of the day was free time to explore the village of Kuranda. Now supported by tourism and featuring mostly shops and eateries, the village was once primarily supported by the timber industry (not to mention the aboriginal people of the region). We very much enjoyed wandering a town in such a unique setting, and as rain lovers, we were captivated by the monstrous downpour that lived up to the ecosystem's moist namesake. We highly recommend the town's "Discount Chemist" (us Americans would call it a "pharmacy"), since we were able to get baby supplies there after leaving our diaper bag on the bus until the evening pickup time. Epic parenting fail.

The streets of Kuranda.

There is something beautiful about benches. And did we mention that we love the rain???

Out for a stroll through the rainforest!

A nice path made this particular walk very doable with the stroller.



Waiting for the gondola...might as well twirl!



JohnPaul made some friends too :-).

The journey from Kuranda back to the Cairns area took the cake for the day, as the experience blew our expectations out of the water! We boarded a gondola reminiscent of the old Disneyland Skyway and took off into the fog, gliding over the treetops. From our moving perch, we could see the expansive rainforest canopy, peer down into the trees (which were so thick we couldn't see the ground) and hear its aviary inhabitants chirping away. This aerial vantage point and the few viewing stops we made along the way made for a magical experience. If you're ever in Cairns, do it...don't miss soaring over the top of the rainforest!

Our chariot awaits!

Soaring over the canopy!

So many unique and majestic trees!

These fern type plants growing way up on the tree trunks were fascinating.

Having already spent a fair amount of time in Cairns itself and having a rental car at our disposal, we drove north on our final day Down Under. We enjoyed stops at charming beach towns such as Palm Cove and Port Douglas, where we always made sure to enjoy the coffee and western food in adorable cafes (since such wonders are not readily available in Japan). To finish off the day, we did a mild hike to Mossman Gorge, where John took a ceremonial dip to conclude our Australian adventure.

The lovely town of Palm Cove.



We spotted a parasailor on our drive!

Entering the Mossman Gorge area, part of Daintree National Park.



Hiking buddies :-)!




Overlooking the gorge!


Farewell, Australia, until we meet again. We miss you already!

P.S. - Here are some signs we wouldn't likely see in America!



We actually did see someone at the airport with serious Kangaroo damage to their rental car. That's a bad day.



Australia is no stranger to dangerous creatures!

Well this looks like a bad combination.