Kulandra

It seems like we’ve been constantly on the go since we arrived in Australia and today is no different. We’re up and out of the hotel to catch the Skytrain to Kulandra in the Atherton Tablelands. The Skytrain is a 7.5km gondola that carries passengers over the rainforest to the village of Kulandra, pretty much the same way the Whistler gondola takes you up to Roundhouse Station. For a few extra dollars, there is even a glass bottomed version that allows you to look straight down to the forest below (which of course we do because we are tourists).

Along the way, there are two stops where you get off for a short walk. The first is through the rainforest, which by now we’re somewhat familiar with. Along the way, Joey spots some green ants shows Mom how if you crush them and then lick your fingers, it tastes like lemon (a tidbit he picked up from our Argo tour guide). Full props to Mom here for tasting ant juice.

All the cool kids are on Instagram, so we figure we’ll Instagram Nick the only way we know how. Nick, how come you never messaged us back?

The second stop leads to a viewpoint overlooking the Baron Falls and Baron river below. As the rainy season hasn’t started yet, there is not a whole lot of water falling, but it is still an impressive sight.

The town of Kulandra is made to order for day trippers, with plenty of small shops, restaurants and bite-sized activities. In retrospect, we probably could have spent another day here as we don’t get through even half of it before it is time to start our journey back down to Cairns.

For the return trip, we are taking the scenic train, which has been restored from the 1800s (the engines are mid 1900s). Along the way, a guide explains how the line was cut out of the mountainside using picks and shovels.

A short bus ride takes us from the train station back to the Skyrail station to pick up our car, meaning we’ve made it through another great day in Australia.