Kuranda Rainforest

Yesterday we took a trip to the rainforest with Phil & Andrea (Anastasia) and went up on the Skyrail and back on the old Kuranda scenic Railway. Skyrail was a ride up the mountain in a gondalier with a stop half way at Red Peak which is the highest point then at BArron Falls which is a rather spectactular waterfall where a Hydro Power station has been supplies electricity to the national grid. Kuranda is a very touristy place with lots of shops selling souvenirs and several cafes and restaurants. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant which overlooked the water which was fun. After our visit to Kuranda we made our way to the Railway station to catch the train. It used to be powered by steam up until 1964 but is now run by a diesel engine.It went very slowly through the rainforest with commentary along the way describing how it all used to be when they built the railway in 1891. Back to Cairns and Peter and Phil wanted to visit Bunnings which is a very large hardware store a bit like B&Q. Peter bought a new cordless drill with two battery packs which he was delighted with as his old drill had been broken for a while.Phil also made some purchases and by the time we got back to the marina it was dark. we all had a light dinner on Trompeta before having a reasonably early night (10pm). It made up for the previous night which was Caroline's birthday dinner when we did not get to bed until midnight!! Unheard of for us! Peter had to visit a dentist this morning as he had broken a tooth and the jagged edges were starting to cause him discomfort. So....for a grand total of A$460 (about £320) he had his tooth extracted! Anyway all is well again now and we are getting the boat prepared ready to leave first thing in the morning to head up to Thursday Island. We shall stop overnight half way and arrive in TI on 21 August for the rendezvous on 22 before we set off again for Darwin on 23 August. There is unlikely to be internet on TI so next blog from Darwin. Should reach darwin by around 28th August.