May 12 - May 16 2010
Papa Ches, Kim Schneider, Abby and I took a trip to Cairns (pronounced Cans). It is about 1700 kilometers or 1050 miles from Brisbane. The Great Barrier Reef is off the coast. We had a great 2 bedroom apartment right off the Esplanade.
We took a chartered bus into Port Douglas. We took a behind the scenes tour of the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary where Abby and I held a baby croc and Kim feed a kangaroo. We then spent the afternoon on the beach where it was overcast and a bit chilly.
We also went to Hartley's Crocodile Farm where they raise crocs for meat and their skin. They do this to keep people from hunting them in the wild. We took an amazing boat ride in a croc ridden lagoon.
I had my first taste of Kangaroo and croc. I have found my new favorite foods!! Delicious. The Kangaroo was tender and tasted like beef and the croc was meaty like ...you guessed it...chicken.
We took the Skyrail to Kuranda -the Village in the Rainforest and it was my favorite part of the trip. You could get off at several places for scenic views of the Barron River and waterfalls. The Skyrail was exhilarating and Abby had no fear. I had to keep her from leaning on the door because she wanted to see to the bottom of the rainforest. The village had lots of restaurants and shops. They also had Aboriginal dancers and an Irish trio playing music while we had lunch.
We then took the Kuranda Scenic Railway to get back down into Cairns. The railway took 9 years to build and has 15 tunnels.
