Kuranda Scenic Railway

Upon strolling from the Skyrail to the village of Kuranda, we had a tasty turkey and bacon croissant. Rather than being an aboriginal village as we expected, it is just a bunch of craft shops, but it was nice. Of special note were free samples of Dutch pancakes, which were shaped like donut holes but tasted more like Belgian waffles. Just as for Maui's Hana, Kuranda Village isn't nearly as interesting as the voyage to and from the destination. The highlight of the day was the train ride back down on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. The historic train snakes down a track that was built to service miners.

While aborigines lived off the land in Australia long before transplanted Europeans, the city of Cairns wasn't founded until 1876 to support nearby mining interests. In 1882, tin minors, faced with near famine, clamored for a railroad, because the boggy roads made it difficult to obtain necessary supplies. The government of Queensland, wanting to encourage economic activity, looked into possible railway routes, finally settling on one from Cairns rather than its competitor Port Douglas. Having completed their surveys, they broke ground in 1886, dividing the job into three sections. The first leg was supposed to be relatively easy, and the winning bider of $40,000 apparently bit off more than he could chew, begging off when building through swamps led to worker illness. Another company assumed the contract and also failed, with the government of Queensland finally completing the leg. The second leg, which would have the steepest climb and most challenging conditions, has 15 tunnels and 93 curves, often perched precariously on steep embankments and right next to waterfalls. It was bid at just under $600,000, which indicates the first leg might have been underbid at least a bit, although it was much more difficult.

There were some worker deaths and other difficulties along the way, but the total project was finished in 1891.  During the five years of construction, the workers unionized and even had a short strike that won them an extra 5 cents per day in wages, but no job, no matter how lucrative, lasts forever.  By April of 1890, the railway was approaching completion, and the contractor John Robb prepared a banquet on Stone Creek Bridge, a truly amazing spot where a waterfall cascades a few feet from the track at a dizzying height above the steep canyon below. The roar of the waterfall made the politician's speeches almost impossible to hear and subsequently short, so it was one of the best political banquets ever.

All the way down on our train ride, the views were amazing, and we had a few stops and slowdowns to see waterfalls and vistas, but that Stone Creek Bridge is like nothing I have ever seen. Amazing.

We got off the train in Cairns at 4:15, and because our flight left at 6:20, we walked very fast across town to our hotel and got a taxi at our hotel. Upon hearing our schedule, he got a bit smile on his face and proceeded to race through town, passing cars and disregarding car lanes, all the time carrying on cheerful banter, to get us to the airport on time. Actually, the airport turned out to be uncrowded, laid back and friendly, and we had enough time for a Cajun chicken salad and smoothie before boarding.

We flew on Jet Star, which has to be one of the most uncomfortable modern planes out there, with barely enough leg rooms and seats that didn't recline. The 2 ½ hour flight to Sydney seemed much longer.