Cairns - Daintree Rain Forest

Today we docked in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Despite it being the drier season, they’ve had unusually high amounts of rain in recent weeks, but today, sunshine. Cairns is located adjacent to the oldest rainforest in the world — Daintree. From near the city they have a gondola ride that takes visitors up and through the rain forest to a tiny tourist town called Kuranda. 

We decided to take the ride up and it didn’t disappoint. The ride makes two stops before it reaches the little village. It’s about 15 minutes between each stop. The second stop is a lookout over the Baron Falls — very beautiful. 







The little town of Kuranda was originally an Aboriginal village. In the late 1800s it was settled but White Europeans and was important for mining and building the railroad, but now is mostly a tourist attraction. Shopping and food line the main street. There’s also a butterfly sanctuary, koala park, and bird park if one wants to spend more money. 

We just shopped for some souvenirs and had a meat pie and coffee before heading back. It was great because we got off the ship in time to beat the ship’s excursions. It was a cute little town and we got to enjoy it before the crowds arrived. 







On the ride back we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife among the canopy … and attentiveness paid off. Kristi spotted a snoozing koala and we both caught sight of a tree kangaroo and soaring sulfur crested cockatoo. Our Uber driver back to the port said she’s never seen either a koala or tree kangaroo in the 15 years she’s been in Cairns. 



We got back on board fairly early and had lunch. Then we spent a few hours in our cabin to build a model ship for one of the activities happening in a couple days. The goal?  Build a ship and compete against other passengers who decide to participate. Models’ seaworthiness will be tested in the pool on the next sea day. They will also be judged on creativity and the ability to hold cargo.  We can only use materials that are ours, nothing that belongs to the ship. And we can’t ask any crew for help or materials. Our secret weapon?  We bought duct tape in town today. We think we have a good chance, but more importantly we’re having fun. What Carnival lacks in high-end cuisine they do somewhat make up for with a lot of activities. 






Not quite done …

After ship building we took a short nap in preparation for dinner. We had a nice dinner tonight. The food has been hit and miss. Jim didn’t even finish much of his entree last night but tonight was good. Different from our last cruise, we have assigned seating and have been sitting with the same two
American couples each evening: Bryan and Susan from Alabama & Mark and Katie from Arizona.  It’s been very nice. 

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