MOUNTAINS MEET THE SEA
Captain James Cook sailed up the North Queensland coast on his first voyage of Discovery in 1770 and mapped the future site of Cairns, naming it Trinity Bay. This town is a jumping off spot for the Great Barrier Reef and one of the most difficult waterways in the world to navigate. The land belonged to the Walubarra Yidinji people, who still recognize local indigenous property rights and interests in this area. Cairns (pronounced( CANZ) was founded in 1876, hastened by the need to export gold discovered on the tablelands. The railway opened up land that was later used for agriculture and helped establish Carins as a port city. During WWII, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces as a staging base for operations in the Pacific. After WWII, Carins slowly reinvented itself as a center for tourism. And what a delightful and very tidy town it is! We had been here 5 or 6 years ago when we visited (snorkeled) the Great Barrier Reef. Boca couldn't wrap her head around the correct pronunciation of Cairns....remember it's pronounced CANZ Boca!
Skyrail A Beautiful Rainforest Experience.
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Cairns, is a world class ride in environmental tourism taking us on an amazing experience over Australia’s World Heritage listed Tropical Rainforest canopy and deep into the forest.
Gliding just metres above the rainforest canopy in comfortable six-person gondola cabins, the Skyrail journey immersed us in an intimate rainforest experience where we saw, heard, smelled and become part of the tropical rainforest environment.
Eucalyptus woodlands with an understorey of primitive fern like plants some many hundreds of years old dominate this part of our Skyrail experience.This vine clad rain forest is awesome!
A stop off at the Kuranda village for a look see of souvenirs. And Bubba found the perfect T Shirt souvenir. No shopping for Boca so far. The prices in Australia are about 30% more than US pricing give or take certain items, restaurants, hotels...other than wine, the hard liquor and beer is quite pricey. A case (24 bottles) of beer in Sydney ran from $40 to $45! George Heidkamp would have to become a wino in the down under as the Budweiser's price are out of sight!
Dinner is always an experience on the Voyager. Using a new belt notch Bubs? Boca has been sticking with the pull on pants as well. We have been learning quite a bit about wine from our Canadian friend Larry. He is quite the connoisseur. Bubba's hands started to tremble when he looked closely at a bottle of Petrus 1997 that Larry was drinking. Boca didn't get it so when she was back in her suite looked up Petrus pricing on the net....holy moly. Thinking- drinking that wine would have to be close to a hallucinogenic experience. I guess everybody has their little "passion"- Bubba enjoys his guns and Boca has fun with her baubles. Way to hit it out of the park Larry our Dr. of Wineology.
Captain James Cook sailed up the North Queensland coast on his first voyage of Discovery in 1770 and mapped the future site of Cairns, naming it Trinity Bay. This town is a jumping off spot for the Great Barrier Reef and one of the most difficult waterways in the world to navigate. The land belonged to the Walubarra Yidinji people, who still recognize local indigenous property rights and interests in this area. Cairns (pronounced( CANZ) was founded in 1876, hastened by the need to export gold discovered on the tablelands. The railway opened up land that was later used for agriculture and helped establish Carins as a port city. During WWII, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces as a staging base for operations in the Pacific. After WWII, Carins slowly reinvented itself as a center for tourism. And what a delightful and very tidy town it is! We had been here 5 or 6 years ago when we visited (snorkeled) the Great Barrier Reef. Boca couldn't wrap her head around the correct pronunciation of Cairns....remember it's pronounced CANZ Boca!
Skyrail A Beautiful Rainforest Experience.
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Cairns, is a world class ride in environmental tourism taking us on an amazing experience over Australia’s World Heritage listed Tropical Rainforest canopy and deep into the forest.
The Skyrail experience, spanning 7.5kms over pristine rainforest, allowed us to explore the wonders of an ancient tropical rainforest and learn about one of the most botanically fascinating and diverse areas on earth.
Gliding just metres above the rainforest canopy in comfortable six-person gondola cabins, the Skyrail journey immersed us in an intimate rainforest experience where we saw, heard, smelled and become part of the tropical rainforest environment.
We enjoyed the stunning rainforest scenery, panoramic views of the Cairns’ tropical region and the glittering waters of the Coral Sea. Alighting at Skyrail’s two rainforest mid-stations, Red Peak and Barron Falls, where we explored this amazing environment from the forest floor on boardwalks, scenic look-outs and in the state-of-the-art Rainforest Interpretation Centre.
Eucalyptus woodlands with an understorey of primitive fern like plants some many hundreds of years old dominate this part of our Skyrail experience.This vine clad rain forest is awesome!
Dinner is always an experience on the Voyager. Using a new belt notch Bubs? Boca has been sticking with the pull on pants as well. We have been learning quite a bit about wine from our Canadian friend Larry. He is quite the connoisseur. Bubba's hands started to tremble when he looked closely at a bottle of Petrus 1997 that Larry was drinking. Boca didn't get it so when she was back in her suite looked up Petrus pricing on the net....holy moly. Thinking- drinking that wine would have to be close to a hallucinogenic experience. I guess everybody has their little "passion"- Bubba enjoys his guns and Boca has fun with her baubles. Way to hit it out of the park Larry our Dr. of Wineology.
