The Far North Queensland market town of Kuranda is situated in the mountains roughly halfway between the city of Cairns and the smaller, more intimate resort of Port Douglas.
There are two major ways to get to the town. The SkyRail, pictured here, is a multi-mile long gondola ride involving three transfers and quite a bit of dizzying heights over the rainforest canopy below.
The second major route (there are roads, but those are largely not used by tourists) is via the Kuranda Scenic Rail Line, a train which winds its way up the mountainside past the Kuranda River and into the station at the foot of the town.
On the day we were there the SkyRail was a madhouse. The staff were overwhelmed and lines were hours long. Nobody knew why. It eventually came to light that someone -- a local mind you -- had tried to cross the train tracks in front of the oncoming train. As it usually does, the train won. But it also meant an investigation, etc.
So all the train passengers made their way to the rail line and the system was overwhelmed.
However, once we were airborne, and I was able to get my acrophobia to quiet itself down enough to enjoy the view, the journey was spectacular.
Below is an empty gondola headed back down the hill to retrieve more visitors.
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