The day started out like any typical day. It wasn’t until I arrived at Terminal T2, the
Domestic Terminal in Sydney, that frustration began setting in. It was check-in time for a domestic flight up
to Cairns. I had never flown on JetStar before and it is quite possible that I will never fly on them again.
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| JetStar Airlines |
When I made my online flight reservation I opted to add
luggage as this airlines is the queen of ‘no-frills’. You are only allowed 7kg of luggage
free. That represents just a little over
15 pounds. Excess is charged at the rate
of $12AUD per kilo. My large suitcase
tipped the scale at just under 50 pounds.
In addition I had a small backpack.
I think it was at the point when the JetStar employee said “Your excess
baggage charge will be $180” that frustration quickly mounted. After 30 minutes
and a Supervisor being called for assistance, the luggage was finally accepted and no excess
baggage fees were charged. All this frustration for a 3-hour flight.
Tip: I had checked the terminal T2 baggage storage
area BEFORE heading to the JetStar check-in counter as I didn’t need my large
suitcase in Cairns but when I discovered the fee would be close to $50 decided
to take the suitcase with me. Next time
I would pay the baggage storage fee and leave the suitcase in Sydney and pick
it up on my return flight. On second
thought – an alternate option might be to fly on an airline that doesn’t charge
for a checked suitcase.
I was aware that everything on JetStar is an extra charge so
had taken the initiative to bring along a sandwich and water for the flight. A bottle of water onboard was $4AUD. Headsets, pillows, blankets all carried a
charge. There was no problem with the
flight itself but the seats were extremely small and terribly cramped. Arrival into Cairns was without incident
and luggage arrived within minutes of arrival.
Transfer from the airport to the Cairns Luxury Apartments
was arranged online through Viator. The
transfer company used was Airport Connections.
The representative met me in the baggage claim area wearing a red shirt
with black trim. He took control of the
luggage cart and we proceeded out to the loading area located just outside of
baggage claim. He was driving a white van and towing a small white trailer that was
used to store the luggage.
Email instructions from Cairns Luxury Apartments indicated that
I was to check-in at the Visitor Information Center located directly across the
street from the Casino. Cairns LuxuryApartments operate a desk inside the Visitor Center. They manage bookings for the Cairns Harbor Lights Apartments, which is where our unit was located. It was a block away so after checking in and
returning to the van, the driver drove the extra block to the Harbor
Lights.
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| Entrance to Harbour Lights Apartments |
The reserved unit was a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen
located on the second floor. The unit was a corner location overlooking the
Hilton on one side and the harbor on the other.
It was a short walk to the local grocery store. I discovered that in Australia Woolworths is
not a dime store like in the United States, but are grocery chain. I took my small roller bag along and loaded
it with the grocery purchase. Right next
door to Woolworths was a BWS Store (Beer, Wine and Spirits). Shopping done, bag packed and it was
back to room to cook dinner. Evening
ended sitting on the balcony enjoying a glass of Chardonnay and watching the sun
set over the harbor. After a nice meal and a good nights sleep, the morning would
bring a renewed energy.
The Kuranda Scenic Railway
was on my bucket list and it proved to be everything I anticipated it to be.
On May 10th 1886, a silver
spade was used to turn the first sod with the route that was completed in three sections. The total length of the tracks are 75.1km
long. It was June 15th 1891 when
the railway was opened to passenger travel.
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| Kuranda Scenic Railway |
The Cairns condo was only a 30 minute walk to the downtown train
station. Weather was excellent and the
walk very easy. There are two classes of
service available. You could purchase a
standard “Heritage” class ticket and travel in authentic timber carriages, some
of which are up to 90 years old. This
type of ticket cost $50AUD for the one-way trip.
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| Standard "Heritage" Class |
The second type of ticket is called the “Gold” class. This VIP Golden Class ticket offers extra
comfort and a bit more luxury. The car
features a dedicated host with hand crafted Victorian décor and club class
individual lounge seats. The VIP ticket carries an additional
charge. I opted for the VIP “Gold” class
at a cost of $99AUD for the one-way trip.
The “Gold” service train only departs once a day from Cairns at 9:30am
and takes 2 hours to complete the trip.
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| VIP "Gold" class |
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| Seated in VIP "Gold" Class with our first glass of wine |
The train left promptly at 9:30am, making a
brief stop at Watertown to pick up additional passengers. There was another 5 min photo stop at Barron
Falls. The VIP Golden Class was very nice. Seats were large and plush, like
bucket seats. A variety of drinks are offered.
I opted for sparkling wine. First to be served was a warm feta and
spinach pastry roll. Next came some savory muffins made with cheddar cheese,
bacon and herbs. Then came the freshly baked ANZAC biscuits and lastly a 100%
pure mango frozen treat. The trained
pulled into the Kuranda station at 11:30am.
The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is located
just to the left as you exit the train station.
This is a fantastic journey over and through the oldest surviving
tropical rainforest on earth. It will
give you a unique perspective of Australia’s World Heritage Listed Tropical
Rainforest. I checked in at the ticket
booth and exchanged my online e-ticket for my paper ticket.
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| Skyrail Terminal at Kuranda Village |
With a 12:30pm
departure time this left almost an hour to meander through the Kuranda Marketplace with it’s small shops and restaurants. Just enough time to walk to the end and back put me at the entrance to the Skyrail at 12:25pm. The trip takes an hour
and a half if you get off at both stops.
Watch out for “Flash” the frog.
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| Street of Kuranda Village |
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| Street of Kuranda Village |
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| Street of Kuranda Village |
Skyrail offers a unique option they
call the Diamond View Gondola. These are
glass bottom gondolas that seat 5 and leaves about every 7 minutes. For someone who has trouble handling heights,
just getting me into a regular gondola was a struggle.
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| Diamond View Gondola at Skyrail |
The first stop is at Barron Falls and
the second is at Red Peak. The gondola
descends through the canopy layers deep into the forest. To enhance the experience I suggest, at
minimum, that you hop off at Red Peak and take the complimentary Ranger guided 175-meter
boardwalk tour. Complete with interpretive
signage and stunning views you will want to allow 20-30 minutes at this
stop.
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| Skyrail Route |
At the Red Peak stop you will be
surrounded by the towering trees, lush palms, giant ferns and a diverse array
of plants and wildlife. The rainforest
is littered with electric blue Ulysses butterflies and Cockatoos. You will conclude the trip at Smithfield,
located about 15 minutes from downtown Cairns.
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| Ulysses Butterfly |
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| Cockatoo of Rainforest |
Located next door to the Skyrail
terminal in Smithfield is the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Center. The brochure listed this as “The
original authentic Australian indigenous cultural experience.” and it lived up
to the statement. This was a fantastic
experience lasting more than three hours and provided a much deeper understanding
of Australia’s diverse Aboriginal heritage.
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| Entrance to the Tjapukai Cultural Center |
As
you enter the Cultural Center you are ushered into the round Bulurru Storywaters Theater to watch
indigenous performers bring their culture to life by presenting a dreamtime
story of the Tjapukai people’s belief in the creation of the world through
performance and visual effects. Here you
learn the differences between the Aboriginal clans of Australia.
As you exit the Bulurru Storywaters Theater you are ushered across the lake to the outdoor Dance Theater where you witness a ‘corroboree’ celebration, an
assembly of Aborigines typified by singing and dancing, often associated with
traditional sacred rites. The
‘corroboree’ celebration was followed by a fire making ceremony.
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| Outdoor corroboree celebration |
At the conclusion of the ‘corroboree’
celebration and the fire making ceremony we were divided into smaller groups of
8-10 with each group having an Aboriginal leader who remained with the group for
the duration of the tour. Our guide gave us insight into the gathering and
cooking of bush foods and the medicinal values of native plants. You learn first hand from a warrior about
traditional hunting methods and tribal law.
Finally we were introduced to the complex techniques
of playing a didgeridoo, including vibration, rhythm and breathing techniques.
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| Teaching the didgeridoo |
Next it was off to the spear throwing area
where you are schooled in the art of using a traditional milay spear thrower. Our targets were cardboard kangaroos. Finally it was off to the
boomerang area to learn the art of throwing a returning boomerang.
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| Spear throwing area |
At the conclusion of the tour we found that
we still had about 45 minutes before our bus was due to arrive. This allowed time for a short stop inside the restaurant for
a local beer before heading to the bus stop.
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| Last minute photo before heading back to Cairns |
Our return trip to downtown Cairns took 30 minutes making 4 stops
along the way, arriving back at the bus station in downtown Cairns at
6:00pm. What a fantastic day it was!
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