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| A photo of the train to Kuranda taken from the Skyrail on the return trip. |
| Glenn's Journal 02-15-03 & 02-16-03 Queensland Another relaxing day as we had no plans. We plan on getting to the Karanda market but it is only open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sundays. We did not go yesterday as Erin's burnt butt would not have been comfortable for her to ride the train with but we will go tomorrow. Erin spent most of the day inside (out of the sun) catching up on journals and completing any postcards that she may have remaining. She would brag to me later that she was all caught up and that I wasn't. I had some work to do!! I spent the day at the pool as I was there before noon and didn't return to the room until almost 4:00 pm. At 4:00 pm I convinced Erin to join me as the sun was dropping behind the buildings and there were some shady spots. We returned to the pool for a few more hours. Tonight we prepared dinner at home and spent the rest of the evening enjoying a good movie before calling it a day. Tomorrow we will take the train to Karanda and the markets. 02-16-03 Queensland Sunday morning and we wanted to catch the train up to Karanda. We called the front desk to verify where to go to catch the train and she mentioned that the sky rail was running on the weekend as well. (The Skyrail is closed during the week for maintenance as it is low season here.) We agreed to take the tour that would take us up to Karanda on the train with a return on the skyrail and a bus to take us back to the train station to collect our car. It was 9:15 am and we only had 20 minutes to make it to the train station for the 9:45 am train to Karanda. We made it to the train station around 9:30 am and waited in line until 9:45 am to get our tickets. We quickly boarded the train where we enjoyed the one hour and twenty minute ride up to Karanda. The train ride included a stop at the gorge and a beautiful waterfall, albeit limited waterflow due to the drought, along the way. We arrrived in Karanda around 11:20 am and walked into town, which is only two minutes away. We window shopped through many of the local stores before finally stopping for lunch. After lunch we made our way to the Karanda market, one of the reasons we are here, and toured through the market area. We did pick up a few things here while shopping before making our way back to the main part of town for some continued window shopping. Erin even bought an opal necklace with earrings from a local shop. We made our way back to the Skyrail for our 3:30 pm departure time. The ride back was spectacular as the scenery from the Skyrail overlooking the forest provides the best views. We stopped at both lookouts that are provided including a stop at the rainforest. We made our way to the bus stop where we caught the bus back to our car and returned to the condo by around 5:00 pm. We still had time for a relaxing swim before dinner which we would cook at the apartment. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing as we have a drive day to Townsville tomorrow. |
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| Kuranda Falls can be seen during stops on both the train and skyrail to and from Kuranda. |