Australia – Cairns

Following our grueling flight schedule, we did not know what day or time it was (and nor did we care!), we just wanted sleep! Amazingly, we woke up Wednesday morning refreshed and ready for the day. And so we made our way to the Great Adventures boat for our boat ride to Green Island and Glass Bottom Boat experience to view a section of the Great Barrier Reef and lots of fish.

It was a 45-minute boat ride to Green Island, which is a small, 6,000-year-old coral cay located on the Great Barrier Reef. It is a national park covered in rainforest and surrounded by white sandy beaches and coral reefs. But first we had lunch at the Emerald Bar at the Green Island Resort along with the local birds. Then it was on to the glass bottom boats to view the marine life.

The water was absolutely beautiful with vibrant blue hues and crystal clear.

Upon returning to Cairns and following a drink at Dundee’s on the boardwalk, we later walked a short distance to the downtown area and had dinner at Lemoncello’s, a very popular spot.

Thursday morning we were up early and made our way to Cairns Central, the train station, for a train ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. The construction of the Cairns-Kuranda Railway was an engineering feat. The carriages date back to the early 1900s, and each carriage was made from Silky Oak timber. There are 33 kilometres of track and the train ascends 327 metres above sea level. There are 15 hand carved tunnels, 55 bridges and 98 curves. It was a wonderful ride!

The scenery was spectacular. Arriving in Kuranda we had lunch at the Kuranda Hotel and then wandered the shops in Kuranda, which were varied and mostly interesting.

Then, it was a series of three Skyrails to get back to Cairns followed by a short bus ride back to downtown Cairns.

To end our stay in Cairns we had dinner at the Waterbar & Grill Steakhouse, again on the boardwalk. We knew we were welcomed in true Aussie fashion when I was addressed as “Love,” and Steve was welcomed as a “Mate.”