Kaoru’s Birthday

We woke up early and Kaoru unwrapped a present from Rob and Anthea, which we had carried around, and a card from Mum and Dad. We showered, and then I looked at my phone and decided to read the text message that had come in. Luckily I did, as it was from our tour for the day, saying the scenic railway to Kuranda wasn’t running today due to a problem found on a bridge. I called the booking place and they said as we had a return package, they had also cancelled our skyrail ticket back down. Very annoying as there were limited times we could catch it.

I got online and found a booking for the same time (1.30) skyrail – went through the process of putting my credit card in, and it got rejected saying no more tickets available (somebody must’ve done it at the same time). I saw a “limited availability” for the 1.15 timeslot and luckily got that. Now we had to work out how to get to the top. Our options were Uber, public transport, or a shuttle bus. I found a 9.25 bus departure which was our planned train time anyway, so it just means we’d have an extra hour at Kuranda (as the bus is quicker than the scenic railway); they don’t take bookings so we just had to make sure we were there in time. All good – let’s start the day!

We checked out and put our bags in storage, and started walking to the bus stop / train station, looking for a cafe to have breakfast at. We found one and sat down to relax and eat a big breakfast. We continued our walk and got to the bus stop about 9.10. It was then that I realised I had looked at the Monday-Friday timetable. On Sunday’s the bus doesn’t leave until 10.30! So we now had another hour to kill. We walked around for 15 minutes or so, but then stayed at the bus stop, worried that if a lot of people were doing the same thing as us, the bus could be full and we wanted to make sure we got on. So it was a lot of “hurry up and wait” for the morning. Eventually the bus arrived, we paid the $7 or so, and were on our way.

The drive up was uneventful. There were some nice views looking out, but I slept for a bit of it. Finally we made it to Kuranda. After getting our bearings we walked around aimlessly and eventually ended up at the honey shop – which was one of the things we wanted to do. After sampling some honey we purchased some, as well as some balsamic vinegar with honey. We then continued our walk around and Kaoru bought some opal earrings “from Mum and Dad”. When we first arrived at Kuranda it seemed quite small, but as we were walking around we noticed it is really very large, and got to the point of being in a bit of a rush! Once we were comfortable we knew where the skyrail departure point was we stopped for some lunch. The staff there were very laid back. They were sitting down having some food of their own when we arrived and casually finished that (without even acknowledging us) before making a coffee and then *finally* asking us if we wanted some lunch. We ordered and took a seat. Not eventful.

We caught the skyrail down, stopping at Barron Falls for a walk around, and then at Red Peak. Both beautiful sites and it was great to break the ride up and enjoy it a bit more. We arrived at the bottom about 2.40. I called Gavin, and he had just arrived. He and Molly had been in the area for BMX, and had a few hours before their flight back to Brisbane, so we took the opportunity to catch up. They drove us back to Cairns to get our bags, and then to Trinity Beach, which was where we were spending the next couple of days. At Trinity Beach Kaoru and I checked in and then the 4 of us went to the pub and had a drink and chat. It was really good catching up with them, but just after 4.00 they had to head back to the airport, so we said goodbye.

We went to our room and put thongs on, and then had a walk on the beach. The water wasn’t too cold, but I didn’t go in. We had a good walk around the vicinity, having a look at the restaurants that were on offer, and stopping at the Tavern for a cocktail or 2, which had a lovely view of the ocean from upstairs; and as we weren’t staying long we were able to get a good seat – it was reserved but not until 6.30. As it was Kaoru’s birthday I wanted to find a nice seafood extravaganza, but no such luck. We ended up going to a place called “Koi” Seafood – a greek restaurant. It was next door to a Thai restaurant, and we were told we can order from both places, which doubled the size of our menu! So we had a drink and dinner.

Back in the room I took out my scuba gear (fins / mask / computer / etc) and washed them properly in the bath, to get all the salt out. We watched tv for a bit and called it a night.