March 23, 2012 Fri Day 43 Cairns

Willie Wagtail. also known as the gossip bird.
When the aboriginals walk by this bird, they stop talking for fear that the gossip will continue. Its common name is derived from its habit of wagging its tail horizontally when foraging on the ground.  We saw this a few times in our travels and it is very entertaining. 

Today we did the "Kuranda Scenic Railway", and the "Skyrail Rainforest Cableway"

The train was built 120 years ago, and winds it's way through the mountains from Cairns to Kuranda. 

Two hour train ride. 

The front two cars were hand painted by an aboriginal.  

Beautiful sunny day again. Stunning scenery. 

Marcel made friends with a tourist from India.
When the train tour came to an end, he asked us what we were doing next.
Then said,  " I go wit you".  And he did.
Unfortunately...he forgot his deodorant this morning. 

Usually do the blogging in the office. Blogging in the phone booth now, the office is closed. But it works. 

Marcel told the man from India that we were first going to have lunch before we took the Skyrail.
No problem, he waited for us. 

Haliconia 

A 1 1/4 hour ride on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Above the rainforest.  

First skyrail stop.  Picture taken by our nameless friend at the Barron Waterfalls.  853 ft high.

And there he is...following Peter. 

Beautiful view of the lush rainforest below us. 

Here you can see the height of the cablecars.

A 400 year old Kauri Pine.  Second skyrail stop for a boardwalk at Red Peak. 
This tree also grows in Northern NZ.  The one we did not stop to look at. lol. 

Nearing the end of our skyrail ride.  Overlooking Cairns and the Coral Sea. 

Cluster Fig Tree
It is a moderate to large sized deciduous tree with large clusters of fruits on short leafless branches arising from the main trunk or large branches. The figs change from green to red as they mature. 
This was the only time we saw these fig trees.  

Umbrella Tree
I bought two small books at the train station.
One with Flowers and the other Animals of the Wet Tropics.
Tomorrow a trip to the Great Barrier Reef.