Kurunda & Palm Cove

Back on dry land, (although it is still very rainy) we continued North up the coast to check out the Kuranda National Park, part of the tropical Queensland Rainforest which stretches north covering over 30,000km. It claims to be the oldest surviving rainforest in the world having been around with the dinosaurs. It suffered heavily at the hands of loggers during the mid 20th centuy but has been bouncing back since it became a world heritage site and fully protected.

There is a cable car which takes you up into the forest with stops to get out and get close to the fauna and flora which are endemic to Australia and have a look at the incredible Barron water fall carving its way through the granite gorge.

At the top is the township of Kuranda, a once thriving logging and mining town which has now become a bit of a tourist trap full of art and souvenir shops. We got to have a good look around before the heavens opened again.

Back down the cable car and on to Palm Cove where we stayed for two nights, a cute little Beach town with a lively esplanade of bars and restaurants , we even found time to fit in a game of pool.Read more