Cairns Arrival and Kuranda

This morning we left the hotel at 4:30 AM for an early flight to Cairns. The travel was uneventful, as is usually good, and we arrive in Cairns (pronounced Cans) by 9 AM. We immediately went to a train station to take a train up into the mountains to Kuranda. The trip was magnificent, and it was especially fun to stand outside the car and just view the mountains all around us as we ascended the mountain. After we were up top we had some time to browse the stores before eating lunch at a café. The way back down the mountain was a treat as well because we took the Skyrail and rode in a gondola. We were way up in the air and had a breathtaking view of the surrounding rainforest and of Cairns and the ocean. Once we were back at the hotel we had a lecture on the Great Barrier Reef and then dinner. The picture below is from the Skyrail looking over the outskirts of Cairns and the ocean beyond.