Our flight in Perth was delayed by an hour for our departure and we were so tired that I was once again asleep before the safety briefing and only awake long enough to eat and was out again before the tray was picked up. ,It was quite lucky that the connecting flight in Brisbane was also running late as we just had about 10 minutes to catch the flight with our luggage also somehow able to make it.
We took a taxi to the dive shop to drop off our luggage. Mams wanted to do some shopping, however I really wanted to take a
Skyway Rainforest Cableway tour through the mountains, so we ended up parting for the day. I was able to make arrangement at a tourist booking spot just minutes before the shuttle bus was to come by, so I really lucked out. Timing on this trip has been incredible so far with everything coming together just right.
Once I got to the visitor center, I picked up my ticket and quickly boarded for an excellent ride up the mountainside. This was the longest ride (4.7 miles one-way taking about 90 minutes) I have ever taken and the views and experience were great. The start was at about an elevation of 16ft with the highest point along the way at 1,700 feet, so it was quite a climb. I was fairly thick into the rain forest in just a few minutes and really enjoyed several stops along the way. Each of these transfer stations had a boardwalk going around the rain forest canopy and had interpretive guides that shared some information about the area.
The skyrail termination was in the small town of Kuranda that was nice in that it had several other small attractions as well as some eateries, bars, and shops. I even came across a private bat rescue center when wandering around some of the off-beaten paths around the town.
I took the scenic railway back into Cairns to the downtown station just a few blocks from the dive shop. the railway itself was another grand part of the adventure trip and had many sweeping vistas and even stopped for a close-up look at Baron Falls. There was plenty of space in the cars and I could easily move about and even experience the ride between the cars for a short while. After a quick Internet cafe e-mail check I headed to the shop to sign in.
When we got there we found out that we had been upgraded to private suites since they had extra bookings in the berths that we had originally reserved. While signing paperwork we chatted with the other divers as we would be spending the next 3-4 days with them. A van picked us up and took us to the boat, Taka, where we loaded out gear after being shown our rooms. Originally we were to be in one of the lower berths with shared facilities, however we were fortunate enough to be bumped into the private suites with out own toilet, shower, and sink area. After a pretty long briefing, we had the first of many incredible meals during the trip.
Our flight in Perth was delayed by an hour for our departure and we were so tired that I was once again asleep before the safety briefing and only awake long enough to eat and was out again before the tray was picked up. ,It was quite lucky that the connecting flight in Brisbane was also running late as we just had about 10 minutes to catch the flight with our luggage also somehow able to make it. 
We took a taxi to the dive shop to drop off our luggage. Mams wanted to do some shopping, however I really wanted to take a Skyway Rainforest Cableway tour through the mountains, so we ended up parting for the day. I was able to make arrangement at a tourist booking spot just minutes before the shuttle bus was to come by, so I really lucked out. Timing on this trip has been incredible so far with everything coming together just right.
Once I got to the visitor center, I picked up my ticket and quickly boarded for an excellent ride up the mountainside. This was the longest ride (4.7 miles one-way taking about 90 minutes) I have ever taken and the views and experience were great. The start was at about an elevation of 16ft with the highest point along the way at 1,700 feet, so it was quite a climb. I was fairly thick into the rain forest in just a few minutes and really enjoyed several stops along the way. Each of these transfer stations had a boardwalk going around the rain forest canopy and had interpretive guides that shared some information about the area. 
The skyrail termination was in the small town of Kuranda that was nice in that it had several other small attractions as well as some eateries, bars, and shops. I even came across a private bat rescue center when wandering around some of the off-beaten paths around the town.
I took the scenic railway back into Cairns to the downtown station just a few blocks from the dive shop. the railway itself was another grand part of the adventure trip and had many sweeping vistas and even stopped for a close-up look at Baron Falls. There was plenty of space in the cars and I could easily move about and even experience the ride between the cars for a short while. After a quick Internet cafe e-mail check I headed to the shop to sign in. 
When we got there we found out that we had been upgraded to private suites since they had extra bookings in the berths that we had originally reserved. While signing paperwork we chatted with the other divers as we would be spending the next 3-4 days with them. A van picked us up and took us to the boat, Taka, where we loaded out gear after being shown our rooms. Originally we were to be in one of the lower berths with shared facilities, however we were fortunate enough to be bumped into the private suites with out own toilet, shower, and sink area. After a pretty long briefing, we had the first of many incredible meals during the trip.
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