Another full day

So today we woke up early to meet our bus that would take us to the Freshwater Train station where we would start our journey up to Kuranda in the rainforest. The scenic railway winds up the mountain past waterfalls and what should have beautiful views of Cairns. However, it was another rainy/cloudy day and visibility was a bit limited. On the train we heard about the construction of the railway and all the history behind it.

Once we arrived in Kuranda, we took a walk through rainforest, visited the market, and went to a butterfly sanctuary. Butterflies kept landing on me--they must realize my new appreciation for the animal kingdom. Or maybe I was just standing still too long.

To get back down the mountain, we took the skyrail--a gondala ride through the canopy (again, more lovely views of fog). Our guide did tell us to look for a crocodile that she often sees sunning itself out on log as we went over the river. She was right--it was there. We decided being 200ft up in the air was a safe enough distance to see a crocodile in the wild.

Our last stop on the tour today was an Aboriginal cultural show/presentation. We saw dancing, learned how to throw a boomerang and spear, listened to playing of the didgeridoo, and learned about the history of the aboriginals in Australia and how, like all indigenous peoples, were enslaved or killed and robbed of their land.

We're all currently hanging out at the hostel watching some tv and reading and relaxing. I think we'll sleep in tomorrow. We don't have anything really planned tomorrow but we're hoping to see the sun.