We left Wonga Beach on Saturday morning and headed for Cairns.  We stopped for a cuppa on the beach - very relaxing sitting under a tree looking out to the water, the island and mountains. 

 

We checked in to the Big 4 Crystal Cascades Caravan Park at Redlynch and then went into Cairns City to do a bit of shopping and have some lunch.  I bought some comfy shoes and a few tops. 

We then set off to the Esplanade to have a look at the water - this is what we found....

She was a tad dry!!

We wandered around town and found a hairdresser as Dennis started looking like the mad professor.  Before that he told me that he didn't like my hat so I was trying to find one, when he grabbed the one I had off my head and promptly took it outside and threw it in the bin - so I had no option but to find another one - it just took a few shops before I was happy with my purchase!  The tide started to come back in and we sat at one of the Esplanade bars and had a couple of drinks - very relaxing.

We went back to the caravan park and got ready to go out to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park where they had a Show and Dinner package available.  It was a great night learning about their culture - we had our faces painted, sang, played instruments and I even got to help with the fire starting process.
 
The 4 course meal was great - very tasty.  We purchased a couple of items from the shop and then went home.

Sunday morning and we got up and ready for the train trip on the Kuranda Scenic Railway.  We went to Freshwater Station then boarded the train and set off for the hour and a half journey up the range to Kuranda.  What a spectacular journey.  The hardships that the labourers endured while building the railway all those years ago must have been incredible.

We alighted at Kuranda and wandered around the village which is very much like Maleny/Montville - little market stores all over the place and vendors trying to sell their wares as we walked past.

While we were there, we went to BirdWorld where hundreds of species of birds flew freely around the huge aviary. Some of them were quite friendly, allowing us to hold them and pat them. We were very excited to finally see a Cassowary.

 The return journey on the train was just as enjoyable and we alighted at Freshwater to return home and grab a quick cuppa before heading off for Cairns for a sunset cruise and dinner.  We dined at Dundee's restaurant and tried the kangaroo & crocodile skewers - crocodile definitely tastes like chicken!!

 

 

 Tomorrow we start our journey home and will possibly stop at around Proserpine - we will see what sights come our way tomorrow.

TFL, Ann & Dennis