The first stretch of the journey was slow going, as the train began its climb up the mountain, winding its way through tight curves and burrowing through tunnels like it had somewhere very important to be—but no rush about getting there. The rain, meanwhile, was absolutely relentless. Great for the rainforest, less so for photography. Still, that didn’t stop us—we snapped away regardless, even when the camera lenses were getting drenched.
We passed the famous curved bridge with a waterfall thundering down on the other side, so we split duties— I grabbed the train-on-the-bridge view from the window, while Lorna focused on the waterfall. Teamwork at its finest… even if both of us were slightly damp doing it.
About ten minutes outside Kuranda, the train made a brief stop for a “photo opportunity”—or, as I like to call it, a chance to step outside and get completely soaked if you weren’t already wet enough from leaning out of the windows. There was a huge waterfall in the distance, just visible through the mist and haze, which did its best to ruin the shot—but we took the photos anyway. Proof we were there, if nothing else.
Back on the train for the final stretch, we eventually rolled into Kuranda Station, where Brian was waiting for us under an umbrella like a hero in a rain-soaked movie scene. We all piled onto the coach, and after a short 15-minute drive, we arrived at Rainforestation for the Army Duck ride.
We hopped off, were rounded up by Wayne, and directed towards our two Army Ducks.
Seats were claimed with the usual quiet determination, and off we went into the rainforest. Our driver gave us a cheerful rundown of all the local things that could kill us—which, reassuringly, did not include the Army Duck… unless you somehow couldn’t outrun something moving at 2mph.
Instead, it turns out it’s the plants, insects, and reptiles you need to worry about. We were introduced to a particularly innocent-looking green leafy plant that, if you so much as brushed against it, would cause pain so intense and long-lasting you’d be regretting your life choices for weeks, months… or possibly forever. Lovely stuff.
Honestly, this country is incredible—but it does feel like everything is quietly plotting against you.
After about 30 minutes, the Army Duck tour wrapped up, leaving us with 45 minutes to explore before heading back. There was a wildlife park on site, which we nearly skipped thanks to the torrential rain, but thankfully most of the paths were covered—so we braved it.
Most of the animals had the same idea as us and were sheltering from the downpour, but we did spot a couple of kangaroos casually hanging out on the path, which of course meant another close-up photo opportunity.
A bit further along, we came across a rather impressive 5-metre saltwater crocodile, who was being encouraged to stay away from a gate while staff moved another croc using a leg of some very unfortunate animal. It was both fascinating and slightly terrifying—especially seeing the sheer power in that jaw.
Before long, we were back on the coach heading to the port in Cairns—and our floating home-from-home, Vista. We arrived just after 1pm, which conveniently meant lunch up on the Terrace while watching the rain finally start to ease off a little.
With not much else on the agenda, Lorna tackled a quick bit of laundry, while I sat down to write this entry up to this point.
BTW there is a video but cant upload until Darwin.
More to come…
