Time With Friends: Kuranda Train and Skyway

Venturing back on land, the whole gang, eleven of us, 6 adults, 4 children, and 1 infant, took off to take the train to the jungle village of Kuranda.  This historic railway took us on a 2 hour journey over 100 year old track, through tunnels, on mountain edges and past waterfalls into the rainforest.  While this was impressive enough, nothing is as exciting as seeing something through the eyes of a child.  The wonder of not just what is seen but the experience in itself leaves them wide-eyed, open-mouthed, and chattering away while they zoom from window to window to make sure they’re not missing a moment.  My friend Chris and I were much the same, our cameras being an extension of our hands trying to capture such moments.

Once in the village of Kuranda, we strolled past touristy shops to a park for a picnic lunch.  While some of the adults went off to shop or explore, I got to hang out with my friends and their family.  Their children have grown since the last time I saw them two years ago.  It was fun to hang out and play with them on the playground, especially Julianne, who’s 2 years old and now talking.  She serenaded me with a medley of “On Top of Spaghetti” and “Jesus Loves Me” while I pushed her on the swing.

After lunch, my friends, their children and I went off to find ice cream and take a jungle walk which would bring us to the skyrail.  This would be our mode of transportation that takes us down the mountain going over the jungle canopy.

Eating ice cream in a jungle environment is a challenge, especially while walking and in my case, without a stick.  I chose a mango, macadamia nut ice cream that was just a bar with no stick, which made for a messy, slurpy, drippy mess while I walked.  For the little children, it was a similar experience so since we were running short on time to make our 1pm skyrail appointment, Dad had to help them out with their ice cream which was not cool in their eyes. 

Walking amidst the dense forest with my friends gave me time to catch up with them.  It’s odd for them to see me here because as linguists in Papua New Guinea, this is their neck of the woods now, not California where they grew up like me. So for them to see me here is a bit out of context.

However, as we walked and talked, it was like we picked up from where we left off.  The casual conversation amidst children zooming about gave me a true appreciation for how fabulous they are.  There are not many people I know who can live in a jungle environment with five children and as Tim Gunn says on Project Runway, “Make it work.”  I truly admire them and their work with Wycliffe not only as linguists, but Bible translators, slowly working to translate the Bible and alphabet into the native language of the village for which they are partnering with.

Trying to make a deadline with five children is a challenge but we made it in time to the skyrail, a 4.7 mile cableway completed in 1995, which took about 1 year to complete.  As we looked down at the rainforest canopy below, we wondered how they got the tall, massive towers into the jungle, which support the skyrail.  We didn’t see any roads and it’s quite remote out here.  Each tower was flown in by helicopter to avoid disturbing the rainforest.  How impressive is that?!

The kids were so excited riding in the skyrail, seeing pops of red amidst the various shades of green, especially when we’d go over one of the towers, hearing and feeling it go “Bumpity-bump-bump-bump.”  For others who were less fond of heights, each bump was a reminder of that fear.

Once back at the hotel, the gang proceeded to get ready for dinner while Chris and I were on a mission, a mango mission to pick a mango from a mango tree.  Upon surveying the tree, I realized there were no ripe mangos and the ones, which had potential, were far out of my reach.  Before all hope was lost, Chris found a ladder and with permission, I eagerly climbed the ladder to claim my prize – 3 large mangos.  Even though they are not ripe, they smell wonderful!  I am one happy camper!

Tonight we ventured as a group into Cairns City for dinner at an Italian restaurant.  To be with everyone was a perfect ending to this first portion of my trip.  While I will miss the rainforest, it is the time with people that matters most and what I will take with me as I begin my next leg of my journey.

Scavenger Hunt items completed:

3. Catch up with dear friends.

16. Pick a mango from a mango tree.  It’s my favorite fruit!

Scavenger Hunt item attempted:

6. See if Australian toilets flush counter clockwise.

I have been paying particular attention to see which way the water swirls when flushed but the water comes more like a rushing flood of water, not a nice swirl so it’s been hard to tell which way it swirls.  I do think it is swirling counter clockwise but the jury’s still out.  I will continue my research.