Cairns: Rain in the Rainforest

Having visited Cairns in 2006 and 2010, we had done the two must-dos at this tropical city of 150,000--snorkel off the Great Barrier Reef and travel on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to and the Kuranda Scenic Railway from the artist colony of Kuranda that was discovered by the hippies in the 1960s and 1970s who started the Kuranda Markets. We really did not make up our minds of what to do in this scenic city until the morning of our arrival when we signed up for a ship's tour of Rainforestation Nature Park, a 100-acre tourist attraction in the midst of Australia's World Heritage Rainforest that has won numerous awards from Australia's Board of Tourism. The site had been a coffee plantation until the owners lost their coffee beans after a severe frost.

As we were driving out of the city to the park about 30 minutes away, the skies opened up with one of those day-long, soaking rains. I was so glad that we were taking a tour because if we had decided to tour Cairns on our own, we probably would have called it a day and returned to the ship. Like magic, the rain stopped as we pulled into the park. If someone has only one day to spend in Cairns, this is the place to be to receive a comprehensive overview of the province of Queensland.

Our tour consisted of four parts, a ride on the amphibious WWII Army Duck (really spelled DUKW) as our guide explained the mysteries of this ancient ecosystem, a stroll along the Dreamtime Walk to listen to didgeridoo playing and see spear throwing and try our hand at throwing boomerangs, watch a performance of the Pamagirri Dancers in the Rainforestation Amphitheater, and then tour the Wildlife Park. What we did not know was included with the tour was a delicious barbecue lunch of many favorite Australian foods. Everything about this tour seemed like a bonus.

While we liked everything, our favorite was getting to see the koalas, crocodiles, kangaroos, snakes and other Australian wildlife. The koalas were so adorably cute and cuddly while the kangaroos were out in the open to welcome our petting their heads and feeding them. Unfortunately, the wombat alluded us by staying in its burrow. Now we must keep returning to New Zealand to see a Tasmanian devil and to Australia to sight a wombat. That's really not a bad goal to have.

Incredible as it may seem, the rain started again when we boarded our bus to return to Cairns. Unfortunately, the air conditioning on the bus did not start, and we were soon very hot. When our guide Gabby asked us if we wanted to drive through the botanical garden or go directly back to the ship, we naturally wanted to tour the gardens but many of our fellow travelers immediately shouted that we needed to get back to town because they were melting. We got off in downtown and looked around the souvenir shops to learn that most of the native items were designed in Australia, but "manufactured under strict Australian supervision in China." Any items produced in Australia cost more than twice as much. I think we should buy any souvenirs we want in China because they would actually be made there.