After our scuba adventure, we took a day off to relax and catch up on work. A bit recovered, we were ready to explore the area a bit more. We started with a ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which runs from downtown Cairns to the small town of Kuranda in the nearby tablelands. Chugga chugga choo choo!

The railroad was built to support local mining operations and opened in 1891. Construction was apparently hazardous, with many people dying while hand-digging 15 tunnels and building 37 bridges through the mountainous jungle.

For us, the trip was relaxing. The biggest hazards were some dissatisfied toddlers. Along the way, we stopped at Barron Falls, which tumbles for more than 400 feet.

We visited during the dry season, when the falls are a bit of a trickle. In the wet season, they can flood with huge volumes of water tumbling down the cliffs. Soon, the conductor was sounding the horn for us to get back on board for the rest of the ride to Kuranda.

We quickly reached the small village of Kuranda. The village was cute, but there wasn’t much to see. Mostly, there were shops and restaurants for tourists. We got coffee and set off on a small nature walk. The trail was very well maintained, with the jungle clearly being a bit declawed from true wilderness. Nevertheless, we enjoyed seeing the towering tropical trees covered in elk horn ferns, basket ferns, and birds nest ferns.

Closer to the ground we also saw beautiful mushrooms.

The path also took us close to the railway we’d arrived on, giving us a chance to see it on foot.

But we weren’t going to return on the railroad. Instead, we took the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, a gondola stretching more than 4.5 miles above the rainforest.

The views were simply amazing. We again saw heaps of huge trees covered in ferns and orchids.

Hey look! There’s the train!

We had a couple of chances to stop along the way, including at Barron Falls, this time on the other side of the gorge.

We climbed back into the gondola for the long, final stretch above the trees.

As we neared the end of the rainforest, we saw a mob of seven kangaroos hopping through the forest.

The next day we did another day trip from Cairns, taking the short ferry to nearby Fitzroy Island. It’s a charming, family-focused place, with small beaches and a resort. We also toured a sea turtle rehabilitation facility on the island. Afterwards, we walked for about 30 minutes to a pretty little beach, where we couldn’t help but make fun of the contrived “candid” poses of the Instagrammers we’ve been seeing throughout our travels.

We headed back to Cairns on the ferry for an early night. We’d had a couple of relaxing days exploring the area, but if I’m being totally honest, the trips to Kuranda and Fitzroy Island were a little crowded and a little too domesticated for my tastes. After the Northern Territory and the Great Barrier Reef, I was eager to find some authentic wilderness in northern Queensland. Fortunately, that’s exactly what was next on our agenda. Next stop: the Daintree Rainforest!

-Will