We arrived in Port Douglas on a very sunny and hot day. Port Douglas is located about 30 KM from Cairns, the main port for visiting the Great Barrier reef. On our two previous visits to Australia we docked in Cairns. So this port was new to us. Today Port Douglas exists on a combination of Tourism, local industry and some agriculture. It is also the Australian home of many of the rich & famous with stars from entertainment and business having multimillion dollar homes on the high ground overlooking the ocean and GBR. But Port Douglas (PD) has a much more interesting past. It was a sleepy outpost of civilization until gold was found in 1873. Growth and immigration followed the gold rush. Then in 1882 an unusually rainy wet season made the roads to PD impassable and thousands of people came close to starvation. A more reliable supply route was needed and in 1887 construction was started on the Cairns-Kuranda Railway which opened in 1891. The railway basically followed the Barron Gorge with high ground on one side and a precipitous drop-off on the other. Over the last century+ the railway has been a lifeline between PD, Cairns and the towns in-between. During WWII it is critical to the movement of troops and supplies to fend off an expected Japanese invasion. It also carried thousands of GIs to rest camps in the area during the war. Today it is known as the Kuranda Scenic Railway and carries tourists between Kuranda and Cairns on a two hour scenic journey. The reason I told you all that was because that is what Noreen and I did, we rode the rails.
Our adventure began with a bus ride from PD to Kuranda during which our bus broke down and we transferred to bus #2.
Due to the bus problem we arrived in Kuranda with only a few minutes to spare before the train left. I got a wurst at a local stand while Noreen…..
For those of you following along on my toilets of the world, I haven’t seen urinal trenches in a long time.
Finally we arrive.
The train is pulled by Common Wealth diesel engines built in the late 1960s. The snake drawn on the side of the engine is Buda-Dji, the carpet snake who in the Aboriginal people’s Dreamtime legend carved out the Barron River gorge.
The carriages are refurbished originals built from 1903 to 1913. The train was so long the engine was always well past the station and I could never get a good picture of it.
There are standard class cabins for most of the train.
And then there is Noreen class.
There was one stop during the trip at the best place for viewing Barron Falls and Gorge. The falls drops 875 feet. Not much water flow this time of year.
Gotta do a selfie!!
On one side we are this close to the raising terrain, riding a cut through the mountain.
On the other side is a drop into the gorge and the valley below.
Stoney Creek Falls Bridge is the most scenic of the bridges along the route. As hairpin turn you can see the train around the bend. The bridge has a tight 4 chain radius (train talk). We’re moving at a fast walk.
The falls the bridge is named after. Not much water fall this time of year.
We went through eight tunnels. These tunnels were dug with dynamite and picks and shovels.
Coming into the outskirts of the town of Freshwater. Some housing shots.
Arrival in Freshwater Station, the end of our 1.5 hour journey.
We set off for the ship and again our bus died. Here we are waiting for the replacement. We finally made it back to the ship hot, tired and glad to be “home.”
All in all we had a great time. We aren’t much for watching an 1.5 hours of scenery passing by but it was a nice break from the ship and a different adventure than when we usually visit the Great Barrier Reef area of Queensland. Hope you enjoyed the ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment