October 30, 2014 - Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural, Skyrail and Kuranda

Daily itinerary were:

• Flew and arrived to Cairns at 11AM
• Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park for dance show and food/medicine demonstration, Spear/Boomerang throwing
• Skyrail to Kuranda Village
• Checked into Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort
• Night Market shopping in Cairns

We got up early today to catch a 8:50AM flight from Sydney to Cairns which is located NE of Sydney.  The flight was about 2 hours and 10 minutes.  Cairns is a popular travel destination for foreign tourists because of its tropical climate.  It serves as a starting point for people wanting to visit the Great Barrier Reef.

After we arrived Cairns, our tour guide Henry took us to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and allowed for one hour self provided lunch.  Tjapukai is a traditional Aboriginal Culture which celebrates the living history of the Indigenous people of the Rainforest.  They provided us a traditional Aboriginal dance with playing didgeridoo and making fire.  Rainforest is a rich food source for the Tjapukai people, but many of its foods are toxic and require special preparation.  They showed us how they prepare the food and also showed us how to identify various medicine from their rainforest environment.  At the end, they also demonstrated spear and boomerang throwing.  In addition, they also provided an opportunity for us to try the spear and boomerang throwing.

Then we took the Skyrail up to Kuranda Village.  There are 2 stops for the whole Skyrail ride.  1st stop is the Red Peak Station for a short walk in rainforest. The 2nd stop is Barron Falls Station for viewing Barron Falls. However, due to the dry season, there wasn't much water falling down the falls, therefore, we did not stop at the 2nd stop.  The Skyrail provided us a beautiful view of the World Heritage Listed Barron Gorge National Park rainforest from the top.

We ended up at the Kuranda Terminal.  Kuranda is well known as the Village in the Rainforest and has been attracting visitors for over a century.  Initially people came to admire the mighty Barron Falls, while artists were attracted to the region's natural beauty and decided to call it home, creating a vibrant arts and craft culture. There are a lot of souvenirs shops selling souvenirs and crafts.  However, we got there quite late and wasn't in a mood to shop.  Most of us were just wondering around enjoying the small and peaceful village.

After dinner, we ventured out to the nearby night market for souvenir shopping.  Some of the popular items are koala cushions, T-shirts and wine holders.