When You Fail Diving, Take Up Flying

03.10.2008 - 04.10.2008
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Friday, 3 October 2008 – Scuba Dive Class…or not

I don’t get colds incredibly often. When I do, they’re not fun, but in general I tend to be pretty healthy. So I should have known that my body would conspire against me to get sick the very week I was signed up for a 5-day PADI learn to dive course on the Great Barrier Reef. I took a chance in attending my first class, knowing that they conduct a medical to ensure your level of fitness prior to taking the course. And I got a clean bill of health too…until the doctor failed my medical because she thought I’d have trouble equalizing due to my cold. They gave me no choice but to drop the class, thankfully giving me a full refund, and I suddenly found myself with 5 unplanned days in Cairns. Needless to say, I had an instant craving for chai tea and some travel brochures.

Yes, I’m a little bummed at the lost opportunity to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. Who wouldn’t be? But at least due to the change in plans, I have some downtime to get over my cold. And anyway, I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding something to occupy myself…I’ve already found three bookstores within a block of my hostel.

Oh really, come on, folks – do you really think I would spend my entire time in a foreign country holed up in a bookstore? Of course not! …Just an hour or so each day will suffice...

Saturday, 4 October 2008 – Skyrail, Kuranda, and Scenic Train

I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel! Of course, it was an actual light at the end of an actual tunnel. Hey, if reality is all I can find, I’ll take what I can get. But before we get to that, let’s rewind to the beginning:

After my dive trip plans were canceled, I signed myself up for a day trip to Kuranda, a quaint village in the rainforests. I took the Skyrail to get there, which used to be the longest in the world until they outdid it in some place I might remember the name of if I had been listening to the guide more closely. It was a little scary to be hanging from one bar attached to one cable high above the treetops! It also occurred to me as my ears were popping that it was a fitting sort of revenge to go up to the highest elevation I could find the day after I was told I couldn’t handle the sea elevation. Take that, dive doctor! Never let it be said that a cold got the best of Melanie! *cackle, cackle*

Oh, and a funny thing happened on the way to the Skyrail – I ran into my German friend Maike from my Jillaroo week in August! We hadn’t seen each other since Tamworth, so imagined how surprised we were to run across each other all the way in Cairns, and on the same daytrip, at that! I joined up with her and her three guy friends (also from Germany) for the day of sightseeing.

Pictures: That’s Maike in the middle of the first picture. You can see a portion of the Skyrail cables and cars in the second.

Kuranda was cute and there was quite a bit of Aboriginal art and shopping, plus beautiful jungle walks, but really we only needed a few hours to see all there was to see.

Pictures: Me at the entrance of Kuranda Village / My German entourage / A jungle view

The best part of the trip was the several-hours train ride back on the Kuranda Scenic Train. Gooooorgeous views! We learned quite a bit about its history, which I’ll not bore you with, except that it wasn’t originally built as the tourist attraction it mainly is today. The relaxing rocking of the train, with the breeze from the open window and the countryside rolling by, was a perfect end to the day. The train even stopped for 10 minutes by Barron Falls to let all the passengers get out, stretch their legs and take pictures of the beautiful sight.

Pictures: Me on the train / Barron Falls / The train in motion / View of the countryside