While there isn’t that much of it compared to the Amazon basin, the Australian Rainforest is the oldest living rainforest on the planet at around 100 million years, give or take a few million here and there.
When Far North Queensland was settled, much of the lowland rainforest was cleared to make way for sugar cane farms and plantations. Eventually, what was left was declared as the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and it’s the only place on the globe where one World Heritage Area lies adjacent to another – the Great Barrier Reef, at the Daintree section.
Before all of the coronavirus mayhem, plenty of domestic and international visitors would visit the Wet Tropics to see what it was all about with a number of Australian rainforest tours, or just by checking things out on their own. After growing up in Cairns, I took the rainforest and reef for granted and used to think ‘big deal’, but that changed when I moved away and started to appreciate where I grew up.
Even when during the monsoon season, when it’s so humid, you sweat in the shower! Note: this season from around November to April is called ‘Mango Madness’, or ‘Troppo Season’ because the heat drives you insane.
Anyway, if you’re a bit smart, you’ll visit in the ‘dry season’ in the middle of the year. While it’s not ‘pissing down from a great height’ which is great for waterfalls, you’ll be thankful you’re not being vapourised on a daily basis!
Instead of trudging through the rainforest near at the various national parks (which is worth doing anyway), one comfortable way to see the rainforest is via the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
Australian Rainforest Tours – The High Altitude Way!
Basically, Skyrail is a series of cable cars the travel over the dense forest canopy so you can appreciate the millions of years of evolution right underneath you.
Skyrail was constructed in the 1990s and the company went to a lot of trouble and effort to minimise their impact on the rainforest. Helicopters were brought in to remove the very small amount of trees required to build the cableway and associated infrastructure. Now, the cable car runs every day and provides a lot of opportunities for locals in this highly tourism dependent area.
The cableway runs from the suburb of Smithfield (about a 15 minute drive from Cairns), all the way up to the township of Kuranda. There are a couple of stops for you to disembark along the way and take some pics, including Barron Falls (known as Din Din to the local Djabugay people). Actually, it’s best to go on Skyrail during the rainy season if you like waterfalls for obvious reasons! You’ll have complimentary umbrellas supplied because you’ll need them!
And you don’t have to guess what the background to the rainforest either as you can use the Skyrail Interpretive App and Audio Guide that adds an informative element to the scenic trip.
Once you reach Kuranda, it’s nice to walk around this small, alternative village and check out the funny no selfie sticks signs at the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, and check out some exotic flying friends at Bird World.
And once you’re finished hanging out in Kuranda, you can just board the Skyrail back home, or for a change of scenery, take the train back on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. I’ve done both, and they’re worth doing to check out the rainforest from a different perspective.
Here’s the route the Skyrail takes! Enjoy the trip!
After doing the Skyrail, if you’re looking for other things to do in Cairns, check out:
- The Gatz Balancing Rocks
- Crocodile spotting on the Esplanade
- The Tree Bikini at Mission Beach
- Cane Toad World at Gordonvale
- The No Selfie Stick Sign at the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
- Eat on The Prawn Star
- The Man in The High Castle at Silkwood
- Marvel at the massive Captain Cook Statue
- Swim in a Stinger Net
- Visit the Undara Lava Tubes
- Witness heavy rainfall at Tully
- Drive up the Windiest Road In Australia
Disclaimer: I was provided this trip on Skyrail but all opinions are my own.
