we went to the land down under…

So. Australia. Loved it. Am contemplating moving there.

I suppose the best place to start would be at the beginning and thus, it is from there I shall begin.

We took off on a south bound plane a little over a week ago and after the Qantas safety brochure indicated furbies were not allowed on the plane we immediately knew we were in for an adventure. Seven short hours later (seriously, we consider any air travel under 12 hours to be a quick jaunt these days) we touched down in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. After the second fastest trip through customs ever – South Korea’s 10 minutes from the plane to the curb remains the winner – T ran immediately to the nearest sink to watch the water swirl the other direction. I wish I was kidding but we weren’t through the quarantine zone yet.

Having elected to try something a little different on this trip, we’d elected to stay in a bed and breakfast and were excited to see Julie – one of the owners – patiently waiting for us at the lovely hour of 6am. A short nap later, we were off to a last minute activity – a scenic train ride to a wildlife preserve.

We went over the rivers, through the rainforests and past the waterfalls.

In short, if in Cairns, the scenic tour to Kuranda is a must.

Also a must? The wildlife center in Kuranda.

Now, for those who are planning on going to OZ and have some wildlife cuddling in mind it’s important to note that one can only molest the koalas of Queensland. New South Wales does not allow tourists to handle koalas at all. In Queensland the Koalas on the perserves can be handled 30 minutes a day for three days a week. The other four days they are allowed to do as they wish…a work schedule I could get on board with.

Situated in the middle of a rain forest, Kuranda has three wildlife areas – Butterflies, Birds and creatures you may actually want to touch and a few you might not want to…

Given that I’m not a huge fan of birds and T ran squealing from a butterfly we opted to start with the more approachable animals.

After ample time spent feeding kangaroos and holding a sweet baby koala named prue we also decided to be brave and visited the birds and butterflies. Minimal squealing ensued.

On the way back we opted to take the cable car back through the rain forest. Again, it was beautiful.

Although we were completely exhausted (squealing at harmless butterflies and taking a red eye will do that to you) our first day in Cairns was great! Once we had our feet firmly back on the ground we headed back to the B&B to prepare for our trip to the reef.

Coming Tomorrow – Sharks, Nemo and Dramamine!