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Kuranda
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A constant stream of visitors arriving from the coast has turned
KURANDA
into a stereotypical resort village - something, ironically, this once atavistic community was keen to escape. But despite expanding development and heavy market-day tourism, it's hard not to like the place.
Buses
, and the highway, stop at the top of town,
trains
and the Skyrail
cable car
500m down the hill, with essential services - post office, store (EFTPOS), bank, cafes - laid out between them along Coondoo Street.
Cafes
are legion, though pricey;
Annabel's Pie Shop
, across from the main markets, has excellent pasties and pies; and if you're staying the night,
Billy's
at the
Middle Pub
(halfway down Coondoo) does tasty charcoal grill and salad fare.
This accessible from Cairns, Kuranda is not a place where many people stay overnight - it's virtually a ghost town after the markets close - and there's little accommodation . Just up from the cable-car terminus and orchid-shrouded train station , you'll find the quiet and slowly mouldering Kuranda Backpackers' Hostel , 6 Arara St (tel 07/4093 7355, kurandabackpack@ozemail.com.au ; under $20), with a plentiful supply of bunks, large grounds (where you can camp), kitchen and laundry. Around the corner is The Bottom Pub and Motel (tel 07/4093 7206; $50-70), whose bar has more than a little atmosphere on Friday nights.
While some stalls operate every day, the
markets
that attract so many tourists operate 8.30am-3pm on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Don't expect bargains - the market is a commercial affair hawking crafts, fruit and clothes, set around a fake plane wreck and "rainforest pool", with an overflow of stalls across the road. Nearby, forest fauna can be seen close up at the
Butterfly Sanctuary
(daily 10am-3pm; $11.50), a mix of streams and "feed trees" where giant ulysses and birdwing butterflies are the most obvious of the dozen local species protected by the breeding programme.
Birdworld
, behind the markets (daily 9am-4pm; $10), is a superb aviary with realistically arranged vegetation and nothing between you and a host of native and exotic rarities such as ecclectus parrots. The
Noctarium
, at the upper end of Coondoo Street (daily 10am-3pm; $9.90), has a collection of glider possums, wallabies and bats. Tucked away down a backstreet, the
Aviary
(daily 10am-3.30pm; $11) is partly a replay of Birdworld with purely Australian species, but they also have a collection of snakes and frogs, and a freshwater crocodile. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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