After getting back to Cairns and a couple of days sleep I was off again, this time to Kuranda. I paid the $39 and went by sky rail. It was absolutely breathtaking believe me. No I didn't get out at the two stations and go on any walks even though they were fully guided by park rangers. I had learnt not to trust myself or tempt God. We travelled over 2 or 3 ranges before we arrived. The following afternoon I heard that there had been a traffic jam from Cairns to Kuranda because of a tsunami scare. Thanks be to God I was already up there. Also it was a furphy.
Impressions - What was it doing up there ?(check out this link) No apparent primary industries, although some had tried to grow coffee until beaten back by the rain forest. Tourism is the heartbeat today.
Also, I found out that you can't wander up town at 6:00 pm for a hamburger tea. The whole place closes down  at 4:30!! and doesn't reopen until 9:00am. so, the next day  jumped on the train and viewed the Barron falls. The line was closed to Cairns until the line had been checked after the rainy season so I caught a bus back for $4. While up there I also saw the Bird World Sanctuary and the Butterfly World. There were a few other attractions but I decided to head back to Cairns and home to Hervey Bay

    Lots of water but you get use to it . Cargo is loaded on the boat in Cairns (very busy time) when we arrive at lockhart river the first unloading takes place. The crane (the big yellow thingo) is expertly driven by a young fellow and was pure poetry to watch. The whole action is highly organised and we could see that practice makes perfect - The Trinity Bay even carries its own forklift truck whick was firstloaded onto the barge from Lockhart River and then transferred back to our ship again when finished. Impressive!!

    We had a couple of days in Cairns photoing etc then it's on board the MV Trinity Bay for a 5 day trip to Thursday Island. Once we got use to the routine - stacks of food , noisy 24 hr engines etc - we started photoing again. One of the interesting things I noticed was the almost impromptu lighthouses which were mounted on 'h' type pipe frames mounted in the water at strategic places. It was often difficult to tell the mainland from the many islands. Fortunately, they had a computerised GPS system so we spent much of our time running back and forth trying to identify this or that position. It was really good when we got up the next morning. First we checked our position then we had breakfast! The name of the company that ran the vessel is Sea Swift and they can be found here Our photos on board, taken by the company, can be found here, There are many others also. They were already booked out for May to November! ( the non Cyclonic season)
Enjoy