Karunda Village

September 15, 2009
We raced through our daily workload today and got away before noon to the Barron Gorge. This is the dry season in Australia and the gorge is quite empty but in a few months it will be filled with water and rapids that carved a pathway through it for many years.
Above the gorge is the Famous rain forest village of Kuranda. There are three ways to top of the mountain where Kuranda is situated: a) Skyrail b) train c) by a serpentine, cliff hugging, heart racing road. Can you guess which one we took? Yes you are right, the road. Now, please understand that we are driving an oversized vehicle on a narrow mountain road where people generally drive too fast. To lend to our confidence, about halfway up, the authorities had stopped traffic to try to retrieve the vehicle that went over the edge moments before ( a small little red Toyota that ctually fit in the lane). All drama side, we made it, and yes I am still married, my kids still talk to me and Stan will still ride in the van with me although sometimes (most times) he likes to close his eyes or sit in the back where he can’t see anything.
When we got to Kuranda, we did the jungle rainforest hike before entering the village. The village was full of merchants from Opal traders, to Candy factories to Koala Zoos. Main Street is quaint with little shops lining both sides. The kids decided to go to the Koala park while Tracie and I sipped on ‘long blacks’ ( cup of coffee made with 2 shots of espresso and hot water), playing Othello all the while sitting on a patio watching the sun set, contemplating life and people watching. Meanwhile Stan ventured down the street to the local pub where he had a beer and watched the local aboriginals smuggle cheaper booze into the establishment and play pool. The kids returned from the Koala Park with photos of them holding the little marsupials and a variety of other little critters. Chirstopher is sporting a new set of aviator sunglasses which now makes him way too cool for his shoes.