Christmas Eve, Australian Style
Sunday, December 24th
We woke up bright and early to catch up with our tour for today – we had to be down in the lobby by 4:00 am! It was completely worth it since we got to go in a hot air balloon! It was alternately very peaceful and very loud, but completely awesome! After a very winding and fast paced bus ride, we reached the field where the balloons were waiting for us. They told us to hop in the basket and then they had us practice our crash…er, I mean landing position. After that, they started the fire breathing dragon and we headed up. Being tall was a disadvantage as the fire made the top of my head awfully warm!
As we floated along, we watched the sun rise and kept our eyes on the ground searching for kangaroos. Or diligence was rewarded and we spotted several…some of which, our guide informed us, were actually wallabies. What is a wallaby you ask (as did I)? It is a smaller version of a kangaroo. How the pilot could tell this from so high up, I’ll never know! He also pointed out the various fruits that were being grown in the tropics below.
After our turn was over, we made a picture perfect landing and switched out with the second group of riders. Then we chased the balloon in the bus. The driver was slightly crazy and told us about the different people he had driven around. He was obviously a firm believer in equal rights for all people, and, therefore, made fun of everyone he had met!
After a yummy breakfast in the bush, we got dropped off in the village of Kuranda. It was a tiny village on the edge of the rainforest. Since most things were closed, we decided to hike down through the rainforest along the Jumrum Creek walking trail. We were looking forward to seeing some rainforest animals, but only found a wild bush turkey and a beaver. The trees were interesting and we found Jumrum Creek to be very pretty. After a slight disagreement about directions, we headed back to Kuranda to catch up with the skyrail. On the way, I picked up a sausage roll that tasted just like the ones my grandparents used to buy from the Scottish food store. Mmmm…
The Skyrail over the rainforest was soooooo pretty! Riding over the canopy of the trees that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction was amazing! We have a million pictures that I’m sure don’t capture a fraction of the beauty. Along the way, we got to stop at two different spots to wander through the rainforest, read about the plants, and take pictures of Barron Falls. At the very end of the skyrail, we were treated to a view of Cairns, Port Douglas, and the ocean.
By then, we were pretty tired, and headed back to Cairns. Although we were tired, we decided to wander around some more and then, since it was Christmas Eve, Jill and I went to a little church. Afterwards, we went out to dinner and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our reef adventure. All in all, it was a great day!
We woke up bright and early to catch up with our tour for today – we had to be down in the lobby by 4:00 am! It was completely worth it since we got to go in a hot air balloon! It was alternately very peaceful and very loud, but completely awesome! After a very winding and fast paced bus ride, we reached the field where the balloons were waiting for us. They told us to hop in the basket and then they had us practice our crash…er, I mean landing position. After that, they started the fire breathing dragon and we headed up. Being tall was a disadvantage as the fire made the top of my head awfully warm!
As we floated along, we watched the sun rise and kept our eyes on the ground searching for kangaroos. Or diligence was rewarded and we spotted several…some of which, our guide informed us, were actually wallabies. What is a wallaby you ask (as did I)? It is a smaller version of a kangaroo. How the pilot could tell this from so high up, I’ll never know! He also pointed out the various fruits that were being grown in the tropics below.
After our turn was over, we made a picture perfect landing and switched out with the second group of riders. Then we chased the balloon in the bus. The driver was slightly crazy and told us about the different people he had driven around. He was obviously a firm believer in equal rights for all people, and, therefore, made fun of everyone he had met!
After a yummy breakfast in the bush, we got dropped off in the village of Kuranda. It was a tiny village on the edge of the rainforest. Since most things were closed, we decided to hike down through the rainforest along the Jumrum Creek walking trail. We were looking forward to seeing some rainforest animals, but only found a wild bush turkey and a beaver. The trees were interesting and we found Jumrum Creek to be very pretty. After a slight disagreement about directions, we headed back to Kuranda to catch up with the skyrail. On the way, I picked up a sausage roll that tasted just like the ones my grandparents used to buy from the Scottish food store. Mmmm…
The Skyrail over the rainforest was soooooo pretty! Riding over the canopy of the trees that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction was amazing! We have a million pictures that I’m sure don’t capture a fraction of the beauty. Along the way, we got to stop at two different spots to wander through the rainforest, read about the plants, and take pictures of Barron Falls. At the very end of the skyrail, we were treated to a view of Cairns, Port Douglas, and the ocean.
By then, we were pretty tired, and headed back to Cairns. Although we were tired, we decided to wander around some more and then, since it was Christmas Eve, Jill and I went to a little church. Afterwards, we went out to dinner and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our reef adventure. All in all, it was a great day!
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