We visited a massive Australian Rainforest, both above it and in it, during 2024.
Leaving from Cairns, we rode a Skyrail to a World Heritage rainforest in Queensland.
The view from above was mighty with breath-taking views–and a few gasps.
Inside the rainforest, we walked about reading signs with our eyes wide-opened in surprise.
There was a lot going on!
The Australia Rainforest from above
The skyrail comfortably fit all five of us as we rode high above the green canopy.
This northeastern corner of Australia felt unpenetrable for a long time. Many aboriginies lived beneath the canopy and birds and animals enjoyed it as well.
We stopped several times along the way as we traveled 7.5 kilometers (about 4.5 miles) through the sky.
Here are some of the views:
We’d look down occasionally, but only rarely saw the rainforest floor.
There was lots of greenery and we learned about the rainforest’s value at the informative tours and small museum along the way.
Hiking–sort of–high off the ground.
The first of two stops on the trip was at Red Peak where we walked high above the ground on a boardwalk.
We missed the ranger tour, but augmented our ignorance by reading signs along the way and in the station.
Since we traveled with two teenagers, this was both a curiosity trip but also a learning one.
From that hike, the fourteen-year-old recounted the following in an email home that night:
The first stop we hopped out and walked on the trails. It was interesting to learn that most vines grow counter clockwise up the trees because of the natural gravitational pull. We also learned that some types of vines actually grow down. The seeds get left on the tops of the trees and the vine grows down and slowly strangles the tree. There were also what looked like nests up in the treetops. We learned that they were actually a type of vine/bush that grows onto the trees. It doesn’t hurt the tree because it relies on itself for food and energy and not the tree.
It is a great home for baby pythons, and many other species. The rainforest floor was almost empty, which makes sense when you think about it. The tree canopy blocks out much of the sun so the ground is not covered in grasses because they don’t have enough sun.
Apparently, the Cassowary is extremely important to the rainforests here in Cairns. 70-100 rainforest plant species rely on the Cassowary to spread its seeds. It eats an average of 5 tons of fruit a day. They are very important to the rainforest health and are one of the main reasons the rainforest can thrive the way it does.
She loves science and wants to be a veterinarian someday.
Water is important in the Australian rainforest–waterfalls, too.
Our second stop was Barron Falls.
There we learned more than half the animal species that live on earth are found in the rainforest.
In the Australian rainforest, scientists found 58 frog species, 64 fish varieties, 110 mammal species, 162 reptiles, 327 bird varieties and more than 40,000 insects species. Impressive–and we saw few of them!
Our correspondent:
It took about 10 minutes of more spectacular views to reach the stop. This stop offered a amazing view of a waterfall. Grandpa was very excited about how the bridge/skywalk was framed.
We also explored a conservation information center. There were learned more about the forests and the wildlife behind it.
As we got onto our last gondola we saw another spectacular view of the waterfall.
As we passed over the river we spotted two crocs laying in wait for an unsuspecting animal (or tourist for that matter) to wander too close to the water. We landed into the cute village of Kuranda
We later took a boat trip down the river.
Traveling with teenagers
We’ve always made a point of visiting museums and interesting sites when traveling with our children.
Our grandchildren, of course, were just an extension of that learning–both for them but also for us.
The three adults on this trip learned a lot which often provoked interesting conversations.
Having them write home each night provided their parents with reassurance they were still alive (!), but also gave them an opportunity to reflect on what they’d seen.
It wasn’t enough simply to travel to a foreign country.
Visiting a new place on the other side of the globe was designed to expand their sense of the world, of their ability to walk in a strange place, see new sites, and really think about what they meant.
The girls had never seen a rainforest before, only ridden a gondola in the snow or at Disneyland, and on this day, used the information they learned at the Australia zoo when looking down on a crocodile.
Kuranda provided even more fun–like butterflies!
And, of course, I, too, was astounded by what I learned–and certainly enjoyed the walk–through an Australian rainforest!
Thoughts? Reactions? Lurker?