Cairns Library, & Kuranda - 22 years later

The Reference room (left) at Cairns Library - a beautiful old building in excellent condition gives this library a very spacious, light-filled feel, and seems to be well used, judging by the number of people browsing, borrowing & studying. Nice to visit.

(Above) Part of the interesting archeological display we also saw in Kuranda.

(Below) The old Kuranda markets

Kuranda Railway

The last time I was in Kuranda was at least 22 years ago, bwfore our first child was born. Now he's 21, and we've finally returned to this small highland town about 27km out of Cairns. Last time we were here, the town seemed to be overrun with alternative lifestyle people, many living in very simple accomodation in the forest. They were selling beads, necklaces & other trinkets to passers-by. I distinctly remember one man who had hair about two feet long, all bunched up in a big burr, that I guess was very cool.

Well, twenty two years later, the hippies seem to have become shop owners, tidied up their hair & taken on a more conventional lifestyle. There is a section of the town called the "Heritage Markets", with old-style shops, mostly vacant on the day we visited. I saw one lady hanging around the small library who looked a bit like a person from that previous era, but not much else.

The Butterfly Sanctuary was excellent, the largest in Australia.

The price of a coffee was about $4, so i guessed the town has become commercialised, and not a lot different to any other tourist site up here.

Kuranda was a great place to visit. Glad we went, the highlight being a wonderful museum of archeological artifacts & replicas, which cut against the general trend, by asking only for a donation....

Happily, we arrived in Kuranda just as the special narrow-gauge tourist train was arriving, so we got a few snaps at the station. (But not a steamer unfortunately).