Today started off very early with us waking up around 4:00 to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 4:20. Everyone was very tired from the night prior to this. We ate light meals at the airport and then took off for Cairns at 6:00 Am. This was a very quiet and relaxed flight and most students slept for the entire flight. We arrived at the airport around 9 am and the airport was relatively small and quiet. We grabbed our bags from the claim and then proceeded outside to meet the bus. The bus took us up to Rainforsestation to have an encounter with the aboriginal culture of Australia. The indigenous people showed us a few dancing including their war dance. All of which were very interesting. Some of our group members (Brad and Ryan) even got to participate in one of the dances.
The indigenous people have lived on this land for some 60,000 years which allowed for much development of their culture. After this we were showed key aspects of the culture. We were showed the art of spear throwing, their main instrument called the didgeridoo and even got to try throwing a boomerang. I really enjoyed throwing the boomerang and found it to be very fun.
Our next activity was a ride on a United States military army duck through the rainforest. This activity was very unique and enjoyable. The tour took us on very steep, muddy roads in the rainforest and at one point even drove down a river. The guide was very knowledgeable about the plant life in the region and told us many of the species. After the tour, we piled back into the bus and drove to the town of Kuranda. This town was very small but contained many interesting aspects. Many group members ate at the famous meat pie restaurant called “Annabelle’s”. The meat pies here were amazing and students enjoyed them. I personally had a beef chili pie and it was spectacular. After lunch students were given time to walk around the town and visit the many shops for souvenir shopping. Many interesting items could be purchased ranging from the traditional boomerang to the kangaroo paw bottle opener. I personally purchased a shark tooth necklace which I found to be very cool. The group reunited at a bird sanctuary for an interesting group experience. The place allows customers to enter their massive bird cage where you can get up close to the birds and let them land on you and feed them. While doing this a bird even took the button off the top of my hat. (Which was quite a production to get back.) After viewing the many interesting tropical birds, the group headed over to the skyrail.
The skyrail is the world’s longest gondola coming in at a 4.7-mile journey. I personally enjoyed this part of the trip very much. The gondola takes you on a ride high above the rainforest and allows you to see for miles the vast array of trees. We even had some clouds roll into the mountain range and it seemed like we were in a Jurassic Park movie. This scene made for some amazing pictures. Our group got off the SkyRail at a few stops and we went on some brief nature walks. On these walks, we stopped and saw some amazing waterfalls and some giant trees that are hundreds of years old! It’s amazing to think of how old the forest is and how massive some of these plants are. At the end we even saw a large herd of wild kangaroos from the gondola. At the conclusion of the tour, we got back into the bus which took us to the hotel. After a round of showers and getting situated. Professor Burton took us on an orientation walk to show us some popular sites in the area. We then ate a group meal at P.J. O’Briens Irish Pub which was great and was actually my favorite meal of the trip. We all ate together and talked about the great things we did that day. Finally, we finished our meals and then went back to the hotel and crashed. It had been a very long and packed day, and everyone was exhausted. Our first day in Cairns had come to an end.
-Anthony Perna