Oceania Archives - Around the World In Flip Flops

July 28 2024

This Scenic Train Ride Needs To Be On Your Australia Itinerary

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When I started planning my trip to Australia, the last thing I imagined was that I would find one of the most beautiful train rides of my life, but that’s exactly what happened.

Hidden in one of the most special places that Australia has to offer, this train ride needs to be on your itinerary if you plan on visiting that beautiful country.

🚞 Kuranda Scenic Railway, Queensland

Located in the Northeast of Australia, Queensland is the country’s second biggest state and it has endless places to explore: from the Great Barrier Reef to the World’s oldest rainforest, there is something for everyone there. In fact, it’s such a rich and unique region that Sir David Attenborough has even described it as “the World’s most incredible environment”.

Apart from all the iconic natural places there are to experience in that part of Australia, another thing you really shouldn’t miss out on is the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway needs to be in your Australia itinerary

This incredibly scenic train ride is located in the Daintree Rainforest and it’s one of the best train rides I’ve ever done. It’s the perfect activity to combine with a visit to the World’s oldest Rainforest and it will take you through some of the most breathtaking sceneries you will see in Australia.

Here is what you need to know about it 👇🏼

🚉 You can take it from Cairns all the way to a town deep in the Rainforest; or in the opposite direction

The Kuranda Scenic Railway connects the city of Cairns with the Kuranda village that lies in the Rainforest, taking you all the way from sea level to 327 meters of altitude. Many people use this train as a transportation from the city to the rainforest, but you can also take it in the opposite direction and use it as a way to come back to Cairns after a day exploring the Daintree Rainforest. You will get to enjoy an amazing scenery either way!

Book a Daintree Rainforest tour 🚞

🚉 The train ride is amazing but the train station is really cute too

When you take the Kuranda Scenic Railway, even the Train Station is part of the experience. Located in the World’s oldest Rainforest and having a super unique retro look to it, this has got to be one of the most special train stations I’ve ever seen! They claim to be one of the most photographed train stations in the whole World and even though I couldn’t really fact-check it, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true.

The Kuranda Railway Station has such a cute tropical vibe

🌳 Kuranda is your gateway to the Daintree Rainforest

The Kuranda Scenic Railway will take you from Cairns to Kuranda and that’s the place where everything gets connected.

From there, you can go on to explore the Daintree Rainforest because you can easily transfer to the SkyRail Rainforest Cablecar. It’s located right next to the train station and it will take you on an amazing ride above the Rainforest, allowing you to stop at several stations and hop off to see amazing landscapes.

There is so much to see in the Daintree Rainforest

🛤️ This railway is a big engineering achievement

Along this remarkable railway, there are dozens of tunnels, bridges and curves that allow passangers to enjoy amazing views of the natural landscape of Queensland.

That’s one of the things that makes this railway journey so special but it also meant that it was extremely difficult to build. It started being built in the 1880s and it took 5 years to complete.

Those years were filled with hard work by thousands of men who faced difficulties not only due to the complexity of the project and the nature of the terrain, but also due to the aboriginal resistance that existed in the area.

Many of those workers died to achieve this engineering feat that visitors from all over the World can experience today.

📷 It’s one of the most photogenic train rides I’ve ever taken

When I booked my Kuranda Scenic Railway tour, I knew it would be a nice experience. But to be honest, I had no idea how much it would blow all my expectations.

This train ride lasts for nearly 2 hours and I was absolutely glued to the window the whole time! Since a picture is worth more than a thousand words, let me show you its beauty through some of the many pictures I took along the way.

Even after taking some of the most beautiful train rides in the World, I have to admit that this one in Northern Australia is a personal favorite.

The best part is that it’s still in a hidden gem in Australia!

I spent so much time researching the best places to see in Australia and it took me a while to discover this gorgeous train ride. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I’m so glad I went to Cairns and gave it a chance!

If you’ve made it this far, I hope I convinced you to add this amazing train ride to your travel bucket list. I’m sure it will not disappoint you!

Book your Kuranda Scenic Railway ticket 🚞

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July 27 2024

The World’s Oldest Rainforest

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When you think of iconic rainforests, the Amazon is likely to come to your mind. That massive rainforest is nearly 7 million square kms and it’s by far the most famous rainforest in the World, but did you know that it’s actually not the oldest?

The oldest surviving rainforest in the World is the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, northern Australia. I only discovered this when I started planning my trip to Australia and I was shocked by this fact! This forest is still not that well-known somehow, but here are some reasons why it should be on your travel bucket list.

It’s 180 million years old

This remarkable rainforest has existed for so long that it’s actually 10 million years older than the Amazon. What we now know as the Daintree Rainforest is what’s left of a forest so vast that it used to cover the whole country. That forest was in existence such a long time ago that it even saw dinossaurs and ice ages pass it by – but shocklingy enough, a portion of it survived to this day.

This part of Australia was described by Sir David Attenborough as “the most extraordinary place on Earth”

I’m sure that Northern Queensland is considered gorgeous and extremely special by most of its visitors but it becomes even more special when you learn that Sir David Attenborough himself has described it as the most extraordinary place on Earth. Considering how much he has seen of this planet, it’s a huge statement to make and that alone should put the Daintree Forest on everyone’s travel bucket lists.

It has incredible fauna and flora

The plants and animals of the Daintree Rainforest are so unique that much of the flora and fauna known on Earth can actually be traced back to its location. It has such a huge biodiversity that it includes 90% of Australia’s butterflies and bats, 30% of all the frogs in the country, more than 12000 insect species and about 7% of Australia’s bird species. There are some pretty huge spiders as well, as you probably suspected.

This is the only place on Earth where two UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites meet

Not only is this rainforest extraordinary, it becomes even more unique due to the fact that it’s the only place in the World where two different UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites converge: the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. That’s one of the things that makes this area of Australia so unique – the lush rainforest meets the turquoise waters of the Great Barrier Reef, making it one of the most special places I’ve ever visited.

Did you know that you can spend the night at the World’s oldest rainforest?

If I managed to spark your interest in this amazing place and you would like to visit someday, you’ll be glad to know that you can actually sleep in the rainforest.

Choose Daintree Seascapes if you wanna stay in the rainforest while still enjoying amazing ocean views or Daintree Cascades if you want to stay close to the waterfalls. Or stay at the Tea Tree Cottage if you want to have the experience of staying in a treehouse in the World’s oldest rainforest – pretty special, right?

… and that you can easily visit this rainforest on a day trip?

The good news is that even if you don’t wanna spend the night there, you can visit the Daintree Rainforest just for the day. Even though it’s such a special and pure natural area, this forest is actually located really close to the city of Cairns, which makes it super easy to take a day tour to go there.

That’s what I did and a day out there was way more fun than I first imagined! I took this tour that includes a ride on the SkyRail, providing absolutely amazing views of the rainforest, plus such a beautiful train ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway: a historic train across the rainforest, which was an absolute highlight of my whole trip to Australia.

Book your Daintree Rainforest day tour here 🌳

I hope you liked this blog post and added this unique location to your travel bucket list! Take it from someone who didn’t even really know it existed before planning a trip to Australia: this place is super unique but it’s still quite the hidden gem somehow. So make sure you visit if Queensland is on your Australia itinerary!

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Trip.com: Get the best discounts on flights, hotels & car rentals 💰
Get Your Guide: Book the best tours & buy entrance tickets 🎫
Tripadvisor: Find other travelers’ opinions ✍🏼
Rental Cars: Rent a car for your trip 🚗
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Revolut: Stop paying for exchange fees abroad 💳
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