Kurunda is a small town on the Atherton Tableland some 25Km from Cairns in the middle of the rainforest. Originally it was primarily a timber town, but in the 1970’s it became a bit of bohemian enclave and was thus marketed as the ‘village in the rainforest’ and it became a major tourist drawcard and continues to be to this day. Most tourists make the trip up from Cairns via the very quaint railway, the Skyrail, or a combination of the two. We chose to drive up the narrow and incredibly steep and windy road. We wanted to get there early and have the freedom to come and go as we wanted without being conscious of timetables. All have their merits.

 

For me the major attraction is that the rainforest surround Kuranda is the world’s oldest living rainforest and the town has a network of 5 walk trails that enable you to explore. If you combine the Jumrun Walk, the Jungle Walk, River Walk and Market Walk you have loop that will take you in a circuit around the town of 3.8Km. It’s all very well laid out and well signposted. There is an enormous amount of wildlife that calls the rainforest home including the very rare but iconic Southern Cassowary. For us we saw very little wildlife. The forest is so dense and dark it makes seeing things very difficult. I did manage to take a few pictures but I was forced to use very high ISOs and slow shutter speeds which meant that I only got one sharp photo of a bird. The scenery more than made up for it though – it was absolutely amazing. 

 

 

 

By 10:30 we’d finished the walk and walked along the main drag looking for a place to get a brew. The place was pretty deserted with the overwhelming majority of shops being closed. In the shop windows was all this kitsch “hippy wear”. Does anyone still wear tie dye and cheesecloth anymore? It seems sad that they’re trying to cash in on the whole notion of Kurunda being a centre for an alternative lifestyle and all they can think to sell is bad caricature of the the 1970’s. Eventually we did find a cafe that was open, but, when we got inside the two staff were more engrossed in their social media feeds than serving customers so we left. Luckily for us the local IGA supermarket was open and we got some drinks and morning tea from there.

On leaving Kuranda we went to the Barron Falls Lookout. The walk from the carpark is along a suspend broad walk that keeps you high in the tree canopy. It was a stunning experience walking through the jungle like that. The views out over the water fall weren’t too shabby either. Being the end of the wet season there wasn’t as much water going over the falls, but, it was still very impressive.

 

If you are in or around Cairns then definitely visit Kurunda. If you stay clear of the hippy shops and just explore the natural environment you’ll have a ball.

In terms of photography – well I hardly used my Panasonic G9 mk ii, but the little Leica D-Lux Type -108 acquitted itself with flying colours. The camera is a very tactile experience. There is a shutter speed dial and an aperture ring. Select your aspect ratio from 4:3, 3:2, 16×9, and 1:1 and put the camera in auto ISO and it’s a delight to use. The lens renders images beautifully and the RAW files have plenty of latitude if you do your part. I was very glad I brought it on this trip.

 

The title of today’s post is from the late great John Mayall’s classic track “Life In The Jungle”.