Australia Vacation -- Day 2

Day 2 was great! We woke up around 7:00 a.m. and headed out the door about 8:30. We caught a bus from Down Under Tours at 9:00. They took us to the train, which took us up the mountain, through the rainforest, to Kuranda.

In Kuranda, we ate lunch at the first place we could find -- an Irish Bar & Grill. Then, we made a beeline to the Koala Park. While the girls were thrilled to cuddle a Koala (they were too young to hold one), I think they were equally excited about feeding, petting, kissing, and mauling the kangaroos and wallabies.

After the Koala Park, we headed (much to the chagrin of Courtney) to the Bird Park. This was an open aviary with over 500 birds flying around the place. We bought a bag of food, stepped through the curtains, and we were swarmed by all kinds of birds (75 species). Mark was delighted; Olivia was cautious; Katelee was curious (until she was bitten); and Courtney was tolerating it all (she disdains them). It was loud and crazy as birds flew in from all directions, landed on us, bit us (crazy devil blue bird, ticked off toe-biting bird, etc.). It was great fun (says Mark).


After Bird World, we shopped for a little bit, ate some ice cream, and headed for the SkyRail. This is a 7.5 km gondola ride over the rainforest. It even has a couple places to hop off and see the forest up close. It was a fabulous view and ride (even if Katelee slept through half of it).

And we dusted off the evening by eating next to the beach at a great Italian restaurant. We enjoyed a great pizza and view! We got the girls in bed by 7 and were asleep by 8.

We took over 140 pics, so it may take a bit to upload them all.

See you tomorrow!