Randy & Brandi in Cairns

Brandi & Randy in Cairns

back to the beginning - Ginger Root Home

For our final few days in Australia, we left Arnhem Land and went back to Tourist Land. I admit that it was nice to relax in a city and get a little adjusted to "civilization" before heading home. And we did finally find good sushi in Cairns, which is a goal we had totally failed to achieve on the rest of the trip. Anyway, here's the final chapter.

Looking back on Cairns from a boat.

Randy and our new friend, Kyosen Ohashi. Kyosen's on wheels, OK?

Posing in front of our luxurious hostel in Cairns with David Hudson, who's quite possibly the most famous and successful Aboriginal didgeridoo player, not to mention a very friendly bloke who cooks a mean mackrel. Hmmph. I think I should have been standing down a step, or something. At least behind them.

David's shop, at the Pier mall in Cairns. It's an outlet for all Australian-made items, mostly tourist stuff, as it's in a great location to nab people from the nearby hotels. Lots of David's own work is available there, including didgeridoos, art prints and t-shirts, along with some work from other well known contemporary Aboriginal artists.

The famous "scenic train" from Cairns to Kuranda. Not a very interesting ride, actually, if you've been to Disneyland. They keep the old trains running for historical interest, but they're not really built for a good view of the scenery, to tell the truth.

The view from the stop shown at the left. Nice waterfall spot... just wish we had been there in the wet season! Next time we get to Oz, we plan to spend more time in Queensland to check out the rainforest, hopefully during the wet.

Into the forest, in Kuranda. It's impossible to really get a shot conveying the vastness and density of a rainforest. But, I guess we tried, anyway.

Brandi at a river crossing in the rainforest.

Flying Buttress roots... an amazing thing. We didn't know what they were when we took this picture, but found out later that it's a common rainforest development... roots that really help to hold up the tree through all the erosion from so much water going through.

And she said the picture would never turn out... a waterlilly growing near the banks of a river.

The famous scenic skyrail, which is truly more scenic than the scenic train. We took the train up to Kuranda, came back in one of these. And no, we have no idea who those people in there are.

Brandi watching the river go by underneath. It has not been proven that the girl sitting next to Brandi is not the daughter of Kyosen Ohashi.

Coming into one of the skyrail stations. We picked a lovely day for all this scenic stuff, didn't we?

The Tjapukai Dancers in performance. This group is of Randy/Brandi Historical Significance, as the Tjapukai album was Randy's first didgeridoo influence. But of course that album was recorded a decade ago, when David Hudson (seen above) was involved with Tjapukai, playing all the didge, and it was a small theater in Kuranda. Now David is no longer involved and it's a large theme park just outside of Cairns.

A quick tribute to Andrew Goldsworthy that we made along a trail on Fitzroy Island. Our little bit of art was of course well trampled an hour and half later.

And then, sadly, back on one of these.
For a long, long time.

And that's it! We hope you enjoyed it, because we sure did.
back to the beginning - Ginger Root Home

Looking back on Cairns from a boat.	Randy and our new friend, Kyosen Ohashi. Kyosen's on wheels, OK?
Posing in front of our luxurious hostel in Cairns with David Hudson, who's quite possibly the most famous and successful Aboriginal didgeridoo player, not to mention a very friendly bloke who cooks a mean mackrel. Hmmph. I think I should have been standing down a step, or something. At least behind them.	David's shop, at the Pier mall in Cairns. It's an outlet for all Australian-made items, mostly tourist stuff, as it's in a great location to nab people from the nearby hotels. Lots of David's own work is available there, including didgeridoos, art prints and t-shirts, along with some work from other well known contemporary Aboriginal artists.
The famous "scenic train" from Cairns to Kuranda. Not a very interesting ride, actually, if you've been to Disneyland. They keep the old trains running for historical interest, but they're not really built for a good view of the scenery, to tell the truth.	The view from the stop shown at the left. Nice waterfall spot... just wish we had been there in the wet season! Next time we get to Oz, we plan to spend more time in Queensland to check out the rainforest, hopefully during the wet.
Into the forest, in Kuranda. It's impossible to really get a shot conveying the vastness and density of a rainforest. But, I guess we tried, anyway.	Brandi at a river crossing in the rainforest.
Flying Buttress roots... an amazing thing. We didn't know what they were when we took this picture, but found out later that it's a common rainforest development... roots that really help to hold up the tree through all the erosion from so much water going through.	And she said the picture would never turn out... a waterlilly growing near the banks of a river.
The famous scenic skyrail, which is truly more scenic than the scenic train. We took the train up to Kuranda, came back in one of these. And no, we have no idea who those people in there are.	Brandi watching the river go by underneath. It has not been proven that the girl sitting next to Brandi is not the daughter of Kyosen Ohashi.
Coming into one of the skyrail stations. We picked a lovely day for all this scenic stuff, didn't we?	The Tjapukai Dancers in performance. This group is of Randy/Brandi Historical Significance, as the Tjapukai album was Randy's first didgeridoo influence. But of course that album was recorded a decade ago, when David Hudson (seen above) was involved with Tjapukai, playing all the didge, and it was a small theater in Kuranda. Now David is no longer involved and it's a large theme park just outside of Cairns.
A quick tribute to Andrew Goldsworthy that we made along a trail on Fitzroy Island. Our little bit of art was of course well trampled an hour and half later.	And then, sadly, back on one of these. For a long, long time.