Wednesday in Australia - or - Whe's the Dummy?

Sorry to make you all insanely jealous, but I'm not gonna lie...yesterday was pretty stinkin' amazing. (And by yesterday, I mean Wednesday since I didn't publish this last night when I started it.)

Really Kim*, how could I leave him home??

The day started off early when we took a shuttle to the train station.  We took the Kuranda Scenic Railway from Cairns**, through a RAIN FOREST, to Kuranda.

This fulfilled a dream I didn't even know I had:  Riding in an authentic old-timey wooden train car.

For a kid weened on Agatha Christie novels, it was like I had been transported back in time and was living an English murder mystery.  By the time we got to Kuranda, I was looking for Miss Marple, ready to opportunistically bump someone off, and craving afternoon tea.  (Peppermint herbal, that is...)

The scenery wasn't too shabby either!

We had a little time to kill in the mountain top village of Kuranda so we spent it eating!

Seriously.  Best EVER!

Hands down the best pancakes I've ever eaten.  The hot chocolate was yummy too, but it's more like warm milk with a tiny bit of chocolate.  I lean more towards the melted chocolate with a tiny bit of milk side of things.

After a little window shopping and a stop at the "Chemist" for a "dummy" (pacifier), we headed for our next activity:

A gondola ride over the real-life, no-kidding rain forest.  At this point I left Agatha Christie's England and jumped into "Survivor: Australia".

Awe.some.

But WAIT, there's MORE!  Call now and get...

our last destination of the day!

Hartley's Crocodile Adventure!!!

(Isn't it amazing the fun that can be had when your normally tight-wadish husband is willing to book actual tours because he didn't have to buy plane tickets???)

This is where we came far too close to some large hungry crocodiles,

got to pet a koala,

and where Gray pinched the nose and pulled the tail of a good-natured Wallaby.

I was missing my big boys all day.  They would have LOOOOVED everything we did!  We've decided to start saving so we can bring them and all come back in a few years.  Or decades.

We got back to the hotel in time to find some yummy dinner then went to bed early.

Definitely a day for the record books!

P.S.  We met a nice family on the train ride.  East Indians, from Florida, living in Hong Kong.

Also, our tour bus driver was hilarious and we spent a lot of time chatting him up and learning all sorts of interesting stuff about the area.

P.P.S.  Most commonly asked question:  "Whe you from?" followed by "Weh you affected by the uhthquake?"

P.P.P.S.  At least half of the stores, shops, and restaurants I've walked in/past have had a jar or bottle out for Japan Relief.  Very cool!!!

*KB:  I couldn't bare to leave him home.  He's only 12 months and still nursing.  18 months, sure...but this was too long a trip to leave him.  Couldn't do it.  Although we could have done a zip line over the rain forest if we'd left him home....

**I've now heard it pronounced by locals as "Kens", "Cans", and "Canes" but never "Cairns".