This picture was taken on the Sky Rail in Cairns, Australia. The Sky Rail is a 45 minutes cable car ride into the rainforest above Cairns, depositing its travelers into the heart of the village Kuranda - a World Heritage site. After sightseeing in Kuranda, travelers can either take the Kuranda Scenic Railway or the Sky Rail right back down the mountain.
This was one of the few things I did in Cairns. And it was one of the best. I'm afraid of heights - I always have been. They let me ride in my own cable car and it was surprisingly fun. The shuttle driver told me on the drive up that the cables are changed every five years so they never get worn and basically this company takes safety to the optimum level. So even though occasionally the cable car would speed up or sway on it's own, I never felt in danger.
Kuranda itself was a lot smaller than I expected. It was gorgeous and is still the only place I've ever seen coconuts hanging from a palm tree. There was a large shopping area where the majority of the tourists bought knick knacks and souvenirs. I found myself down an alley and out the other side where the real life was. I found a small supermarket that bore almost an uncanny difference to the bakery on the tourist side. The tourists with their giant cameras disappeared to make room for the teenagers on bicycles and the children eating popsicles on the curb. I bought a frozen pineapple popsicle and went out to join them. The sounds of bartering over wood carvings and the loud, foreign accents were soon replaced with macaws and camouflaged insects. I might as well have been in a different village altogether. And then again, maybe I was.
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