Stoney Creek Waterfall

February, 2014

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, with about 3/4 the land mass of the United States. Our time was limited, so we spent our time on the east coast, primarily in Sydney and Cairns.

While in Cairns, we took the Skyrail and Kuranda Train Tour to the Kuranda Village, which is located about 20 miles NNW of the city, at an elevation of 1,083 feet. The train ride to the village takes about two hours, including a stop at Barron Falls for photos.

Before reaching Barron Falls, however, our train traverses a bridge that passes in front of and over Stoney Creek Falls, a cascade type waterfall. We had to be quick, but were lucky enough to catch some rainbows as we rode by.

Barron Falls, located in Barron Gorge National Park, is an 800 foot wide, cascade type waterfall with four drops totaling  410 feet. The volume of water can be quite high during the wet season, yet little more than a trickle the rest of the year. Barron Falls supplies hydroelectric power to the Queensland area.

This waterfall was named for Thomas Henry Bowman Barron, Chief Clerk of Police in Brisbane in the 1860s.

After visiting Kuranda Village, we took the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway back to Cairns. I heartily recommend this exhilarating 4.7 mile ride over the Kuranda Rainforest. The ride takes about 90 minutes, and affords beautiful views of the trees and foliage below (from the vantage point up to 133 feet above,) as well as Barron Falls, the hydroelectric plant and the coastline.