Visit a rainforest village

Teetering on the brink of the Macalister Ranges high above the city of Cairns, Kuranda is a floral extravaganza under siege from the surrounding rainforest. Everything in the town seems to be green, moist and wrapped in scarlet bougainvillea. The trees along the main street are not single items but green federations of trunks, vines, mosses and staghorn ferns, and they say that if you sit still for too long in Kuranda, you can easily become part of the vegetation.

A number of alternative-lifers have put down roots in this earthly paradise and Kuranda is the centre for a thriving arts and crafts community.

Every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday this colourful brigade comes to town for the market, and even if you don't need a banana leaf flyswatter, a didgeridoo or an exotic tropical fruit tree, market days are the time to be in Kuranda.

The town is just over 30 kilometres from Cairns along the Kennedy Highway - a curving, swerving, roller-coaster ride before the road irons itself out and crosses the range - but most visitors arrive by train. Several times a day trains leave the Freshwater Station north of Cairns for the dramatic climb through tunnels of greenery, past Barron Falls and finally to Kuranda Station, which is swathed in palms and ferns - and which has had to be disqualified from railway station beauty contests on the grounds of unfair advantage.

Instead of the train ride back to the coast, make the return journey by SkyRail, a cable car that takes you above the rainforest canopy on an unforgettable journey. Be sure to stop off at one of the stations along the way to explore the rainforest.