Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5-kilometre (4.7 mi) scenic tourist cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park, in the Wet Tropics of Queensland’s World Heritage Area in Australia. It operates from the Smithfield terminal (16°50′52″S 145°41′42″E / 16.8477°S 145.6950°E) in Cairns to the Kuranda terminal (16°49′08″S 145°38′20″E / 16.8190°S 145.639000°E) on the Atherton Tableland. It has won more than 25 awards.
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway journeys through the Wet Tropics Rainforest, home to the world's oldest tropical rainforest, older than the Amazon Rainforest. It was the longest gondola cableway in the world when it was completed in 1995.[1][2][3]
The cableway, which journeys over the MacAlister Range between Smithfield and Kuranda, includes six-person gondola cabins that glide metres above the treetops. A one-way trip takes about 1.5 hours, and a return trip is about 2.5 hours. Two rainforest stations, Red Peak (16°50′57″S 145°40′10″E / 16.8493°S 145.6695°E) and Barron Falls (16°50′01″S 145°38′44″E / 16.8335°S 145.6455°E), allow exploration of the forest floor on boardwalks and education of the World Heritage area. Complimentary ranger guided tours are available at Red Peak. An interpretative display the 'Rainforest Discovery Zone' is located at Red Peak. A Rainforest Interpretation Centre, developed in conjunction with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), is located at the Barron Falls.[4] The Edge Lookout, open to the public since March 2019, is located at Barron Falls. The lookout reaches out 160 metres (520 ft) above Barron Gorge floor, with views across the Gorge and Barron Falls. The lookout also incorporates a glass floor section.
It was the only Australian finalist in the 2014 International Tourism for Tomorrow Award.[5] In 2012, it was the first tourism attraction in the world to receive Platinum EarthCheck Accreditation.[6] It won the 2000 British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow International Environment Award,[7] the 1996 EIBTM European Greening of Business Tourism Most Environmentally Conscious Visitor Attraction Award and the 2008 and 2009 Qantas National Award for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism.[8][9] In 2000, it was inducted into the Queensland Qantas Award's Hall of Fame for Best Tourism Attraction and in 2010 for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism.[10]
- ^ Construction in Focus Building the Cairns-Kuranda Railway and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway http://www.constructioninfocus.com.au/index.php/2013/12/17/rainforest-construction/ Archived 15 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Cairns Post, 31 August 2000, page 21, Skyrail rainforest cableway celebrates 5th birthday
- ^ "Queensland's history—1900s | Historical timeline". www.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, CSIRO gets into ecotourism, "CSIRO Corporate Media Release 95/10". Archived from the original on 27 August 2005. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ The Cairns Post, 1 March 2014, page 45, Skyrail joins world's elite, by Nick Dalton
- ^ The Cairns Post, Friday, 23 November 2012, page 11, Skyrail has green light from awards
- ^ "Tourism for Tomorrow". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Qantas News, April 2010, page 7, Qantas Australian Tourism Award Winners 2009
- ^ The Courier Mail, 1 March 2010, by Kate Schneider Queensland attractions shine at Qantas Tourism Awards http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-attractions-shine-at-qantas-tourism-awards/story-e6freoof-1225835674522
- ^ Queensland Tourism Industry Council, Hall of Fame, http://www.queenslandtourismawards.com.au/results/hall-of-fame Archived 27 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine