Still raining...

I've perked up a bit after my little tantrum yesterday - not least because I spent the day out of Cairns.

It's still rained, but I enjoyed getting out and about and into the rainforest. I caught the gondola - or 'Skytrain' - away from Cairns and to Kuranda, which is a remote settlement and one of the area's main tourist attractions. It is basically no more than a glorified theme park, but it still maintains an alternative vibe in keeping with its indigenous routes that allows you to ignore all the American and Japanese camera clutching tourists.

There are numerous Aboriginal shops selling everything from fine arts to didgeridoos, and a range of markets specialising in traditional culture. But as I walked around this village, the only Aboriginals I could see were hanging around the streets - generally smoking and eyeing people up with suspicion. I made a point of visiting every single outlet in this village that sold some kind of indigenous product. In just one did I see anybody of Aboriginal descent working. All the shops were run by white Australians. The Aborigines were all just hanging around, not looking particularly unhappy, but totally detached from a 'community' that was trading off their heritage. It was bizarre. The nearest I saw of any kind of integration between the two cultures was an Aboriginal wearing a Chelsea shirt. And that was hardly encouraging...

The journey back to Cairns was via a 19th century railway line, which was originally constructed to ensure remote communities did not starve during the wet season. Today it just ferries tourists back to their hotels.

It was an extremely picturesque day. I suppose I should point out that this part of Australian rainforest is overwhelmingly wet forest land - it is not like the jungle you see in 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'. There are no killer snakes, Ant and Dec or Christine Hamilton in this part of the world. Which is just as well.

Tomorrow I head off with a tour group in a 4x4 further into the rainforest, where I am likely to be acquainted a bit more with Australia's famous inhabitants...