KURANDA SCENIC RAILWAY- BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY- SKYRAIL

Kerry was keen to journey up to Kuranda via rail, so we did the touristy thing and traversed the peak via this amazing engineering feat. I am often in awe of the effort that past pioneers have embuded. The many roads and railways that have been quite literally laid by hand, we often utilize daily without a thought or genuine feeling of thanks. Someone had a desire, a dream, a vision- too make beautiful areas in our great big backyard more accessible for everyone to enjoy an appreciate. Admittedly, many of these 'in roads' have been made for the benefit of someone's pocket- but I like to believe there was originally a loving intent there to begin with. Just like the Right Brothers and their discovery of flight- unfortunately the first application of their discovery resulted in mass murder and destruction during the World Wars. Like every new discovery though, there are those that desire to implement it with love to benefit all and those that wish to 'gain and succeed' for the few.
We climbed aboard carriage no.4 and enjoyed the view as we learned of the history, passed waterfalls and luscious rainforest. We meandered through the township, found a raw organic cafe where we learned there was a croc caught in the stinger nets at Port Douglas where we had been swimming the day before- and then some how, managed to still digest lunch before making our way to visit the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary- my sole reason for driving all the way to cairns!!
Yipee! How exciting! We had been fortunate to spot a few Ulysses and Cairns Bird wing butterflies previously whilst walking through the Daintree. Even had one land right in front of us for a photo opportunity- only now I know why we didn't manage to capture this stunning creature!! Ulysses are the endangered electric blue and black butterfly. They have a short life span, 10-13days and they rarely stop!! They fly so rapidly, darting here and there, avoiding predators. When they do pause and rest, they close their wings- camouflaging the brilliant blue. On our ride one day we found a male cairns birdwing, who was living his very last moments on the earth plane. Thankfully we left it where it was, as they are also one of the endangered species. Peter, our guide at the sanctuary told us that if you get caught with a butterfly in your possession, even a dead one, you will be fined $5000! As the authorities do not know that you did not deliberately capture it and kill it for display! Holy moly!!
How amazing is this- Butterflies have such a short life span and therefore a window for reproduction, ranging between 3days and 3 weeks! The female emits a pheromone to attract the male, their reproductive organs interlock and the female (on top) injects a sedative into the male so he will remain still for the following 12-24hrs, where she draws the sperm into her body and stores it till her eggs ripen and are ready for fertilization. She will then lay the eggs on a specific type of plant over the next few wks. The plant becomes the food for the caterpillar, and then the venue for the chrysalis stage.
The sedative is a protective mechanism. If they are under threat whilst interlocked, she can carry the male to safety and ensure the completion of the mating period. Otherwise, he may pull apart and fly off in another direction- causing major damage to both butterflies.
A particular moth we saw lives only for 3 days!! The female once emerged, remains stationary. She emits a signal that extends 7km in radius, calling a male to her. Once the deed is done the male dies and if the timing is right she will lay her eggs before expiring herself. It's phenomenal- some of these moths have been known to mature in the chrysalis for up to two years! Can you imagine being a female living for 3 days and a male potentially still hanging out in the cocoon?? Or vice versa! How these moths still manage to keep the species from extinction is amazing- but I guess that's why they are endangered hey! Unfortunately we humans have again stepped in and are scorned by the inconvenience the moths/butterflies create for some industries- so an insect has been bred to eat the eggs that are laid on certain citrus plants. Also Butterflies and moths taste with their feet- sprays have been created to coat the foliage of the plants in certain regional orchards- hence acting as a deterrent. Each butterfly species requires a specific plant for their complete reproduction. Can you see where this is all leading????
I was truly amazed and enthralled, captivated by the blaze of colour fluttering above me. What an amazing experiment that would be...to plant a garden to attract and provide places for butterflies to breed. Rather than just growing flowers to admire- imagine the joy in observing these beauties dance around your own backyard!!
What stunned me the most was that the dedicated staff are involved in an amazing conservation and breeding program for these endangered species with a success rate of 80% compared with the 1% in nature- yet they are classed as an amusement park and receive virtually no funding from the government!! How can that be??? We are fortunate these people are passionate about preserving the existence of these phenomenal creatures and continue on as best they can. I know I'm certainly grateful!! It was SO worth the drive!!

We took the Sky Rail gondola back down to Freshwater which over looked the rainforest canopy and provided fabulous views of cairns.
Check out the Kuranda album for pics.