A weekly re-cap of the events that have made news in Cairns over the past week.

Monday September 2, 2002 81st Edition

This week in Cairns animals are certainly in the limelight, with birds staying a plush resorts and buffaloes creating some mayhem. Important developments have also taken place in the tourism industry, with the announcement of Cairns company Skyrail expanding projects into Japan.

New tourist attraction opens
The Malanda Gourmet Food Factory, the newest tourist attraction on the Tablelands was opened last week with a massive street party held to celebrate the occasion. The street party, called the Tablelands Lions Spring Fair was the highlight of the day. Federal Forestry and Conservation Minister Wilson Tuckey opened the 1930s style centre, which provides insight into the area's role as the centre of the Far North's dairy industry.

Cairns resort attracts feathered tourists
It seems the Peregrine Falcon prefers the 'high life' when visiting Cairns. A pair of Falcons that managed to raise three chicks on the 14th floor penthouse balcony of the Matson Resort in Cairns last year have returned to check out the resort's northern penthouse. Matson Resort general manager Mark Slimmer said, "being the discerning birds they are they elected to try a different penthouse." Peregrine Falcons are birds of prey, known as the fastest in the world.

Birdwatching paradise
The Mareeba Tropical Savanna and Wetland Reserve hosted a Wildbird Expo on Saturday, giving visitors a rare opportunity to speak with people involved in birdwatching and wildbirds in North Queensland. Guest speakers included Lloyd Nielsen of Mt Molloy who is a world expert on the buff-breasted button quall. Expo organizer William Goulding said "there is a tremendous amount of people who use the Cairns and Tableland as a base and have incredible regional and cosmopolitan knowledge."

Far North wins tidy town awards
The Far North has won two Queensland Ergon Energy tidy town awards. Despite missing out on the top award - the tidiest town which was won by Gladstone, the region did manage to take out two others. Port Douglas was given the title of the friendly town award while Thursday Island won the cultural heritage award. Judges commented that Port Douglas was a "town which traded internationally on its visitor friendliness. Promoted as the hub of the reef and rainforest coast, this enticing combination has seen a once sleepy village grow into a world-renowned destination."

Region to benefit from med school
A Kuranda doctor wants to utilize the benefits of James Cook University medical students to improve health services on the Tablelands. Doctor David Cuming says he wants to train university medical students and general practice registrars to improve medical services in the bush. Dr Cuming has applied for the 2003 Rural Rotations Scheme, an initiative of James Cook University which places undergraduate JCU students into local practices for hands on training.

Thong scares buffalo
A thong deterred a wild buffalo from destroying a policeman's home in the Northern Territory last week. Constable Clay Evans said he was awakened when his house began to shake around dawn. After investigating the outside of the house, he discovered a huge bull with massive horns at the verandah. "It was nudging the stairs with its head, but it was a pretty heavy animal, a wild buffalo," he said. Concerned about the damage to the house, Constable Evans threw the flimsy thong at the animal. "I didn't know what it would do, but the animal just trotted off," he said.

Party time in Kuranda
Kuranda was the place to be last week with its annual celebration, 'Kurandafest' a delight of many sights and sounds. The town's restaurants and coffee shops stayed opened late allowing visitors to dine and take part in a range of events. Activities included a wine and cheese evening, photography competition, monster street party, grand parade, Barron Gorge raft challenge and the all-male revue stars Miss Pencil Vania and Miss Sandy Crack who hosted a fantasy hair show. The event was held over two fun filled days.

Skyrail takes on the world
Cairns tourist attraction Skyrail has announced that it will develop and operate a $200 million cableway in Hong Kong. The project will set the company apart, and advance the aim "to become to world tourism what Hilton is to hotels". Skyrail managing director Ken Chapman said the cableway and tourist village was "at least three times greater than Skyrail and Kuranda put together." It is anticipated that more than one million people a year will be transported on the cableway between the Hong Kong airport and the country's popular tourist attraction - the Great Buddha on Lantau Island.